Evening activities after the dinner

Note to non Game mode readers: There are major variable-related contents in this chapter which depends on, in Act 1, a)whether you had sex with Grace and b)whether you confessed it to Fran.

The dinner party ended without any more surprises at around 10:40 p.m.. Leonard insisted that it was late and everyone should stay over for the night. You all agreed.

Everyone, except Sherry who went back to her room early, gathered in the living room and chatted about some light topics, like travel and food. Leonard talked about his yearly trips all over the world, including the one where you met him, and some of them were truly eye-opening. Although you feared you would never feel the same excitement again now that you have seen the dark side of it. Andrew's words hit you really hard.

When the topic came to drinks, Fran decided to show off her skills. She went to the kitchen and brought back some distilled gin, orange juice, sugar, and sodas. She mixed some kind of cocktail in front of everyone, swift and proficient.

"Oh my! This is better than the shot I've had at a five-star hotel!" Andrew took a sip and gave a thumbs up, "Leonard, you may consider hiring Francesca!"

"I'm flattered, but I'm already opening a bar in Raven Harbour." Fran politely declined and looked at you.

"Really? Oh! Of course, of course..." Andrew took a glance at you, and he immediately understood everything. "In that case, I wish you success in your business. Cheers!" He added and emptied the glass.

You followed them and drank the cocktail. It was really good, and it actually helped ease your tension. Sometimes you missed this kind of social occasions. The relaxed atmosphere made you feel better, made you believe that this was what the world should be like even if it wasn't, made you put the dire situation aside and enjoy life even for just one moment.

"Hey, Fran. You told me you like to read books last night. What kind of books do you like?" George asked.

"Well, mainly fantasy novels. I enjoy the experience when I read them. It's like I'm living with the characters in a world full of wonders."

"That's great. Last time I check, Leonard had a reading room on the third floor." George turned to the host, "Leonard, I hope you don't mind if we go to have a look and maybe borrow a handful of books?"

"Of course not. Please feel free." Leonard gently smiled.

"Thanks. That's very generous of you." Fran looked excited, too.

Later, Leonard invited the mayor's couple to his study to catch up on each other's health and work. Fran and George resumed their previous conversation in the reading room. Grace was feeling the breeze on the balcony. Finally, you had a chance to talk to her in private.

"Hi." You walked to Grace's side and held your hands on the railing.

"Oh, hi." Grace was a bit surprised that you came. She merely took a glance at you and continued looking down from the balcony.

"What are you looking at?" You asked as you tried to break the ice with her.

"The cars." Grace pointed at the red car parked by the fountain, "That one wasn't there when we arrived, so it must be the mayor's. It's a Chevrolet Aveo, and it's the cheapest car down there."

"Really?" You were curious.

"Really. For example, your Sentinel looks like a prototype which isn't launched yet, but its estimated price is over 80,000 dollars, while the mayor's Chevrolet is around 10,000." Grace looked a bit nervous as she turned to you, "I'm sorry if I offend you, but I think only a millionaire like Leonard is wealthy and famous enough to get a prototype car from the manufacturer this early."

"Yes. He lent me this car when I came into town." You nodded in surprise, "And what do you think about it?"

"That the mayor lives a simple life. He is wearing an old suit tonight. And you don't see him wearing an expensive watch or anything." Grace gave you a comforting smile, "He has devoted his life to this town. He really is a good man."

"You're quite observant."

"Well, it's just a professional habit." She humbly replied, "At work, I need to spend time checking all kinds of machines, finding out what's wrong with them."

"That's an impressive skill."

"Yeah... It's just... Sometimes I get carried away, and do terrible things." Grace took a deep breath. She looked serious and sighed. "Look, James. I'm really sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me, but when I watched you reading attentively in the book shop, I found you so attractive that I couldn't help... I shouldn't have done that. You and Fran... You looked happy together. I don't want to ruin your relationship with her."

"Grace... I'm the one who should be sorry." You paused to collect yourself.

"What do you mean?"

"How do I put it..." You felt like you needed to be honest and finally found the courage to continue, "Recently I... caught some kind of disease. It made the people around me want to... get close to me, as well as I to them. You were acting weird only because you were affected by my condition. Damn it, I must sound crazy now."

Grace's eyes widened as she was struck dumb with astonishment. And it made you so embarrassed that you wanted to just run away. But you couldn't hide from what you had done forever.

{if game AND game:F2R1_Act1GraceSex == true}"I kind of believe you..." Grace calmed down as she couldn't come up with a better theory but accepted yours right now, "But I don't think that's the only reason."

"You mean..." You looked surprised and confused.

"After all that, even after what you just told me, I still feel attracted to you. I've never met a man like you before..." Grace smiled at you, "I've read your stories after we met. You're strong and determined. You helped the police solve several cases in the first year of your career. And now you're here, solving another case, I assume?"

"You could say that..."

"I knew it. You were always there, helping others, doing the right things. But at the same time, you're kind and caring. Just watching the way you treated Fran made my heart ache." Grace blushed and lowered her head, "I'm jealous... I wish it were me..."

You were speechless.

"I know it's not right, but I really want to know more about you, to feel your warmth again..." Grace shyly reached out her hand, trying to touch your face, but she retreated at the last moment. She could feel how hot her ears were, as if they were burning on fire.

"Grace... Maybe we both need some more time to figure this out." You didn't even dare to keep looking at her, so you just turned to look at the night sky.

"Maybe we do..." Grace leaned on the railing and looked at the same sky as yours, "So that's why you gave me the medicine? Because I caught that disease from you?"

"Yes." You gasped. "I bit your lips and scratched your back when we... you know. That's how you got infected. Don't worry, you're cured now."

"Are you cured, too?" She asked. You could feel her concern for you in her words.

"No... My condition is more severe, but I'm working on it." You shook your head helplessly.

"Does Fran know? About your condition? About us?" Grace tentatively asked.

{if game:F2R1_FranScenesConfess == true}"She knows both. I don't want to lie to her. She wasn't happy about what we had done, but... she forgave me and she was willing to give me another chance." You told her the truth.

"That's... good, I think." Grace looked a little lost, but she recovered immediately, "I'm really happy for both of you. I'm sure you'll make it."

"Thank you..." You returned a gentle smile.

{else if game:F2R1_FranScenesConfess == false}"She knows my condition, but I didn't tell her about... us. I don't want to upset her. I think... maybe it's for the best that I keep this between you and me." You felt guilty saying that.

"I... I see." Grace blushed as she heard your words, "Well, if you need help, any help, you can always count on me. And I will always be there for you."

"Oh... I... I appreciate that." You felt awkward and just nodded.{endif}

{else}"I kind of believe you..." Grace calmed down as she couldn't come up with a better theory but accepted yours right now, "So, did you get rid of the disease now?"

"No... But I'm working on it." You shook your head helplessly.

"Does Fran know? About your condition?" Grace tentatively asked.

"Yes. I don't want to lie to her. She's helping me through it." You told her the truth.

"That's good." Grace looked relieved, "I'm sure you'll make it."

"Thank you..." You returned a gentle smile.{endif}

It was around midnight when the party was finally over. All the guests were led by Ben to their rooms on the second floor. You might say it was thoughtful of him to have arranged a double room for you and Fran.

"Wow..." Fran was once again impressed by the luxurious decorations and became speechless.

The room itself was more than ten times as big as your hotel room. You walked over to the window, pulled back the soft, red curtain a little. The huge mountain standing in the darkness made you feel creepy, but the cool breeze quickly cleared your mind. The thick plush carpet under your feet swallowed all the footsteps and brought you an unexpected sense of security and comfort.

"It's... wonderful..." You turned to the still stunned Fran and chuckled.

"Yeah..." Fran went to touch the soft mattress of the double bed, which was twice as big as the one in the hotel room.

For the next hour, Fran and you took turns having a warm shower. Later, you both lay in bed with only the bedside lamp on. You gently wrapped your arm around Fran's waist from behind.

"The mayor really is a wise man. He just saw through you." Fran said.

"Yes. But I'm still wondering why he had to make up several parts of his story." You couldn't shake the thought from your mind.

"You think he's hiding something?"

"Maybe it's not something important. I'm just curious." You answered. You both knew that the most important thing right now was to find out who the werewolf really was, whether it was Shannon Smith. But it was a long day and you were really tired.

"Let's go check on Shannon tomorrow morning." Fran held your hand in hers and said quietly, "You should get some rest tonight."

"I will." You replied and kissed the back of her neck, "Good night, Fran."

"Good night..."

You snapped open your eyes in the middle of the night and sat up in bed. It was 2 a.m. and you felt your heart pounding terribly in your chest. You're very familiar with this feeling.

The urge was coming back. The beast inside you was waking up and it required meat and sex. And you were well aware of what would happen if you didn't satiate its hunger. Suppressing it was not an option.

But there was one consequence that you had to face. When indulging the urge, you couldn't totally control yourself. You would hurt your partner and infect them with lycanthropy. Of course, you could use one of your remaining monkshood solutions to cure them, but then there would be one less for you to buy you more time.

However, there was a trick that you had learned from Valerie. One dose of monkshood solution would stay in one's body for roughly a week to fight the infection. You had confirmed with Dr. Jones the other day that, within a week after one took the solution, they were immune to the mild infection coming from a carrier or a lycanthrope.

You slowly turned your head and looked at Fran, who was sleeping quietly beside you. And you began to think with your waning mind.