Claire's move

Chapter 54 - Claire's move

It was already past midnight when Mike reached his dorm building. The hallway was almost completely silent, the dim lights humming overhead as he made his way toward his room. He was tired, his mind still replaying everything that had happened earlier, and all he wanted was to get inside, shut the door, and forget about the night.

Then he saw someone standing outside his room. Mike stopped.

Claire.

She was leaning against the wall beside his door, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her hair was messy, and her eyes were red and swollen. There were faint tear marks on her cheeks, and the moment she noticed him looking at her, she quickly wiped beneath one eye and looked away.

She looked like she'd been waiting for a long time.

Mike didn't say anything. He walked toward his door, pulled out his keys, and unlocked it. Claire stepped aside without a word. He went inside, dropped his bag near the desk, and reached for the door to close it.

"I'm sorry," Claire said. His hand stopped on the handle. For a moment, he just stood there behind the door. Then he slowly opened the door again and looked at her.

Claire kept her eyes on the floor. "I know you don't want to talk to me."

Mike said nothing.

"I know I probably shouldn't have come here." Her voice shook slightly. "But I didn't know where else to go."

Mike studied her face. "How long have you been waiting?"

She shrugged.

"Claire."

"An hour. Maybe more."

He looked away, jaw tightening. "You called me four times."

"I know."

"And you thought waiting outside my room at midnight was a better idea? I don't want to share another word with you."

She gave a small, broken smile that disappeared almost immediately. "I didn't really think. I just... I didn't want tonight to end like this."

Mike leaned against the doorframe, still unsure what to say. The anger was there, but seeing her like this made it harder to hold onto.

"What happened?" he finally asked.

"Nothing." She wiped her cheek again. "I just kept thinking we'd have more time to fix things. And then I realized I might actually lose you."

Mike's expression changed, just slightly.

Claire looked up at him, her eyes filling again. "I know saying sorry doesn't fix anything. I know that. I just needed you to know that I am sorry."

Mike slammed the door shut without saying a word. The lock clicked loudly.

Claire stood outside, staring at the door. She had expected him to at least say something. She remembered how he had stepped in to protect her when Danny almost hit her. She had hoped that part of him still cared enough to listen. Instead, the door had closed in her face.

She knocked again. "Mike?" Nothing. She knocked harder, but there was still no answer. A few minutes later, two security guards came up the stairs and stopped beside her.

"Miss, show us your ID," one of them said. "We thought you lived here, but you're only here to bully a sensible man, you know he can kill you with a punch right? You need to leave."

Claire shook her head. "I know him. He'll open the door. Just give him a minute."

She hit the door with her palm. "Mike! Mike!"

The guard stepped closer. "He's the one who called us. Leave now, or you'll be suspended for the semester."

Claire's hand slowly dropped from the door.

Claire finally backed away. She walked out of the building and sat in the driver’s seat of her grey Aston Martin. Her expression turned so ugly that even a demon would have stepped aside. Pure fury burned in her chest. That loser, that small-dicked bastard, had not even looked at her.

After making his brother disabled [Claire’s Breakdown Reference], how could he walk around free with all this new fame?

She called her system. A black window appeared in front of her eyes.

[Quest: Make contact with Mike.]

The quest description had made one thing clear: even a few seconds near him would be enough. Mike’s system had already started resetting, and because of that, her own system’s interference was slowly getting weaker. The moment she stood outside his door with him within fifty meters, the contact requirement was already fulfilled.

[Quest complete.]

Mike’s system would remain offline for another full week. But the news gave Claire no relief. She was still sitting in her car, staring at the dorm building, while the memory of the door slamming in her face played over and over in her mind.

The shame was worse than the anger. She had gone there expecting him to listen, and he had not even given her a single word.

She opened the record of Mike’s recent quests. The latest entries showed him with Vanessa, fulfilling her wishes and earning rewards in return. One of those rewards was information about Mia and Eve. Claire’s face tightened as she read it. She had cheated on Mike because she thought he was a loser, someone who would never amount to anything.

Now everything had changed. Mike was winning, becoming famous, and moving from one girl to another. She should have been the one watching him fall apart. Instead, he was the one making her feel helpless.

Then the system spoke again inside her mind. Mike had never used the reward about Mia and Eve. That meant the two girls would be prey for the next week as well. But Claire's own system was still weakening.

If she wanted to keep it connected to Mike, she had to find another way to get close to him before the week was over.

She tightened her hands around the steering wheel and looked up at the dorm one last time. Her eyes were cold now. The anger hadn't gone away. It had simply changed into something quieter and more dangerous. She started the car and drove off, already thinking about her next move.

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