Free Web NovelChapter 28: Midnight Desire
Although Victoria said she would consider making things official, Liam knew this was already a major breakthrough.
Once a woman like her started thinking about it, the momentum would keep pushing her forward. In the end, she would be his.
"Okay, Victoria. I’ll walk you home."
Victoria agreed, the night air in Riverton was cool and thick with shadows.
Stray cats darted through dark alleys while streetlights flickered overhead. In the past, Victoria would have felt nervous walking these streets alone. But with Liam by her side, a powerful sense of safety and comfort wrapped around her.
"By the way," she said softly, "I’ve decided to buy that house. I looked at several nice properties recently. Treating it as an investment makes perfect sense. What you told me last time really got me thinking."
Liam replied with calm confidence. "Don’t worry. House prices will definitely rise. You’ll start seeing the benefits by the time school starts. The market is going to shift fast from here on out."
As they walked hand in hand, several passersby shot them curious glances. This guy is seriously lucky, their eyes seemed to say. Plenty of men fantasized about beautiful, mature women like Victoria. They just never had the courage to admit it.
The attention made Victoria slightly uncomfortable.
"Isn’t it strange for us to be holding hands like this in public?" she asked quietly.
"It’s fine," Liam answered smoothly. "Most people probably assume I’m your son. It’s perfectly normal."
Hearing his words, Victoria finally relaxed. Sometimes a big age gap had its advantages. It stopped outsiders from jumping to romantic conclusions.
After all, an eighteen-year-old being with a forty-one-year-old woman was still considered shocking by most standards.
When they reached the entrance of her residential complex, Victoria whispered, "Liam, let go of my hand here. I know too many people in this neighborhood. It wouldn’t look good if someone saw us."
Liam released her hand without hesitation. He was patient and always thought several steps ahead. Pushing too aggressively right now would be a mistake.
"I’ll walk you all the way to your building," he said.
They continued side by side. The moment they reached her apartment entrance, Liam pulled her into a warm, protective hug before she could react.
"Victoria, good night."
"Good night..."
Upstairs, Olivia Hayes had just walked to the window. She caught a glimpse of her mother parting ways with a man. A flicker of curiosity crossed her face. Is Mom actually thinking about dating again?
When Liam finally got home, the living room lights were still on. His mother, Elana Sterling, was sitting on the couch waiting for him.
Seeing her under the soft orange glow of the lamp, Liam felt a deep wave of warmth wash over him. The delicious aroma of home-cooked food drifted from the kitchen. She had clearly stayed up because she worried he might come home hungry.
"Liam, are you still hungry?" Elana asked with a gentle smile. "I made chicken stew with mushrooms. It’s keeping warm on the stove."
Liam nodded. After everything that had happened tonight, he was starving.
He changed his shoes and sat at the dining table. Elana served him dinner .
"Son, the girl you’re seeing must really like you, right?" she asked, her eyes full of motherly affection. "I used to worry that no one would want to stay with you because you seemed so ordinary. Looks like I was wrong."
Liam smiled calmly. "Mom, it’s still too early to talk about that. Don’t worry too much. When the time is right, I might introduce you to her."
He already had a clear plan for who he would eventually bring home. But he had to handle everything carefully.
"Alright, I’ll look forward to meeting her one day," Elana said warmly. "I’m heading to bed now. I have work in the morning. Just leave the dishes when you’re done."
Watching his mother disappear into her room, Liam felt a quiet sense of contentment. Having someone who genuinely cared and waited up for him felt incredibly good.
Back in his room, Liam turned on the fan and let the cool breeze wash over him then he saw that system had already deposited the $50,000 reward straight into his account.
"I’ve got over $130,000 saved now," he thought with a satisfied smirk. "I’m one solid step closer to building real wealth. This system really does feel like free money raining from the sky."
He quickly pulled up the system interface to check for new tasks.
A fresh mission had already appeared.
[New Mission: Business Dinner Rescue]
Objective: The night after tomorrow, Zack Moss plans to get Claire drunk at a corporate dinner and take her back to a hotel room. Stop his scheme.
[Reward: $70,000 cash.]
[Bonus Skill: Iron Liver Once mastered, you become virtually immune to alcohol.]
Liam’s eyes gleamed with excitement. The skills this system offered were ridiculously powerful. Business dinners like this were common in the corporate world. They happened every few days.
"Iron Liver... perfect," he murmured. "This will be incredibly useful in the future."
He leaned back in his chair, mind already racing with sharp, calculated plans for how to handle the upcoming mission.
Late that night, Victoria lay in bed, tossing and turning restlessly. Sleep refused to come. A strange, fluttering warmth kept stirring in her chest. Liam’s sudden and intense presence in her life had completely thrown her world off balance.
"Why does a guy like him want someone as old as me?" she whispered to herself in the darkness.
Yet the memory of him fearlessly stepping in front of her and taking down that large blond thug kept replaying in her mind.
Even though he was only eighteen, he had made her feel truly safe and protected. As the images played on, a complicated surge of emotions welled up inside her.
Under the soft moonlight streaming through the window, Victoria stared at her long, slender fingers. She slowly got up, opened her bedside drawer, and picked up the nail clippers.
