James felt a pang of sadness.
He really liked Tailsaânot just because the 100-point reward from her route was a superhuman physique, but because she had been his mentor, guiding him to become a real man.
Now that she'd heard he'd slept over at another girl's place, she was probably furious with him.
James felt like crying but had no tears.
He didn't blame Amanda for answering his phone, but he couldn't help lamenting how his "golden stamina" and "iron kidneys" were slipping further away. It was heartbreaking.
Could he even salvage things with her by throwing money at the problem?
He sighed, resigning himself to his fate, and checked Tailsa's profile.
Affection level: 73
??
James was stunned.
It was 68 beforeâhow did it go up by five points?
What the heck happened? What had Amanda said last night?
James pressed Amanda for answers, but she dodged his questions with vague remarks, clearly unwilling to share.
So, he sent a message to Tailsa, asking what had happened the night before, but she didn't reply.
Curious, he opened his call history.
Holy crap.
Call duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes. Talked until 2 a.m.
Good lord.
What on earth had these two women said about him behind his back?
James's curiosity was killing him, but with Amanda refusing to spill, there wasn't much he could do.
He quietly finished his breakfast.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Timmy gently tugging at his shirt. Though she didn't say a word, her bright, hopeful eyes sparkled with a clear message: Take me out to play.
Even someone who'd never looked after kids could tell.
She was impossibly adorable.
James set his doubts aside and scooped Timmy up in his arms, playfully rubbing his nose against her cheek, making her giggle uncontrollably.
"Let's go! Uncle's taking you to clean out the mall!" James declared boldly.
"Yay!! We're going out to play!" Timmy squealed, kicking her legs excitedly and wrapping her arms snugly around James's head.
Amanda had scolded Timmy yesterday, so to make it up to her, she had taken two days off from work, planning to spend time with her.
But then James had shown up, claiming he'd take care of them both.
Watching them now, laughing and playing together, Amanda felt a bit emotional.
She rarely carried Timmy anymoreâmostly because she couldn't.
Though Timmy looked small, she was surprisingly heavy. Last time Amanda weighed her, she was 34 pounds.
Now, seeing this little girl easily lifted with one hand by James, Amanda started to think that having an "uncle" around for Timmy wasn't such a bad idea.
"How old are you, Timmy?" James asked softly.
"Five!" Timmy answered proudly.
"And what do you like the most?"
"Big monsters!"
"Uh... why?" James was caught off guard by her answer.
"Because they can stomp the kindergarten flat!" Timmy replied, full of conviction.
"Don't you want to go to kindergarten?"
"Nope. Those dummies cry when I just touch them, and they say I don't have a dad."
"..."
Her baby-voiced response hit James hard. He suddenly realized how much growing up in a single-parent household had affected her.
He glanced at Amanda, who was quietly clearing the dishes, and felt a pang of sympathy.
"Don't worry about them, Timmy. If they ever say mean things again, Uncle will go teach them a lesson," James said fiercely.
If it were an elementary school, he might not be so confident. Kids were huge these daysâmany of them already 6 feet tall by then.
But a kindergarten? No problem.
One punch per kid. He'd take them all down.
"Okay!" Timmy laughed, her mood lifted.
After some playful banter, Amanda finished changing her clothes, and the three of them took the elevator downstairs to head out.
Amanda droveâa second-hand Mazda.
Timmy sat obediently in the back, buckled up and gazing out the window with excitement.
James sat in the passenger seat.
Amanda was dressed in a black silk cami bodycon dress, layered with a thin coffee-colored cardigan.
With sunglasses on, one hand propped against the window and the other casually steering the wheel, she occasionally glanced at the rearview mirror.
The breeze lifted her hair as the sunlight gently kissed her skin.
Her presence was magneticâconfident, stunning, exuding the perfect mix of elegance and dominance.
James hadn't been thinking about anything inappropriate.
But Amanda kept sneaking glances at him, making him feel warm all over.
This kind of high-and-mighty, cold beauty naturally sparked a man's desire to conquer, especially when her mysterious gaze was hidden behind sunglasses.
Whatever her look meant, James decided he'd wait until her affection level hit 80 before trying to seduce her.
For now, he'd play it safe. More opportunities would come later, and he couldn't risk scaring her off.
If he could just shamelessly stay at her place, eventually, he could come up with an excuseâmaybe pretend to have a backache or somethingâand ask her, as a caring sister, to help massage him.
From there, well... the rest of the story would write itself.
And if her affection level dropped? Worst case scenario, he'd give up on her cyborg bodyguard.
James was lost in his scheming when his phone buzzed, snapping him back to reality.
It was a message from Tailsa.
"Jerk, didn't you say you'd only take me to bars? Care to explain where you were last night?"
Tailsa was on the offensive, accusing him of breaking his promise.
James thought carefully before replying:
"I didn't have a choice. A boss insisted we meet there to discuss business."
"Yeah, right. Yesterday you met the bar owner, and today you're already sleeping at her place. Is it because I didn't drain you dry?"
"..."
Faced with such bold words, James was speechless.
Who knew the campus belle could be so aggressive?
In his mind, Tailsa had always been a sweet, innocent, and affectionate girl.
Where was this sudden boldness coming from?
Was it because they were texting? Or had physical intimacy unlocked some hidden trait in her?
James couldn't figure it out.
"It's not like that. She's just someone I recognized as my sister," he replied.
"Ha!"
Tailsa was laughing out of anger now.
Yesterday, she'd spent the whole afternoon waiting for James to apologize to her.
But by midnight, not a word from him.
Her boyfriend made her mad, and he wouldn't even try to make up for it?
If he'd just sweet-talked her, promised not to mess around againâeven if it was a lieâshe'd be happy to keep being deceived.
But to completely ignore her? What was that supposed to mean?
The longer she waited, the angrier she got. Finally, she couldn't stand it and called him to ask what was going on.
The first call went unanswered.
The second one too.
When he finally picked up, she started venting, only to hear a woman's voice on the other end.
Startled, Tailsa hung up immediately.
She thought it must've been the "main girlfriend" and that she had just interrupted their sleep.
Her emotions overwhelmed her, and just as she was about to cry, her phone rang againâit was the same number.
Gritting her teeth, she answered, planning to curse them both before bursting into tears.
But the woman on the line spoke politely, introducing herself as Amanda, someone Tailsa had met at the bar last night.
Amanda explained that James had gotten drunk and, not knowing his address, she had taken him to her place. Then she offered to let Tailsa come pick him up.
Tailsa wanted to, but it was late, her dad wouldn't let her out, and waking James up felt unnecessary.
Besides, Amanda was very well-spoken and claimed to be a widow with a child, which reassured Tailsa.
They ended up talking for hours about James and his antics at school.
Hearing that James had recognized Amanda as a sister didn't bother her much at first.
But now, hearing him emphasize it felt like he was downplaying her concerns.
It made her furious.
"How many 'sisters' do you have, James?"
"Just this one," he replied.
"And how many 'little sisters'?"
"None."
"Good. I've screenshotted this. If I find another 'sister' or 'little sister,' I'll print this conversation as a banner and hang it outside your house."
James could feel the fury radiating from her message. He immediately launched into sweet talk.
"Baby, no matter what, you'll always be my number one."
"Hmph."
"Don't be mad. How about I take you to pick up your car tomorrow?"
Thinking about driving her new Porsche tomorrow, Tailsa's anger subsided.
"What are you doing today?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
"I'm taking my niece to the mall," James answered honestly.
"..."
Tailsa gritted her teeth in frustration.
Fine.
No sisters, no little sisters, but now there's a niece too.