That afternoon, I arrived home feeling happy and the luckiest girl in the world. I was fortunate to have Maya and Vin, and now Thunder in my life. My heart had forgotten how to feel happy when I first came to this world, but now, I feel lucky.
I wished for tomorrow to come and see Thunder again. The memory of his smile and dimples and his kisses still lingered in my head.
"Miss, would you like something for dinner?"
This little maid was always afraid of asking me anything, but she was the only one who attended to my needs or inquired about me.
She would even call me when it was late at night to check out on me. I don't know what I did to make such a cute girl like her care for me so much. I felt so grateful.
"Yes, Hannah, I would love to. Please bring it to my room."
I showed her my most sincere smile.
"Yes, Miss, I prepared all your favorites."
Hannah was smiling much more now. A few days ago, she wouldn't even dare to look me in the eye, even less, smile for me. Now she was different. I felt glad that I showed my appreciation for her. She was also one of the people who I cared for the most.
I went inside my room and changed from my uniform. Then I turned on my computer quickly and surprise, surprise... Vin was already online, messaging me.
[Storm: Hey disciple, what's up?]
[DangerousCloud: Master! Great news.]
[Storm: shoot…]
[DangerousCloud: the seventh hackathon of AI-THRONE is open now. Should we give it a try?]
[Storm: Why? Good money?]
[DangerousCloud: Yep, ... a million for the first place and half a million for the second.]
[Storm: Do you think we could win?]
[DangerousCloud: Yes! With your skills Master, we will obliterate them.]
I could feel my eyes brighten in interest. For so long, I wished for a chance like this to come.
This contest will help me continue with my plans, after all, I needed money, lots of money, as my dear family controlled every cent in my pocket. If I wanted to leave this damn family one day, I had to start working.
However, I had no plans to use the Lind family financing for long, though, it was not that much. And the little hacking jobs I took were not that profitable.
Also, I didn't want to attract too much attention and cause havoc in the online world... for now. Thus, I had to be low-key to accomplish my goals.
However, this contest will help me establish myself and make some more money.
[Storm: How do we sign up?]
[DangerousCloud: I can do it for you, Master, don't worry.]
[Storm: Alright.]
[DangerousCloud: Great! I will text you the details.]
Then, I heard someone knocking on the door and I closed the chatroom quickly.
"Come in."
Hannah entered and placed a few dishes with delicious food on the table near the window. Yes, she was the best, she got them all right to my preferences.
However, I noticed her anxiousness as she kept stealing little glances at me and playing with her hands.
"What is it, Hannah?"
"Miss... Miss, the rest of the family may not come back today... They went to the Evans Family Party."
"I know. Don't worry." I took one piece of soft bread without caring for the words.
However, Hanna kept looking at me carefully and with an anxious expression. I guess she was waiting for my usual banter, well, not mine but the original Eve's.
Eve always threw a tantrum when they left her in the house without telling her about the high-class parties. Hannah always tried to comfort her but ended up with some bruises and all the food splashed on the floor.
"It's okay, Hannah, don't worry."
"Yes, Miss."
I could see her still anxiously playing with her fingers. My dear Hannah, how much did you suffer at the hands of the original Eve? I promise I will compensate you and care for you.
I sat down to eat while looking at my phone which hadn't stopped ringing for a few minutes. My loyal disciple had already signed me up for the contest and texted me the rules for the next phase. They were quite interesting but not as hard as I imagined.
The competition would be taking place in about three months on a secret server at midnight, and they would explain the details that day. So secretive, but it is more interesting that way.
The prize of a million was tempting too. And the risk was even more, but I was willing to do anything for my future.
******
Later, that night...
I went to the coffee shop wearing my blonde short-haired wig and brown contacts. I looked stunning again with my white short dress and sneakers. Young, beautiful, and sexy.
Whoever looked at me would say that I put a lot of effort into my appearance. They will be correct. I wanted to look good in his eyes. I couldn't help but wish he arrived faster.
But...
The sound of the big clock on the wall was disturbing me. Many people had already come and gone and he was not here.
'He is late.'
I sent him several messages but there were no responses on my phone. Another hour passed, and he didn't arrive.
'Did he forget? Did something happen?'
I called him again but he didn't answer. My heart was beating fast. What if something happened to him? What if he met with an accident? He wouldn't stand me up for anything, right? I knew that he was not that kind of person.
In the end, I waited for the whole afternoon until late at night when the shop closed, and even after that, I stayed outside for another hour, but he didn't come. I wanted to hack and find out if someone like him had an accident on their way here, but there was nothing.
The next day, I sent him more messages, but he didn't respond. No answer, no signs, nothing.