[Edward POV]
I woke up around 3 am after going straight to sleep when I got home last night. At first, I tried to fall asleep naturally, but I was tortured with some thoughts therefore I activated my [Rest] skill to help me.
When I was going downstairs to get a glass of water, I bumped into my father in the kitchen doing the same thing. He raised his glass at me and said awkwardly, "Oh, you decided to share a 'drink' with your dear old dad?"
"That old part is true." I said seriously, making him baffled. "And since you can only drink water from now on to the end of your life, I guess 'sharing a drink' here is accurate in context."
My dad let out a snort, a mixture of surprise and amusement evident on his face. I took a seat in front of him, holding my own cup of water. For a while, we sat in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Eventually, my dad broke the silence.
"I didn't mean to hide it from you," he said, his voice tinged with regret.
Quickly interrupting him, I reassured him, "You don't have to explain anything to me. I realized that I was just acting out earlier. Of course, you wouldn't want to tell me. No one wants to burden their family with bad news, especially when it was unconfirmed."
My dad's face fell into disappointment as my words sank in. He reached his hand out to gently rub my hair and said, "Still, I'm sorry. And you should act out more. Don't hold back your feelings. Don't–"
"Be like you?" I finished his sentence, my voice soft but filled with a mix of understanding and sadness. "It's too late now to change," I added as I sipped my drink.
"I'm locking up your liquor cabinet, and will be giving the cheaper ones to the people we know."
"What about the expensive ones?" he asked, confusion evident on his face, as he tried to ignore the bitter taste in his mouth.
"That's for me," I replied, a mischievous smile playing on my lips.
"What?!" he exclaimed, completely baffled by my response.
"For after I come of age, of course," I lied through my teeth, trying to maintain a serious expression. Despite the fib, my acting skills managed to trick my dad, at least for the moment.
"Also, this whole thing got me thinking." I brought up a new topic. "What will I do when, and I'm not wishing for it to happen. When, you…you know, left the world, a.k.a worm food, a.k.a went missing and not found, before I became an adult."
"That's a heavy topic to talk about." My dad joked to lighten the mood. "What do you have in mind?"
"I was thinking…" I hesitated for a bit, but realized that I had to go through with this, "About emancipation."
The color drained from my dad's face, leaving it pale and stricken. Despite his visible shock, he nodded, trying to pretend he was okay. His voice trembled as he spoke, the cracks revealing his vulnerability. "So, you don't want me as a dad?"
I rolled my eyes at him and stressed out, "AFTER. Not before. Just hire a trusted attorney to take care of it if it ever happens. Or else, I will be in a lot of trouble."
"Oh. Like…Batman?" My dad guessed.
"Exactly. Alfred takes care of Bruce's assets, preventing anyone from stealing them. I don't exactly need an Alfred, but in this scenario, since I am related to Batman, having a butler doesn't sound so bad," I said with an intrigued glint in my eyes, playing along with the reference.
My dad shuddered for a moment, then let out a laugh. With a mock-serious tone, he replied, "You're not going to hire someone to shoot me behind a bowling alley just so you can become Batman, right?"
"Bowling? Shouldn't it be a theater? But… if that is what it takes to bring the world the caped crusader, then rest assured, your heroic act won't ever be forgotten by the citizens of Los Angeles."
My dad stood up as he went to wash his empty glass, playfully smacked the back of my head, a mischievous grin on his face. He scoffed and jokingly remarked, "If there's any comic book character you'll be, it's the Joker."
Rubbing the spot where he had smacked me, I pretended to be offended. "Hey now, I think I can be a hero too, not just a villain," I protested, trying to maintain a straight face.
My dad, taking on the role of a wise mentor, continued with a playful tone. "Before you become a villain, I guess I should be the guiding character to help you stay on the right path. Well, Young Padawan, just remember, 'With great powers...'" He paused, expecting me to complete the quote.
However, I decided to surprise him with a twist. "Comes great responsibility. With that, comes even greater sacrifice," I finished the sentence, deviating from his expectations.
My dad's eyes widened in astonishment as he processed my response. "Is that what the full quote is?"
I nodded as confirmation. He then said, "Then, forget about that. You have already sacrificed enough when you're younger. Just be selfish. Be a villain if you want. I won't even care. I will support you no matter what… Darth Prankious."
The warm feeling inside me disappeared when I heard the nickname. "Did Alex tell you about that?" I asked with dissatisfaction.
"Tell me what?" My dad acted dumb.
"Alright, I'm going to sleep." I stood up in irritation before I walked to my room. "Good night."
"Wait. Ed." My dad stopped me. "Even though I couldn't be there, I watched your game the moment I got back from the hospital. You played really really well. I'm proud of you. I never knew that you had it in you. When you're younger, you usually get scared when the ball is flying at you, but I guess you'd outgrown that."
My face blushed a bit and I emphasized, "Yeah. I was 4 years old back then. Of course I'm going to be scared."
He laughed and said, "I promise that I won't miss your next game."
I shrugged, trying to maintain my façade of indifference. "I don't care," I replied, attempting to brush off his comment. Unbeknownst to me, however, a small smile tugged at the corners of my lips, betraying my true feelings.
…
After getting in my room, I couldn't fall asleep anymore so I decided to play some games. I put on my headphones and played DOTA. Not surprisingly, Abraham was up all night from playing the game, so we played together.
"I need DOTA 2." I sighed after winning the match easily. "Robin, how's the progress for the Unreal Engine 4 going?" I asked my AI as I waited for my next match.
"I had studied the entire program, and the progress of advancement is stuck at 44% as I have insufficient data about lighting and material reflection."
I instructed Robin, "Send an email to the Game Division manager with the parameters you need. Oh, but wait until after the weekend. We shouldn't bother him outside of working hours."
Robin informed me, "He's still at the workplace, trying to finish up the Angry Birds games."
Surprised by this dedication, I found myself distracted as a Nerubian Assassin attempted to sneak up on my Skeleton Mage character. However, relying on my parallel thinking, I quickly foiled the sneak attack.
Refocusing on the conversation, I instructed Robin, "Tell him to stop and go home. He has a daughter and a beautiful wife. You can handle finishing up the game, right?"
Robin reassured me, "Since the game is nearly complete, it won't strain my processing capabilities. However, for future commands, I'll need an overall hardware upgrade to meet the demands."
I responded with a smile, "Don't worry, Robin. When my order arrives, I'll spend some time building interesting tech for you. Believe it or not, I got it from the future where humans have already achieved interstellar travel."
Robin replied innocently, "I'll always believe in you Sir."
As I chuckled at Robin's response, I decided to wrap up my Dota session. It was already approaching 5 am, and I planned to get some rest before starting my busy Sunday.
Before calling it a night, I took a moment to check on a newly released music video that I had been involved in.
To my delight, I discovered that the music video was already garnering significant attention. It had reached an impressive milestone of 20 million views within just one day. I couldn't help but attribute a portion of its success to my skills in media manipulation, which had helped generate buzz and drive engagement.
Furthermore, as I perused the comments section, I was pleased to find that the overall response was overwhelmingly positive and supportive. It was rewarding to see that the hard work and efforts put into the project had resonated well with the audience.
Some of the youtube comments made me chuckle and I was grateful for the support.
LilyFanClubLeader: I just realized Ed dumped Taylor for Taylor. (Laughing emoji)
DaddyTucker: The introduction made me feel like I was watching a drama– but better!
Replying to DaddyTucker: Yeah, especially the part where they were looking at each other. It attracted me immediately.
TexasGirl: Taylor! Come to Texas!
JaneRhonda: Taylor definitely read a lot of fanfiction.
JamesKurtis: It's amazing! Especially when you consider the fact that they made the music video themselves. Both of them are amazing artists!
As I continued reading through the overwhelmingly positive comments on the music video, a sense of skepticism began to creep in. It seemed unusual that there wasn't a single negative comment among the hundreds of comments I had read so far. Even in my previous music video, "Grenades," there had been a couple of negative comments amidst the positive ones.
Curiosity piqued, I turned to Robin, seeking an explanation for this anomaly. "Robin, did I ask you to do something regarding the comments on the video?" I asked, my confusion evident in my voice.
Robin responded, shedding light on the situation, "No, you didn't specifically ask me to do anything. However, devoted fan club members and Miss Taylor's fan club members have collaborated to moderate the comments section. They have been actively working together to remove excessively negative comments from the video."
It was heartening to know that my fans and Taylor's fans had taken it upon themselves to create a positive and supportive environment in the comments section. Their joint effort to remove excessive negativity showcased the strength and unity within our fan communities. Or, was this the part where future historians would refer to when our cult grew too big? I don't know, and I don't want to worry about it.
The sun had already come out. I went for a jog and did a morning workout before showering and getting ready for my radio interview today.
"Robin, search the RIOT games database and find out if they have any records on League of Legends? I swear they are going to release it soon, but there's no news about it." I asked as I was buttoning my shirt.
Some bandages could be seen underneath my shirt as I had put some ointment on the bruises I received from the football match yesterday.
As I prepared for the day, I carefully selected my outfit. I opted for a loose beige shirt, appreciating its casual yet stylish appeal. I tucked the front of the shirt into my black pleated trousers. The combination of beige and black created a sleek contrast that exuded a sense of sophistication.
Robin replied as I was getting ready, "RIOT games is currently having some financial difficulties. They are optimistic about the game, but it would be hard for them to finalize it."
"Are they searching for investors?" I asked.
"Not yet. However, it was mentioned in the company meeting." Robin replied.
"Oh boy, privacy is just a thin piece of paper for me to pierce isn't it?" I joked to myself. "Let Harvey contact Marc to set up a meeting. I am prepared to let loose some money to buy the company if they want to sell it. Of course, using Musk's method to buy Twitter."
By staking out his shares in Tesla, Musk would be able to secure the necessary funds to acquire Twitter.
This approach allows him to participate in a potential acquisition without requiring a direct cash outlay from his own pocket. That would save me a lot of tax money if I decided to buy a company. The method was highly praised by Harvey after I told about it.
However, my current reputation and company value was growing. Instagram was valued at 400 million dollars recently, and my gaming industry where I had released Flappy Bird, Kwazy Kupcakes– which was a Candy Crush parallel world counterpart, and a few mini games was valued barely at 100 million dollars. Until the era of 4G communication comes, and the smart phone uses become widespread, it'll stay that way for a while.
If I added Entertain and my dad's current tourism company into the fray– A company that is currently venturing into high end Airbnb ventures and food services, I am a man worth more than a billion dollars.
"Too bad that's only the 'worth'. My finances are almost in the red right now." I chuckled to myself as I knew I was joking while posing in front of the full body mirror.
With Robin, I could steal 1 dollar from every bank account on the planet, or empty out some CEO tax evaders hidden stash without them even knowing it. I just didn't do it because I still have morale.
Legally, with my acquisition of Netflix and re-contracting some show's license for me to broadcast it longer, and making it almost impossible for the company who owns the show to pull it out of the platform without forking out a huge penalty and a long trial process. This way, I won't lose some of the good shows during the 'golden age' of streaming.
So, I had little cash flow to venture into a new business opportunity right now. "But, I have my grandma. I'm sure she'll be glad if I stake my company's shares for her in exchange for some cash flow." I told Robin.
"Your grandmother in Wisconsin Sir?" Robin asked. "She barely has 10 thousand in her bank account."
"Well her assets are mostly in land and gold. No. My other grandma. Eve Saltzman. She is listed as Sugar Grandma in my contact list. That reminds me, she wants to meet me for dinner today. Get the details from her. Thank you Robin."
To complete my ensemble, I reached for my favorite orange tinted pair of sunglasses. As I chose a Rolex watch, I walked towards the kitchen where I met my aunt there.
"Hey." I greeted casually. Before I could say anything else, she grabbed me by the shoulder and asked anxiously, "Is your father dying?"
"Yeah." I replied nonchalantly. She didn't realize my tone and was shaking. She mumbled, "I need to tell Miranda, and make her come home–"
"What!? NO!" I interrupted her quickly. It was my turn to be anxious. I reassured her with a hurried tone, "My dad isn't dying. But there's a problem with his liver. He just needs to change his diet and he'll be fine."
After explaining the situation to my aunt and taking the time to calm her down, I noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes as she uttered something unusual, "Thank god. I can't afford to lose any more of my family members."
"What was that?" I asked her with suspicion.
"Nothing." She shook her head while denying she had said something. I made breakfast for her and my dad who was sleeping in as he slept late last night before walking towards the house next door.
However, no one opened the door after I rang the doorbell and knocked on it for a while. I was confused therefore I called Taylor.
"Oh yeah. I meant to call you. The radio interview was an hour ago." Taylor said with a chuckle. "I remembered you're too tired and bruised up, so I talked to the host about it and went alone."
"You're the one who talked to him?" I asked as I called her out. Knowing her, there's no way she could pull this out by herself despite feeling a bit warm inside.
"Well I asked Harvey, and my new assistant did it." Taylor replied hesistantly.
"Oh, Rachel Mcadd- Becky. She's finally your assistant huh?" I said with a comforting tone. Then, I changed to my dejected tone, "If you wanted me to rest, you should've just told me. I've been up since 4 am."
"WHAT?! NO! I'm SORRY!" Taylor apologized quickly. I laughed at her reaction and then I suddenly heard some noise coming from the inside of her house.
"Is there someone inside your house?" I asked.
"Well Selena is there. But I don't think she has woken up yet. Why don't you use your spare key to get inside? She has to be at the film set this afternoon, so wake her up." Taylor said. "Oh, and don't let her mother pick her up. They are in a fight, that's why she's staying with me."
I was confused, "I don't have a spare key?"
"Ah. I left it at your home. It's a pink key." Taylor replied.
I walked back to my house while still on the phone with Taylor. I asked her about how the interview went, and she said that it went pretty well. The fans were calling all morning to talk to her about the new song, and most questions were basically about the two of us.
After I returned back to her house, she had to cut the call because she was having another interview with another radio show host. Thankfully, all of it was in the same building. When finished with the radio interviews, she would be entering talk shows to promote her new song. She would only be back home late at night.
"You just need to rest today. Leave it all to me." She said confidently. I chuckled and said, "Of course. I'll leave it all to you, and will make sure to record the talk shows to watch together later."
Taylor turned shy and she said, "Wait. No! Watch it first! I don't want to see it!"
Her reaction made me wonder what she had actually talked about in the show. But, I just shrugged the thought and decided to listen to her interviews at lunch. If I was bored, then I could just ask Robin to type out the transcript and read it quickly instead of watching it.
When I entered the house, I shouted, "Selena. Make sure you're decent. I'm inside the house. Or you can still go topless. Your choice."
Somebody threw a plush pillow at my face from the living room after I shouted that. I avoided it and chuckled before walking towards the girl lying down on the sofa.
She has puffy eyes and tear marks on the side of her eye. I was concerned and I asked, "What's wrong? You didn't even get up to open the door when I knocked."
She looked at me with a complicated expression and said, "It's all your fault. My test results came back! I got lupus!"
I was taken aback by the accusation, and before I could react, Selena grabbed my shirt with a shaky hand and said, "I'm sorry. You were trying to help."
She lowered her head before she started crying. I hugged her sideways to comfort her and listened to her emotional outburst for a while.
"Well, it has no cure…For now." I replied to her question while rubbing my hand on her shoulder. "But we don't know what's going to happen in the future."
She hesitated to nod, and then she looked at me while I was still comforting her.
"?" I looked at her face, and before I could say anything, Selena leaned in and kissed me on the lip.