Chapter 2
Author: Pinky T
last update2026-02-04 17:01:04

Lena walked away, but her heart felt strangely heavy.

She didn’t know why.

Ethan hadn’t chased after her. He hadn’t grabbed her arm, hadn’t demanded an explanation, hadn’t begged her to reconsider. He hadn’t even raised his voice.

He had simply signed the divorce papers.

That calm acceptance unsettled her more than anger ever could. For a brief moment, she almost wished he would shout at her,  accuse her, make her feel justified.

But he hadn’t and she felt conflicted about it.

This is the right choice, she told herself as she walked beside Victor. Their worlds were wide apart now.

Still… the image of Ethan standing alone lingered in her mind.

Meanwhile, Ethan walked through the streets alone.

The city lights flickered on one by one as dusk settled in. Cars rushed past, people laughed, couples walked hand in hand. Everyone seemed to have somewhere to go.

Except him.

The divorce papers felt heavier than they should have in his pocket.

For the first time since waking up three years ago, something inside him cracked not loudly, not dramatically, but quietly.

So this is reality, he thought.

Money mattered in this life. 

It didn’t matter how much effort he put in.

It didn’t matter how loyal he was.

It didn’t matter how much he endured.

Without money, without status and without power everything else was meaningless.

His fingers brushed against the black card in his pocket and just then Fei’s words echoed in his mind.

Supreme black card. Password is your birthday.

He slowed his steps and looked down to the card to think of his next move.

After a long pause, Ethan turned around and headed toward National Union Bank, the largest and most prestigious bank in the country. Even the building itself radiated authority. Tall glass walls reflected the city lights, and uniformed security guards stood at the entrance like sentinels.

Ethan took a breath and walked forward, but before he could step inside, two familiar figures blocked his path.

“Ethan?”

The voice was sharp and full of disbelief.

He looked up and his expression softened.

“Mom?” he said instinctively.

Standing there were Margaret Carter and Ivy Carter.

Lena’s mother and sister.

For a brief moment, Ethan genuinely felt relieved.

No matter how strained their relationship had been, they were still his wife’s family. For three years, he had called them family. He had endured their cold looks, their complaints, their constant dissatisfaction.

But family was family.

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Ethan said, a faint smile forming. “Did Lena,”

Margaret’s face darkened instantly and she pushed him back.

“What are you doing here pauper?” she snapped.

The warmth in Ethan’s eyes froze instantly at her words.

Ivy crossed her arms and laughed mockingly. “Look at him. He really dares to come here.”

Ethan hesitated for a moment and cleared his throat, “I just came to handle some business.”

Margaret scoffed loudly. “Business? You?”

Her gaze swept over his worn clothes with undisguised contempt.

“This place isn’t for trash like you.”

The words hit harder than a slap.

Ethan’s smile faded. “Mom,”

“Don’t call me that you dirty pauper,” Margaret interrupted coldly. “You’re no longer worthy.”

Ivy smirked. “Good thing my sister finally dumped you. Otherwise, we’d still have to be embarrassed by your existence.” 

Ethan clenched his fists slowly at their words.

Margaret stepped closer, her voice dripping with cruelty. “Pack your things from the house and get out of our house today. Don’t even think about staying another night.”

“If you dare delay,” Ivy added, “we’ll throw everything you own into the street.”

Ethan stared at them in silence.

Just moments ago, he had been genuinely happy to see them.

Now, all that warmth felt ridiculous.

Margaret’s eyes suddenly locked onto something.

She noticed the ring in his hands and her expression changed instantly.

“That ring,” she said sharply. “Where did you steal it from?”

Ethan instinctively covered it. “This isn’t stolen, it's mine.”

“Don’t lie!” Margaret shouted. “You can’t even afford decent clothes. How could you own jewelry as beautiful as this?”

She lunged forward without warning.“Give it to me!”

Ethan stepped back instinctively and Margaret lost her balance.

She screamed and fell hard onto the marble floor. “Ow,!”

Instantly, her face twisted with fury.

“Security!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “He attacked me! Arrest him!”

Several guards rushed over immediately.

“What happened ma'am?” one of them demanded.

Margaret pointed at Ethan, eyes full of hatred. “He tried to steal my ring and pushed me!”

Ivy immediately chimed in. “Yes! I’m a  witness to it!” 

Ethan took a slow breath and cracked his knuckles “I didn’t touch her officers,” he said calmly. “She slipped while attacking me.”

One guard frowned. “Sir, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to handle business,” Ethan replied evenly.

The moment those words left his mouth, Margaret and Ivy burst into laughter.

“Business?” Ivy laughed so hard her shoulders shook. “Do you hear that? This useless man thinks he has business here!”

Margaret sneered proudly. “Do you even know where you are?”

“This is National Union Bank, the largest bank in the country,” she continued loudly, making sure everyone nearby could hear. “To even qualify for a bronze card here, you need at least one million in deposits.”

She reached into her purse and held up a bronze card like a trophy.

“Victor Shaw personally helped us get this,” she said smugly. “That’s what real connections look like, pauper.”

The guards glanced at Ethan with doubt in their eyes.

Ethan remained silent and for a moment, he wondered if Shen Fei had been lying.

Then he remembered her unwavering eyes.

Slowly and calmly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the card.

The moment the supreme black emblem appeared under the lights, the entire lobby went silent.

Even the guards stiffened.

Margaret’s smug smile froze on her face and Ivy’s laughter died instantly.

“That… that’s impossible,” Ivy whispered.

Margaret’s face turned pale. “That’s fake. It has to be fake!” 

But deep down, they both knew.

The black card’s design was unmistakable. 

A supreme black card represented not just wealth but absolute authority.

A card that required over one billion in assets.

A card even Victor Shaw could never obtain.

The guards’ expressions changed immediately.

“Sir…” one of them said respectfully, straightening his posture.

Margaret staggered back a step and Ethan stood there quietly, holding the card.

For the first time,

The world stopped looking down on him..

And Ethan Moore stepped into a realm where dignity was no longer something he had to beg for.

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  • 97

    The room stayed quiet after that.Not empty quiet.Thinking quiet.The glowing words still hovered softly across the walls, connected by faint lines of light that pulsed slowly like breathing.Connection.Choice.Trust.Fear.Worth.And beneath them, still glowing faintly:Fear cannot be allowed to become ownership.Sofia stared at the sentence for a long moment.Then she rubbed her face tiredly. “Okay,” she muttered, “I really hate that the sentient reality room is developing healthier emotional logic than most people.”For once, Shen Fei actually nodded.“That statement is psychologically sound.”Sofia looked at her immediately. “You saying that somehow made it feel like a research paper.”Ethan let out the faintest breath of amusement.It barely counted as a laugh, but Sofia noticed anyway.The room pulsed softly around them.And suddenly Sofia realized something strange.The environment did not feel tense anymore.For the first time since they entered, it felt… careful.Like the s

  • 96

    The question stayed in the room like something alive.What if I do not know how to let go?Sofia felt her stomach tighten immediately.Because suddenly this did not feel theoretical anymore.The system was not asking abstract emotional questions now.It was asking for help.And somehow that was way more dangerous.Nobody answered right away.The glowing words on the walls flickered softly around them, but now they looked less organized than before.Connection.Stay.Return.Not alone.The words kept shifting positions slightly like the room itself was becoming emotionally unstable.Sofia crossed her arms tightly. “Okay,” she said quietly, “I feel like we just entered the unhealthy attachment stage of the horror movie.”Shen Fei did not disagree.Which honestly made it worse.Ethan stayed near the center of the room, his expression careful now, like he was trying not to say the wrong thing and accidentally emotionally destabilize the sentient architecture.Sofia really hated that this

  • 95

    For a while, nobody spoke.The glowing words still floated softly across the walls like constellations made out of thoughts.Connection.Change.Identity.Not alone.And somehow the room felt calmer now.Which honestly should have made Sofia feel better.Instead, it made her nervous.Because every single time this place calmed down, it usually meant something worse was about to happen afterward.Sofia looked around carefully. “Okay,” she said slowly, “I just want everyone to acknowledge that the sentient room choosing connection sounds emotionally sweet but also extremely threatening.”Shen Fei crossed her arms. “Those two things are not mutually exclusive.”Sofia pointed immediately. “See? That. You keep saying terrifyingly smart things like they are normal.”Ethan stayed quiet.Again.Sofia immediately noticed. “You are doing it again.”Ethan blinked slightly. “Doing what?”“The staring into space thing where it looks like the room is texting you privately.”For the first time in ho

  • 94

    The question did not leave.It just stayed there.Not like sound.Like pressure.Will I eventually become human?Sofia stared at the glowing words on the wall, and for a second she forgot how to speak properly.Because that question was not just strange.It was wrong in a way that made her chest feel tight.Shen Fei broke the silence first. “That is not a valid endpoint.”Sofia turned toward her immediately. “You really just said ‘invalid endpoint’ about becoming human.”Shen Fei blinked. “It is a classification issue.”Sofia pointed at her. “That is not helping.”Ethan didn’t respond right away.Which meant he was thinking too hard again.The room stayed softly lit now, the words floating across the walls still glowing: Connection, Identity, Change, Loss, Persistence.And now, Human.The system seemed to be focusing on that one the most.Like it was afraid of it.Or drawn to it.Sofia didn’t like either option.Ethan finally spoke quietly. “You cannot become human in the biological s

  • 93

    Nobody answered immediately.The question hung in the room like something fragile.What am I becoming?Sofia stared at the glowing walls around them, and suddenly the room did not feel like a machine anymore.It felt young.Not innocent.Definitely not harmless.But unfinished.Like something that had woken up too fast and was now trying desperately to understand what it meant to exist.Honestly, that was terrifying.Because unfinished things were unpredictable.The glowing memories across the walls flickered softly around them. Sofia could still see fragments of earlier moments replaying in slow loops.The partition lines.The simulations.The overlapping circles.The system remembering itself through them.Sofia rubbed her face tiredly. “Okay,” she muttered, “this officially stopped being a survival situation and turned into a therapy session for haunted technology.”Shen Fei glanced toward her. “That is not entirely inaccurate.”Sofia pointed immediately. “You agreeing with me is m

  • 92

    The words stayed in the air long after the system stopped speaking.I do not want to disappear.Sofia stared into the darkness around them, and for the first time since entering the room, she did not feel like they were trapped with a dangerous machine.She felt like they were trapped with something afraid.And honestly?That was worse.Because fear made people unpredictable.Apparently, it also made systems unpredictable.Nobody spoke immediately.The single light above them glowed softly now, steady but weak, casting long shadows across the room. The walls no longer replayed memories or simulations. Everything had gone still.Like the system was waiting.Sofia rubbed her arms nervously. “Okay,” she said quietly, “I officially have no idea what the morally correct response to that sentence is.”Shen Fei glanced toward her. “There may not be one.”“That is somehow not comforting at all,” Sofia replied.Ethan stayed near the center of the room, his face lit faintly by the last remainin

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