WHEN THEY ALL LAUNCHED I BECAME THEIR GOD

Chapter 9

Hearing what Darlington just said, Maxwell knew immediately what was happening. Without being told, he understood that Darlington wanted to mock him at this moment. Darlington wanted to rub salt in the wound, to humiliate him in front of the entire family by pointing out that he'd brought some random woman to a critical family meeting.

Maxwell wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. He wasn't going to give Darlington any room to laugh at him or make him look foolish or call Megan a spy.

So he gestured toward Megan with a confident smile. 

“She's my girlfriend. My wife-to-be, actually.”

The entire chamber went silent. Eyes turned to stare at Megan, then back at Maxwell. Even the patriarch was looking at him with those sharp, calculating eyes, waiting for an explanation.

Maxwell's smile widened. 

“Let me cut the story short for everyone here. She's an awakener. Not just an ordinary awakener she's special.” He paused for effect. 

“She has the ability to boost other people's powers. Yes, she can amplify anyone's abilities. Permanently.”

Gasps and whispers erupted around the chamber.

“An amplification ability?”

“Those are incredibly rare—”

“If that's true, then—”

Maxwell raised his voice slightly to be heard over the murmurs. 

“She's very, very special. And I'm sure that in no time at all, I'm going to hit level twenty in my acupuncture techniques. I'm going to reach that milestone very soon because of her.” He looked directly at Darlington. 

“You know what that means, don't you, cousin?”

Darlington's jaw tightened. His hands clenched at his sides. He couldn't believe it couldn't believe that Maxwell had gotten his hands on something Darlington himself had been searching for, had been waiting for all his life.

Level twenty in acupuncture techniques was the threshold that separated masters from true experts. It was the point where your understanding became so refined that you could perform techniques others thought impossible. Darlington had reached that level six months ago after years of intensive training and study. He'd been the youngest in the family to achieve it in two generations.

And Maxwell—Maxwell had been stuck at level eighteen for the past year. Darlington knew his cousin had been doing everything possible to break through that barrier, to reach the same height Darlington had achieved. But he hadn't been able to do it.

Until now.

If what Maxwell said was true, if this woman really could amplify abilities, then Maxwell would reach level twenty soon. Maybe even surpass Darlington entirely.

That thought made something cold and ugly twist in Darlington's stomach.

Maxwell saw the look on his cousin's face and smiled wider. He walked closer to Darlington, closing the distance between them until he was right beside him. Then he reached out and tapped Darlington's shoulder, his voice dropping to a mock-whisper that everyone could still hear.

“Now you understand, don't you?” Maxwell's smile was sharp as a knife. “Watch out, cousin. I'll be above you very soon. I'm going to become number one.”

He didn't wait for a response. Just turned on his heel and walked toward the exit, his footsteps echoing confidently across the marble floor.

Megan hurried after him, her heels clicking as she tried to keep pace.

They made it outside, down the steps, and into Maxwell's car before either of them spoke. Maxwell slid into the driver's seat and sat there for a moment, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Then he let out a long breath and turned to Megan. 

“I need to apologize for how our journey got cut short. Yes, I need to apologize for that.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. 

“But you were great in there. This is a huge opportunity for us for me especially. And once I'm done with this God of Acupuncture situation, we'll definitely take that vacation we planned. We'll definitely do it.”

Megan nodded, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

Maxwell noticed. He studied her face more carefully, seeing the way she seemed... distant. Off. The mood in the car felt wrong somehow.

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

“Why are you suddenly so quiet? Is it because of what happened inside?” He waved a dismissive hand. 

“If that's the case, you have nothing to worry about. That's just a normal day in our family life. Just normal power struggles. That's all it is.”

Megan forced a smile. “No, that's not it. I'm not worried about that.” She shook her head. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm fine.”

But she wasn't fine.

Deep down, in a place she didn't want to examine too closely, Megan could tell that something was terribly wrong with her. It was the same feeling she'd had since leaving that warehouse where they'd beaten Damian. That hollow sensation in her chest, like something had been carved out of her.

Her power the amplification ability she'd just awakened felt like it had disappeared.

She couldn't sense it anymore. Couldn't feel that warm pulse of energy that had surged through her when she'd first awakened. 

Megan's mind was racing as Maxwell started the car and pulled away from the mansion. She stared out the window, her thoughts spinning in desperate circles.

"I seriously need to understand what's happening," she thought, panic rising in her chest. 

"This ability this power is the only reason I was able to get my hands on Maxwell. This is the only reason he's even considering me, the only reason he wants to marry me."

Her fingers twisted together in her lap.

"If we were married already, it would be a different situation. Yes, it would be completely different. Even if he asked for a divorce later, I could have gotten something out of it. Money, connections, a settlement. But now..."

She swallowed hard.

"That good-for-nothing bastard Damian is dead." The thought came automatically, the way she'd been training herself to think about him. "That good-for-nothing bastard is dead, and somehow I've lost my power."

Her breath caught.

She was the first person she'd ever heard of who lost their awakened ability. She'd never heard of something like that happening before. Abilities didn't just disappear. They grew stronger with training, yes, or sometimes evolved into different forms. But vanish completely? That wasn't supposed to be possible.

"What if Maxwell finds out? What if he realizes I can't boost his abilities anymore?"

The thought made her stomach twist with fear.

Maxwell's voice broke through her spiraling thoughts. 

“Don't worry. Everything is going to be all right.” He glanced over at her, concern flickering across his face. “You're not thinking about that good-for-nothing bastard you were married to, are you? The one who should be dead by now?”

Megan forced herself to shake her head quickly. 

“No. No, I'm not thinking about that bastard at all. I'm not thinking about him.” She managed what she hoped was a convincing smile. “Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine.”

But inside, her thoughts continued to churn.

"Maybe I'm misunderstanding it," she told herself desperately. "Maybe my power is still there, but it's just... quiet now. Dormant. Maybe being calm is one of the properties of this ability, one of its elements. Who knows? This might be normal. It might come back."

She clung to that hope like a lifeline, even though deep down she knew it felt wrong. The absence where her power used to be wasn't quiet or calm it was empty. Hollow. Like something had been ripped out of her chest and left a void behind.

At that moment her phone buzzed in her purse, the vibration loud in the quiet car.

Immediately the sound jolted her out of her spiraling thoughts. Grateful for the distraction, she pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen.

Derek. Her brother.

"Of course he's calling," she thought with a flash of irritation. "He's probably going to ask about the house again, or complain about something else."