Chad wasn’t a pro at Factors, but he knew enough to make assumptions. By the time he’d met Cherry in his former timeline, he’d seen and experienced a few Factors to have got the gist on how many of them worked, and Cherry had gone on to teach him a lot more.
Now that he thought about it, it made sense that she knew so much about them given this research. He still couldn’t understand why she hadn’t told him about this part of her life, though. She’d told him many times that she would open up once she was ready… but that time never came.
Still though, the world of Factors was a truly vast one, and his limited knowledge meant any bluffs he could pull were somewhat doomed to fail. It was purely luck that he’d guessed the reason behind this man’s abnormal strength.
While the concept of him using the Wind Factor that well made sense, it was hard to imagine him being disciplined enough to pull it off to that degree of efficiency. So, he must have had help.
Sadly for Brian, he hadn’t taken enough Strength Potions to compete with Chad when the Expansion Factor had come this far.
“How…” Brian muttered.
“Your confidence is all over the place,” Chad sighed, “And to be honest, your lust for money can only mean you want to buy more. How much was the first one you took? 200k?”
“Five hundred…” Brian said quietly, “I haven’t paid it back in full yet.”
“So, what? You wanted to use Cherry to pay it back?” Chad scoffed.
“He’s lying,” Bree cut them off, “He paid them off already. I’m guessing he wants money to buy more. There is an addiction that comes with consuming a Factor that’s not yours.”
Chad narrowed his eyes at the man, and watched the pretentious facade break in real-time. ‘Despicable!’
Brian let out a chuckle, “I hired you to keep this oaf in line, and now you’re competent?”
“Your plan crumbled the instant Chad started talking to Cherry,” Bree countered, “I am curious, though. What made you think Chad was such a threat?”
No one noticed Cherry turning red at the statement. Brian scoffed, “That doesn’t matter now, does it? You’ve got me… and you have leverage, so what do you want?”
“Hmm…” Chad groaned. Brian wasn’t the kind of person to give up, really.
‘Was this the guy that made your life before me, hell, Cherry?’ he thought to himself. He remembered dates with the depressed redhead. Cherry had suffered a major failure in the industry and her private life had also fallen apart due to an abusive relationship.
She’d broken up with the man, but whatever he’d done to her was so traumatic that she never revisited it. Chad made his own deductions, from how much she was afraid of small rooms at first, to the way she recoiled just a bit when he touched her.
There were a lot of signs, and he’d worn them down in about three years. Still, it was the kind of trauma that he’d promised he would get revenge for. The only difference was that Brian hadn’t done anything yet… and from the man’s expression, Chad could tell he was still planning to do more.
“I want you dead,” Chad said calmly.
Brian’s smile fell, “I didn’t know you were one for jokes…”
“I wonder if you heal as well as I do,” Chad cut him, looking at his nails indifferently, “Perhaps disfiguring your face would be good enough… No, better to put you in a coma.”
“Cherry, what’s your new boyfriend talking about?” Brian lashed out. Cherry’s face was equally surprised.
She stepped between the two men when she noticed Chad was about to stand up. Looking in his eyes, she saw nothing but anger. It was bottomless. He wasn’t joking.
“Chad…” she started. His anger seemed to dissipate, but only momentarily as though she was the only reason it didn't come gushing out again, “Are you okay?”
“No… but I will be once I figure out how close I can bring him to death’s door,” he answered, “He’s clearly planning to pull some other sort of nonsense, so better to be done with him.”
“What makes you so sure I won’t keep my word?” Brian interjected, a hint of panic in his voice.
“Because I’ve already told you what I want and now you’re pretending you didn’t hear. You’re not ready to negotiate. You just want me to release you so you can put your next vile plans into motion, so why don’t I help you meet your maker?” Cherry had to physically hold Chad back to keep him from following through with his obnoxious plan.
Logic was rapidly disintegrating. What could they do? Involving legal systems would just be another way for Brian to find loopholes that would most likely end up with all of them in prison.
“You didn’t say anything, thou…ngh…” his words were cut off by a band of cloth going right over his head and into his mouth, effectively gagging him.
Bree had stepped forward and intervened, “Let’s talk about this in the kitchen.”
With a sigh, Chad agreed. They left Brian in the sofa and went to the kitchen. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he was engulfed in a hug. Bree didn’t care that she was hugging him in front of Cherry or that Brian could see them if he appealed to his lacklustre flexibility.
Chad hugged her back, and resisted the urge to touch her inappropriately. He was already getting a premium feel of bosom, and he was sure she was aware of this, but that was not the point of her comforting embrace.
He could breathe… His anger faded to the background, and he remembered Bree's request to not be abandoned. It seemed she was serious about it… and frankly, Chad was okay with her so far.
“He did terrible things to Cherry, didn’t he?” she whispered.
Cherry, who had resigned to sitting in a chair beside them, was shocked by the girl’s deduction… and even more shocked by Chad’s responding nod. Only now was she realising that his anger was coming from two timelines.
“I hate his kind. The kind that won’t give up until they’re satisfied with their victim’s downfall…” Chad whispered, “I could think of nothing more suited for punishment than his death.”
In the silence that followed, Bree’s eyes cracked open, an idea shining through them, “Then perhaps the threat of death would be the next best thing.”
Cherry liked the look in her eye, but not the suspense she was holding, “Well then, don’t leave us hanging.”
Author's Note: Hehehe... Surrounded by two buxom girls. Why am I jealous of my own character?
Bonus images in illustrated chapter.