Progression 3

He cleared a spot on the small table in his bedroom. 

Effie set the tray down—eggs, toast, fruit, and a cup of hot chocolate. 

"Let me fix something first." 

He clicked into his streaming tab and picked up where he left off. 

Effie took her seat across from him but didn't touch her food right away. 

Instead, she rested her chin on her hand and just watched him eat, while enjoying the show. 

Her lips curled into a small smile, absentmindedly. 

Terrence glanced at her from the corner of his eye and couldn't help but think she was at the peak of her honeymoon phase. 

She'd calm down eventually. For now, he'd go along with it

"You're not eating?" he asked, eyes still on the screen. 

"I will," she picked up a slice of toast. "Just watching you first." 

Between bites, he let out the occasional laugh at the show's over-the-top drama. 

She quietly chewed, eyes locked on him like he was the main character in her life.

"You really don't mind this stuff?" he asked, pointing at the screen with his fork. 

She shook her head. "Not really. It's your thing. I like seeing you happy." 

He glanced over. Her eyes didn't flinch. No sarcasm, no fake interest. Just admiration. 

It almost made him feel self-conscious. 

"You know you're like the dream girl for a shut-in," he muttered, half-joking. 

Effie bit her lips. "I only want to be your dream girl though." 

Terrence glanced at her, caught off guard for a second. 

Anime kept playing, but his attention was already on her. He set his fork down. 

"Don't tell me you want to do it again?" He let out a forced chuckle.

She licked her fingers, not even pretending to look innocent. "I want to eat something else,"

Without waiting for a response, she knelt on the floor beneath the table, her hands slowly unzipping his pants. 

She started sucking him, but a rapid succession of doorbells made her stop. 

Quickly, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand, then crawled out from under the table. 

Terrence stuffed his phone into his pocket and zipped back his pants. "Let's go," 

When they reached the first floor, the knocking stopped. But the tension in the air was there.

As expected, it was his relatives—uncles, aunts, cousins, and even his grandmother and grandfather.

Among them stood a man that was wearing a black suit—one of their family lawyers.

They looked angry, but he didn't back away. 

"Is this how you repay kindness? You stupid child!" his grandfather snapped. 

"How you treat me is how I'll treat you. So what is it? You here to yell at us for turning in Uncle, or are you here to actually talk?"

The rest of the family stood silent. They did not expect him to be this stubborn. 

"We didn't raise you to disrespect your family," Tiffany finally stepped forward. "Your uncle—" 

"Same words again? Aren't you tired of this?" he scoffed. "He's in jail because he deserved it. Period." 

"And let's be real," he continued. "You're not here for him. You're here because you think we turned him in to get his assets. You're trying to corner us, thinking we need his money."

"Well, take it then." He stepped aside, leaving the doorway open. 

"Go ahead. Strip the house, empty the accounts. If that's what you think matters right now, take it all. Just know it won't fix anything." 

"You...You ungrateful child…" His grandfather gritted his teeth in anger.

Meanwhile, all his relatives stared at him with disgust.

There was no saving this family now.

"Yeah, I'm an ungrateful piece of shit. Take everything—so I can finally cut all ties to this family." 

Just as the tension rose, the family attorney stepped forward. 

"Let's talk this out like civilized people," he said calmly. "The other side isn't fighting for the assets, so there's no need to escalate things." 

Terrence agreed. He didn't want to waste time on them. 

Inside the living room, the settlement began. 

The attorney already knew the marriage was fake, and even had a document signed by Effie confirming she agreed to it.

When everything was settled, they were given three days to move out. 

All the relatives left, staring at them like they were fools for agreeing to terms that clearly were against them. 

Little did they know, he didn't care about his uncle's assets.

He planned to become a multi-billionaire, so money like that didn't even matter.