Chapter 35
"No! I’m not leaving!"
Monica’s voice cracked, shrill and desperate. She had already realized she’d said the wrong thing, and regret flickered across her face—but it was too late.
She looked up pitifully at Leonard, her makeup smeared, her composure gone.
"Leonard... Mario was just confused for a moment. He didn’t mean it. I’ll go back and discipline him properly, I swear..."
"Monica!" Leonard shut his eyes tightly for a second, jaw clenched so hard the muscles stood out sharply beneath his skin.
"Don’t think I don’t know about you and Mario."
"I—" Monica froze. The blood drained from her face.
He knew? He actually knew?
Her grip on his leg loosened involuntarily, shock and guilt loosening her fingers.
Leonard stepped back immediately, pulling free.
He had no interest in arguing further. No desire to waste another breath on her.
With a small gesture toward Suzy, he said, "Open the door."
Suzy reacted instantly, fingers flying over the keypad.
Monica’s expression shifted rapidly—panic, calculation, then something almost stubborn and obsessive.
As if she had made up her mind about something, she lunged forward again.
"Leonard, fine—I admit this was wrong. But you can’t be this heartless! If I hadn’t saved you back then, you would’ve—"
"Would’ve died, right?" Leonard cut in coldly.
It was the first time he had looked at her and seen nothing but ugliness.
"Monica, you know very well that everything I’ve done for you this past year has more than repaid that debt."
Back then, the Lanetti family had been drowning in debt. Creditors had harassed them daily. They were on the verge of collapse.
Leonard had paid off every cent.
He had even helped stabilize their business.
When Monica’s cosmetic procedure went wrong and nearly killed her, it was Leonard who exhausted every connection, bringing in top specialists to pull her back from the brink.
Not to mention countless other matters, large and small.
If gratitude was a debt, he had repaid it—with interest.
But when there had still been affection in his heart, he had always felt it wasn’t enough.
He had wanted to give her more. He had cherished her like something fragile and precious.
And what had he received in return?
A brake line cut.
A near-fatal accident.
And Suzy almost paying the price for his blindness.
Even if Monica tried to wield that "life-saving favor" like a weapon again, Leonard would not soften.
Not anymore.
"Uncle, come inside," Suzy urged gently from the doorway. "Stop wasting words on her."
Leonard nodded and turned away.
Realizing there was no room left to maneuver, Monica collapsed onto the floor and screamed hoarsely:
"Leonard Kale! You can’t do this! You can’t be this ruthless! You’ll regret it! I won’t let you go!"
The door slammed shut.
Her shrieking was cut off abruptly.
Leonard immediately took out his phone and contacted property management.
Within minutes, security arrived and escorted Monica away.
He made it clear: she was never to be allowed into the building again.
Watching him handle everything so decisively filled Suzy with relief.
Good. This time, he was truly awake.
She poured him a glass of warm water and set it quietly in front of him.
Knowing he needed space, she didn’t linger. Instead, she went upstairs.
***
Back in her room, Suzy thought for a moment before sending Adam a message, briefly telling him that Monica had come to cause trouble.
The reply came not as text—but as a call.
She hesitated for two seconds before answering.
"Hello." Adam’s voice was low and cool on the other end.
"Adam," she said softly, "Monica came to the house just now."
"I figured," he replied.
"Uncle seems completely done with her this time. He didn’t even let her inside."
"Mm." His response was brief, almost indifferent. Her enthusiasm deflated slightly.
After a pause, she said, "That’s all I wanted to say."
She hadn’t really thought past that.
But Adam’s voice came again. "And you?"
She blinked. "What about me?"
"Are you feeling better?"
𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
The question caught her off guard.
"...Much better," she answered honestly.
If only her space would fully cooperate again, she’d feel even better.
"That’s good." And then he hung up.
Suzy stared at her phone, a little dazed.
That sudden concern from Adam felt... strange. But she quickly shook the thought away.
More pressing matters demanded her attention.
She tried once more to sense the space.
Still nothing.
Like it had vanished entirely.
With no other option, she distracted herself by browsing online.
News about extreme heat waves filled her screen. Temperatures breaking records. Infrastructure strained. Scientists issuing warnings.
Then she returned to the apocalypse forum.
The place truly was a treasure trove. So many practical survival posts. She saved several.
One new thread linked the extreme heat news and speculated—half-jokingly—whether the apocalypse was near.
Suzy’s fingers hovered over the keyboard.
She almost typed: Yes.
But she stopped herself.
Instead, she kept reading.
The comment count on her earlier post had grown again.
She skimmed through, noting down a few useful suggestions.
At some point, without realizing it, exhaustion dragged her into sleep.
***
The next morning, Suzy jolted awake from a dream.
Her first thought—the space.
She closed her eyes and reached inward.
And felt it. It was back!
She nearly leapt off the bed.
Taking a steadying breath, she focused and entered.
When she reappeared inside the familiar wooden cabin, relief flooded her so intensely it made her knees weak.
She reached out, touching the furniture, the wooden table, the simple chair—almost greedily.
It’s back.
If it had truly disappeared, she might have broken down.
She walked to the door and pushed it open.
At that same moment, a clear notification echoed in her mind:
The space has upgraded.
It turned out that after absorbing the special energy from the gold pendant, the space had entered a brief dormant state for evolution.
That was why it had been inaccessible.
Stepping outside, she surveyed the upgraded world.
Level One.
The change was obvious.
The land had expanded. What had once been roughly half the size of a soccer field was now a full field in area.
The white mist still lingered at the boundaries, obscuring whatever lay beyond.
The storage room had expanded as well—now equally vast. Her supplies would fit comfortably again.
Joy bloomed in her chest.
Today, she decided, she would visit the pre-made meal factory as planned.
Aside from the increased space, the environment remained familiar: flowing stream, lush grass, gentle hills.
Then she remembered something and hurried toward the spiritual spring.
Her eyes widened.
The spring had doubled in size.
Clear water shimmered under soft light, and a substantial amount had accumulated.
With a thought, a small transparent cup appeared in her hand.
She scooped a full cup and drank it in eager gulps.
Warmth spread through her limbs.
The lingering discomfort from the car accident vanished instantly.
Energy surged back into her body.
She felt refreshed, revitalized—almost invincible.
Grinning, she filled two more cups with the remaining spring water.
Maybe, she thought, she’d let Uncle Leonard and Adam try some someday.