"Oh. You really do get training from the professionals." Ian blinked. At least, he wasn't stupid.

  "You will find that I am more resourceful than you. And it's not just my friend's boyfriend." She was about to turn and leave when she stopped. "Don't pry too much. Nothing good comes from that." Why did she feel like she was a mafia boss or something? Una.d.u.l.terated joy filled her heart as she walked away.

  Laurence wanted to walk them out but Katherine refused.

  "This Ian gives me a bad feeling," Angelina grumbled as they slid into the cab. Katherine gave their address to the cab driver before replying.

  "I warned him today. I'll be keeping my distance from Laurence and Ian from now on." She had made up her mind. Ian easily manipulated Laurence and the man was too meek to say anything else in that regard.

  "Good thought. But make sure your fans don't get wind of it," Angelina insisted.

  "I'll do that. It seems I'll have to take up your boyfriend's time again," Katherine lamented, startling Angelina.

  "Consider it sharing of boyfriends. Beware, it might come back to bite you in the ass," she snickered. Katherine recoiled, bracing her chest as she moved away from her friend.

  "I don't share. Don't you dare!" Katherine wagged her finger in front of Angelina's face, warding her off.

  "Then keep your time with my man limited," Angelina warned. Katherine pulled her finger back, fearing Angelina would lean in and bite her finger to avenge the time she was taking away from her man.

  "Scary woman," Katherine grumbled under her breath. She huffed and puffed until she slowly lulled herself to sleep——

  The coupons to the spa were put to excellent use three days before she left for the championship. Katherine was a ball of nerves throughout and couldn't shake the feeling of dread building in her stomach. A plethora of doubts plagued her mind. She wondered if she was good enough, if she had ridden on other people's coat tails to get where she had.

  When she put on the timer and practiced, the worries slowly ebbed away. She had come a long way in the last two months. Studying theories and strategies had helped her evolve her style and attach and defend on command. She had even contacted her partner several times to practice missions together to ensure they worked smoothly together.

  It could be said that Sheila or 'shewolf' as she was called in the esports circles had taken a liking to her. Katherine was excited to meet this new idle who was one of the few female players in the esports community at the time.

  Coming back to the spa. They left their apartment pretty early and arrived on the scheduled time. The day was spent in a manner fit for a king. The best part? The massage.

  Her masseuse had magical hands. Well, they weren't as good as Cage's fingers on her, but after weeks of tirelessly working, the knots in her muscles would have hurt like crazy. This genius masseuse had brought back bliss in her life.

  Katherine had to thank Anna for this, though. She was a wonderful woman. Katherine had yet to thank her for the amazing gift. She couldn't stop thinking about it as she basked in the aftermath of the comfortable fingers on her.

  If she earned enough money in the future, she would surely indulge in such pampering in the future. It seemed that staying with Cage had made her standards higher. Who could blame the man, though? Once you got a taste of Cage Cavanaugh, your life turned upside down. Your eyes looked beyond the normal and nothing could really satisfy you.

  She had truly become a greedy woman.

  Thinking about him made her miss him even more. She picked up her phone from the table near her massage bed, earning a look from the masseuse. Thankfully, the woman simply smiled and didn't object.

  Katherine decided that she wanted to play. She checked the time and knew that Cage would have finished shooting for the day. He had finished most of his portions and would work less from that day. Not that Katherine minded. She would have more time to talk to him now. She liked that.

  'Time to play,' she thought cheerfully as she typed out the text.

  [K: I finally found a pair of hands that feel better than yours.]

  What a lie. Well, not exactly a lie, but the purpose of those two hands were drastically different, so she would let that one slide. She stifled a laugh as she imagined the look on his face as he read the message. As expected, it didn't take him long to reply. Her phone buzzed and she opened her messages eagerly to see what she had written.

  [C: Do I need to catch the first flight home and hunt down the person who touched you?]

  Always so serious. Another message came in soon after.

  [C: Wait. Aren't you at the spa, today? Don't tell me… you're getting a massage from a man?!]

  Two punctuation points one after the other. Oh, Mr. Cavanaugh must be losing his mind! So predictable. So cute.

  [K: You know what they say. Massages are best when done by buff men.]

  Katherine looked at her very feminine masseuse and felt a surge of guilt. Forgive me angel. I'm just calling you a man because I need to tease my boyfriend.

  [C: This buff man has a pulsing vein on his forehead. I'll call my mother and throw some hands. What? A man massaging my girlfriend?]

  Katherine quickly typed back, feeling hateful that this man could guess her thoughts so easily. He clearly knew that no man was massaging her and he was taking the opportunity to tease her beyond belief.

  [K: Oops, did I say 'man'? My mistake. It is hard to tell because she is very strong. A woman, though.] She felt silly sending that text but what she got in response was way worse.