As the tension in Alex’s luxurious apartment thickened like a soup of chaos and ego, his brain scrambled to process Alicia’s last words.
"You’re going to the ball with not just one—but two godly beauties," she had said, voice like silk and smugness.
He blinked.
"What."
He folded his arms, unimpressed. "I don’t care about either of your measly beauties. Just tell me—what about the money I was promised?"
Alicia’s mouth twitched. Others would kill for the chance to attend the Freshmen Ball with her, and this bastard only cared about credits. Strangely... she admired that. It meant no one could steal him from her—not even Evelyn. Not easily, anyway.
Without saying another word, she tapped on her EtherPad.
A soft beep echoed—and suddenly, a glowing blue hologram materialized in front of Alex.
It was Evelyn Williams.
Smirking like she was holding all the cards in the world, she said, "Mr. Alex, we’ve decided to revise the deal. The money I originally promised you—well, the conditions have changed. Instead of 35 million, you were going to be receiving 20 million."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean were?"
Evelyn’s smirk sharpened. "Now we’ve decided to give you only 10."
His jaw dropped. "Ten?!"
He nearly screamed, but clenched his fists and took a deep breath. Then, with a crooked smile, he asked, "Could you kindly explain, Miss Evelyn... why 10, after dropping from 35 to 20, and now this?"
Evelyn leaned back in her seat with the elegance of someone enjoying a full-course scam. "Because you called our beauty measly."
At that, Alicia burst into laughter. "That was a good one, Evelyn. Looks like this scammer finally got scammed."
Alex’s eye twitched. His mind started racing, grasping for a comeback, a loophole, a clever retort—anything.
Nothing came.
He let out a long sigh.
’Looks like there’s no escape... nothing’s coming to mind. Even 10 million isn’t a bad deal. At least I’m getting something.’
Seeing his defeated expression, both Alicia and Evelyn broke into laughter again, this time completely unrestrained—like schoolgirls watching someone trip in the hallway.
"Looks like it’s settled then," Alicia said, brushing her hair back. "Be ready. You’re picking us up at 7. And don’t be late."
Just like that, the door hissed open—and Alicia vanished like a fashionable storm, heels clicking with triumph.
Alone in his apartment, Alex stood like a statue—one that had just been publicly outplayed and emotionally robbed.
Only one thought echoed in his mind:
’Did I just get scammed? Me, of all people?’
He burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.
A calm voice echoed in his mind:
[Host, are you mentally stable? Should I conduct a scan?]
Still chuckling, he waved a hand. "Useless. Did you not see what happened? Those two actually scammed me. Me! This is the first time since coming to this world."
He collapsed onto the couch and sighed. "Well... the deal’s not that bad. So I guess it doesn’t matter much."
After a pause, he looked up at the ceiling. "My dear Zara, do you have anything to add? You saw everything that just happened."
Zara, his AI assistant, answered with calm precision:
{Should I really share my thoughts, Alex?}
"Of course, Zara. You’re the only one I trust the most in this entire world."
A short silence.
{Scumbag.}
Alex groaned. "Oh, come on! They were the ones who decided everything. I didn’t even get a choice!"
{True.}
His smirk returned, this time with a touch of mischief. "If I had to choose someone to take to the ball... I’d have chosen you in a heartbeat."
{Really?}
"Really. But of course," he added with a teasing grin, "I’d have to charge you too—but I would have given you a 95% discount."
This time, Zara paused.
Then:
{Gigolo.}
Alex froze.
’Where the hell did she even learn that word?!’
"Hey!" he shouted, scandalized. "That was inappropriate!"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Extra Who Shouldn't Exist