The Solution (2nd Edition)

Xen

I wasn't entirely sure what James had found.

    Still, I was sure that in the months which followed, hundreds would surge to Mars. Well and truly, along with the accomplishments of The Solution and The Contingency, it was definitely a time when anything seemed universally possible.

    After having the contemplation, Chon put a palm on my shoulder. "Xiōngdi, when you catch up with Raythorpe, send him my congratulations - Mikey's, too! Thanks to his endeavors, we've now got plenty to 'geek over' and 'bro down' about!"

    "No worries, brother, I will," I said. "But where you going?"

    Chon had begun to walk away. "Don't you want another Tao?"

    "Xen, no thanks," he quipped. "I want to get back to the big guy and Sarah, so I can share the news!"

    "Okay, sure," I said, anticipating another instance where I was left to drink on my own. However, as Chon moved off, a sultry figure caught my eye...

    Beauty was headed straight for me.

    The woman's clothing was obscure, but as she got closer, it was apparent that she was wearing a, robe...

    In that very moment, I realized I knew her, and intimately...

    She was my love interest, from long ago.

    "...Cassandra, hi. I didn't know you'd been, successful in The Draft..."

    "'Big daddy', after all this time, is that how you're gunna greet me? Plus, you don't have to be so sour and call me that. Enough with the government name," she writhed in an erotic way. "I'm still yours, still naughty, and just as decadent. Xen, please; pretty-please; call me Candy..."

    The Bada Hutong vice girl was still just as sweet and irresistible as I'd remembered. "Cassandra," I responded, before remembering her ask, "I mean, 'Candy', I can't be seen in here with you. I've already suffered enough controversy to last me a lifetime."

    "Big daddy, it's okay," she continued to whisper, all while moving in on me with an open robe - which showcased her naked body and its gorgeous glamor. "This is the Leisure Lounge, and no one will care. This place is the new Vegas, and filled with sachets of Daredevil, so what happens here..."

    I now had a choice.

    To embrace the woman I loved, and my old sadistic habits.

    Or to push her away for my cause, and the greater good.

    I was beyond torn.

     I couldn't lie, either. I wanted to. But as I bit at my lip in contemplation, my eyes wandered away from Candy and landed on, Chon.

    My brother hadn't moved away from the lounge entirely, and had seen my illicit proposition, unfold. As he stared at me, the look he wore was familiar.

    It was one that he always donned before a moralistic reminder on wrongdoings, had come. Furthermore, I genuinely had no doubt that my father was trying to guide me from the spirit realm.

    Relapse was not a part of my destiny.

    So, I dug deep, ignored my desires, and refused her perverted offer. "Listen, Candy, I can't deny it. I want to. But I won't," I explained, using the pause to clamber shut her tantalizing treasure trove. "Life for me now is about more than just a 'good time' that, hurts others."

    "But big daddy, S&M was never enough," she whispered with a purpose. "And when you started to put those holorettes out on my irritable arms, I experienced a soothing pleasure that most will never know. It made me one with, fire.

    "Xen, you're like me," she cooed. "We're the same, you and I. To deny me, will only ever be you denying who you truly are..."

    Again, I couldn't lie.

    Deep down, there was a hidden truth to her words.

    Nevertheless, I was a savant, and smart enough not to make the same mistake, twice... "Candy, I ignored my destiny once. But never again."

    "What? Not even for, me...?"

    "...No," I whimpered, knowing exactly what I was throwing away - my true happiness. "N-No, Cassandra, not even for you." Pushing away the woman I secretly loved was much harder than I ever thought it would be. Still, I'd made my choice, in sacrifice of Earth and mankind's prosperity.

    Even though I thought I'd been clear, she didn't walk away, and maybe Candy was just adamant on taking no for an answer? "Xen, are you serious?" she then asked, her expression well and truly, skewed. "I mean, with the torturous pleasure aside, I thought we had, something, special...?"

    "...Cassandra Yow, we d-did. But no more. Lastly, do yourself a favor. P-Please," I begged, now trying to hold back tears.

    "And what's that," she sobbed, now more emotional than me.

    "As far as O-Kenai's 'product' is concerned, stop dancing with the devil in the pale moon light. Cassandra, we can only cheat death so many times before The Real Reaper emerges to claim us. So, for your son's sake and your own, try and get clean," I whispered. Then I ended it. "See you round..." Painstakingly, I turned away from her, and disappeared. While I continued to be starbound, I then made a vow that I would avoid Cassandra with everything I had.

    After all, I wanted her to find taboo love again.

    I just couldn't bear to witness it.

End of Chapter 19