Extra's Ascent-Chapter 180: Hanging Out (ii)

"I remember now," she said, drawing his attention back to her. "What I truly want." Her smile was soft, almost nostalgic.

"Really? And what's that?" Eric asked, not thinking much of it.

Should he have asked that?

What if she named something and expected him to get it for her? She was a billionaire, after all. He could already imagine the price tag reaching well into the four, maybe even five digits. That kind of expense would chew through his monthly budget like it was air.

Then again, maybe he was worrying for nothing. He had just won a bounty reward in the seven-digit range, not that he flaunted it. The money was more than enough to sustain him for a good while. Maybe he could even afford the whims of a billionaire... if he had to.

So go ahead, Marvelous Kennedy. Speak your desires. Eric could take it, he hoped.

"It's not really a want in the material sense," she continued, her eyes wistful. "It's more of a craving... something I've yearned for, but couldn't have."

Now Eric had a reason to sweat.

She craved something she couldn't obtain? This was a woman with private jets and diamond-stocked estates. What in the LORD's name could she possibly want that remained out of her reach?

He now regretted asking. If he'd kept quiet, maybe he wouldn't be spiralling into this mental panic.

"Well, I'm listening. What is it?"

Too late to back out now. He had stepped into the quicksand of curiosity and had no choice but to see it through.

"It's actually...

...

"How many would you like?" the vendor asked.

"Make it two to go," Eric replied, still stunned, still trying to process what was happening.

With bare hands, the woman scooped the roasted corn off the sizzling hot plate without flinching. Her fingers must've been seasoned in fire or maybe forged in it.

She wrapped the golden ears in foil with practised ease and handed them over. "That'll be two dollars."

"Thank you. Here's your payment," Eric said, fishing out his wallet and handing over the cash.

Turning toward Marvelous, he found her already staring at the food with an expression of delight so pure, so animated, he could've sworn there was a tail wagging behind her. If she had one, it would've been knocking over fruit stands by now.

"Uhm... here you go," he said, offering the foil-wrapped corn like it was some royal artefact.

She took it eagerly and immediately began devouring it. Each bite was fast, hungry, and unrelenting, like a starving stray who hadn't seen food in days.

Eric blinked.

What on Earth was happening?

They were in a bustling marketplace, crowded with people weaving through stalls and shouting prices. And here she was, Marvelous Kennedy, elegant, beautiful, the picture of billionaire sophistication, eating roasted corn with all the grace of a ravenous beast. Eyes turned. Heads swivelled. Mouths gawked.

And Eric?

He just stood there, trying to understand what dimension he'd fallen into.

"This... this is it? This is what you've been craving for all this time?" he asked, dumbfounded.

With all her wealth and status, the one thing she desperately longed for was... "A roasted corn that costs a dollar?!"

Please, someone, tell him he was dreaming. This had to be a scene in some illusion, one of those wild fever dreams he'd snap out of any second now.

But no. She looked at him, her expression brimming with sincerity.

"Yes, this is it," she said between bites. "You have no idea how long I've wanted this. Thank you, Eric. I mean that."

She was serious.

Marvelous Kennedy, powerhouse business mogul and heiress was genuinely touched over a roasted corn.

"I've got to ask... why?" Eric couldn't bring himself to take a bite of his own. He was still trying to process everything.

"Why what?" she asked, wiping a smear of corn butter from her lips.

"Why a roasted corn?"

When she'd first mentioned a craving, he'd thought she was teasing him. So, playing along, he jokingly suggested they hit the market square to hunt for the elusive roasted corn.

He hadn't expected her to actually agree. Insist, even.

She'd cleared her schedule, rearranged her day, and dragged him out under the blazing sun all for this. What was supposed to be a joke turned into a midday expedition.

Now, as he stood here watching her enjoy it like a childhood dream fulfilled, he couldn't laugh anymore. The joke was long dead.

"Do you think it's strange?" she asked, her hands lowering as if in retreat.

"No, no! Not at all," Eric replied quickly, sensing the melancholy creeping in. "It's just... surprising. With everything you have, I just didn't expect something so simple to be what you longed for. You can imagine how shocked I was."

She nodded, a smile tugging at her lips.

"I get it. Most people would feel the same way," she said. "But to clarify, it's not that I couldn't afford it. It's that, in upstate, you don't see markets like this. I practically never leave that area. Everything is corporate towers and luxury brands. Roasted corn? That's not exactly in the menu."

Now it made sense.

"So... if you never leave upstate, how did you even know about this?" he asked.

She paused, looked down at the half-eaten corn in her hand.

"Because... as strange as it might sound, I wasn't born into money. I grew up in the streets of downstate. I was an orphan."

Eric stopped mid-step.

"Wait, was that another tease?" he asked, unsure whether to laugh or gasp. "Are you being serious right now?"

"What part of that sounds like a joke to you?" she responded, firm and steady.

Oh. She was serious.

"So... you're saying you went from a street orphan to one of the richest women on the planet?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," she replied, eyes meeting his without flinching.

Eric didn't know how to react. This was uncharted emotional territory.

"How?" he asked, voice low with curiosity. "How did that happen? What's the story? How did you go from that to... this?"

She looked away for a moment, as if considering whether to speak.

"I doubt you'd want to hear it. It's long, boring, and not particularly glamorous."

"I dare you. Try me," Eric challenged, eyes lighting up.

She studied him. He looked genuinely intrigued. No mockery, no assumptions.

"In that case," she said, taking a deep breath and gazing skyward, "it all began when I—

Eric's phone buzzed loudly, slicing through the moment.

"Sorry!" he winced, pulling it from his pocket. The screen read Gerald. His new boss.

A few short responses later, "Yes. Understood. I'm on my way," he turned to her.

"That was my boss. Emergency at the office. I need to head back immediately."

She gave a short, understanding nod. "Go ahead. I'm fine."

"Really? Thank you. When I'm back, I want to hear the rest. Deal?"

"Deal," she called out as he jogged off, her voice chasing after him through the crowd.

As she watched him vanish into the bustling city, she sighed.

"I guess it's back to the office. Time to sign off those landmark deals... reschedule the model interview... and the dinner with the board." Her voice softened into a murmur. "Need to finalise the revised account statements... and prepare for the employee evaluations."

Marvelous Kennedy mentally ticked off the list of things she had postponed just to have one day, one simple, quiet day with Eric.

But now? That day had ended before it ever truly began.

A small, almost invisible sigh left her lips.

A shame, really.

A real shame.