Prologue(II)
But alas, "Nathan, is that you?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah, I didn't disturb you or anything, did I?" Nathan said.
"No, haha, I was just startled by the noise the app makes when someone opens the door."
"Wait, why are you home so early?" Ashley asked.
'Should I say I'm taking PTO or something, or maybe saying nothing is better? Nope lying or omitting the truth will only delay the inevitable. Sigh, I'll tell the truth and prepare for the worse.' Nathan inwardly thought
"Ahh yeah, I got let go today. So I left during the middle of my shift, felt no reason to stay the remainder of it," Nathan answered.
"Wait, what? Weren't you supposed to be getting promoted or becoming a technician soon?" Ashley asked with a confused face.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. But apparently, with the budget cuts, management had other plans." Nathan answered.
"Why didn't you try to escalate it and get in touch with corporate. I'm hundred percent sure with your track record, corporate would resolve it in your favor." Ashley said
"It'd be fifty-fifty at best it would simply be his word against mine, and he has tenure there. More than likely, they'd side with him simply for solidarity, not worth the hassle for a maybe. The worst-case scenario would be if he spins a wild story on me and finds a way to make it stick. I wouldn't put anything past Jeffrey after all."
"Plus, I'd much rather be writing full time anyway. I only picked up this job and the previous ones because you wanted me to. You're frequently saying, ' If you were going to make it as an author, you would've done it already'. To which I always respond, writing isn't that simple."
"Not all novelists are these overnight sensations that stumble into worldwide stardom. To most of us, it's truly a job. We trek through every one of our stories, thinking it'll be our breakout novel until it is." Nathan said in response.
"I'm glad you've grown past blaming everything on the universe being out to get you or whatever. But don't make it seem like I forced you into working. You were moping around listlessly after one too many failed attempts at your novels winning an award."
"I figured it would be a nice change of pace initially, but you seemed to be even more stressed out while working. You could've stopped whenever you wanted if you were so miserable!" Ashley exclaimed.
"You say that, but your actions often said something else entirely. You think I didn't realize how you looked when we went out with friends and they talked about everything they were doing, or how you looked seeing everyone being adventurous on social media."
"And I've said several times it's no mere coincidence that every time things start going well again, it's abruptly flipped for the worse. Don't make it seem like I'm trying to cope or delusional!" Nathan exclaimed.
"No shit, I'd look dejected or wanting for more when it comes to hearing all these tales of grandeur. I wouldn't have agreed to marry you if that's all that mattered to me. Sure I appreciated it when you started agreeing to go on trips with me, but I wasn't just going to up and leave if you didn't."
"It's human nature to want more for some their greed is insatiable for others they satiate it as best they can, with whatever they can. I love you, Nathan, and that'll never change, although I don't like you sometimes, this being one of those times. I'm more than happy with our lives. It just hurts seeing you suffer, and I hoped working more would help you get over things." Ashley said.
"So this entire disagreement was founded on a misunderstanding and lack of communication. Although actions speak louder than words, we still should use words for communicative purposes, I suppose. Sorry about that, I came in expecting an argument, and instead, I was the one who initiated it."
"I Love you too, Ash. However, I can say I also don't like you the majority of the time." Nathan said with a smug grin while moving his arm toward her body.
"You say that, but your actions are telling a different story right now," Ashley said, wrapping her hands around Nathan's neck.
"Maybe this is one of those times I like you," Nathan responded while leaning in for a kiss.
"Wait, did you start this whole argument, only to get me riled up for makeup sex?" Ashley asked while placing a finger on Nathan's lips right before he kissed her.
"Of course not. I've never been that forward-thinking, you know that. I only thought halfway through the argument that'd be the perfect ending to it. You are especially wild during makeup sex seemed like an ideal opportunity to capitalize on that." Nathan answered right before quickly stealing a kiss from her lips before she could respond.
Ashley reciprocated the kiss, and they began passionately kissing for about 15-20 seconds before she broke off to say, "You sly, sly boy, you almost got me there. You think you're slick. That's going to be a no for me. Try again next time."
'She's just trying to be coquettish. Time to break out my secret weapon.' Nathan inwardly thought
"Of course, my lady. It's a thousand years too soon for me to attempt to outwit you. Perhaps you should show me what happens to sly men who try to outwit their women." Nathan said while trying his best to keep a straight face.
"Hmph. Perhaps I will!" Ashely said with both her arms below her breasts while feigning a scowl.
Nathan swiftly lifted her off her feet, causing her to grab tightly around his neck and back, startled. Slamming her softly into their bed, where he leaned in to start kissing her neck, to which she did not attempt to stop. From her neck, he started working his way down only to be obstructed by her shirt, making a face as if asking to remove it, "Hmph. I'll allow it," Ashley said.
Nathan immediately took it off and continued down to her breasts, kissing and licking on one while kneading the other in his hand. He did this for a bit before leaning in and passionately kissing her for about a minute. Then Nathan continued to work his way down her body with his lips and hands.
But right before he did so, " Why don't you take off your shirt too? It's only fair." Ashley said while seductively sucking her finger.
To which Nathan responded by ripping his gray wife beater. Taking his shorts off in quick succession, revealing a tent in his boxer briefs, "Oh my, it seems someone is more than ready." Ashley said with her mouth agape.
...
The next morning Nathan woke up in the embrace of Ashley, grinning from ear to ear. Last night ended exceedingly better than its midpoint. In an attempt to keep that going, he got up to start his daily routine. Grabbing his phone, then walking to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
While brushing his teeth thought about the few novels he'd read when he finished.
'I wonder how Davis is going to perform once he finally ascends as an immortal. He's essentially at the peak of his world's power. Hopefully, it's within the upcoming 5-10 chapters. The anticipation is killing me. We're about to reach 2000 chapters. Please, author, I'm begging you.' Nathan inwardly thought.
Now finished with brushing his teeth, Nathan left the room, trying not to wake up Ashley. Walking downstairs to the kitchen to make his coffee while reading and then going out for his morning jog, right after putting his coffee on, he opened the novel app on his phone to see only four notifications. The number of alerts was the same as usual. However, the content of them not so much.
'Normally DEOD(Divine Emperor of Death), BODS (Birth of a Demonic Sword), LITOW(Lightning Is The Only Way), and Cultivation Online have either two or three chapters each. However, this time they all have only one chapter each. Guess I'll find out why I suppose.' Nathan inwardly thought
Nathan clicked on DEOD in hopes that it was an extra-long chapter. The author was known for doing that at times. It was one of the many reasons why he loved this author's work. He was immediately taken aback upon reading this first sentence, and it only got worse the more he read.
"Thanks all of my readers for all of your support over the last few years. No, I'm not going to stop writing DEOD. However, I will be going on a hiatus for a period of time that is currently undetermined. I promise I will return with adventures even better than before, unfortunately writing for so long with daily releases has started to take a real toll."
"In hopes of keeping the content of the story in pristine condition, as well as my health in order, I must take this break. I hope you all can understand. I'd love it if you all continue to support me in the future. I genuinely do appreciate every one of you. I'll be back before you know it."
'
Man, this genuinely sucks. It couldn't have come at a worse time either. I get it though, writing so much every single day while trying to make sure the quality doesn't drop is difficult. But right before Davis was about to ascend almost feels like I got blue balled, with no hopes of release in sight. Sigh, he deserves a break even though I am going to miss reading those chapters every morning. Suppose I'll check the other novels now.' Nathan inwardly thought.
Opening the remaining three novels, Nathan slowly began to develop a noticeably displeasing look on his face. All four stories were going on hiatus until further notice. Although this may not be a problem for most, unfortunately, he was quite a picky reader. These were the only four novels he read on this platform or any platform for that matter.
"What is this April fools' day? Did all the authors get together on Biscord to go on hiatus until they received more pay for their writing or something? Grrrrrrr, whatever. I'll finish my coffee, eat something, then go out for my jog. I'll figure something out about my morning routine from now on later." Nathan said in an outburst of frustration.
After finishing his coffee and meal, Nathan left the house for his morning jog. Being so early in the morning, he ran into few people and spoke to none of them. He wasn't quite in the mood to communicate with anyone.
Nathan was still a bit downtrodden about all the novels he read going on hiatus at the same time. Although on the jog back home, he'd at least accepted it and decided to put forth his energy finding something else to do from now on.
While looking both ways before crossing the street, Nathan saw a little girl wearing headphones and a backpack walking through a construction zone to get to her bus. Seeing caused him to begin reminiscing about catching the bus in his youth. The driver would leave with no hesitation if she felt picking you up was a hassle, leading to situations such as this one.
But before Nathan became fully immersed in his trip down memory lane, he sees a truck speeding towards the little girl unbeknownst to her. Immediately yelling out, "Look out!" Garnering no response from her. She didn't even look his way.
Nathan had already begun running towards her at this point. Hoping to get to her before the car does, and luckily he did. "Help!" The girl exclaimed. Startled seeing a grown man running full speed at her, but before she could understand what was going on, she got pushed out the way.
'Whew, that was close. Kids these days, if you're going to have on headphones, at least pay attention to your surroundings,' Nathan inwardly thought.
Preparing to scold the girl for being inattentive while walking on the road, Nathan notices that he can't move his arms or feet that well. Upon closer inspection, he'd realized that he was in wet cement. Not realizing that once the truck saw him running towards the girl, it had tried to swerve not to hit them, only to be heading right towards him.
Wham!
The truck ran into Nathan. His last sight was the little girl, pointing behind him.