บท 3: Welcome Host

Dahlia didn't look like someone who went through a breakup, if anything she was relieved. At least, she wouldn't have to fake her interest in the relationship anymore.

People thought cheating in a relationship was tiresome, they should try faking a relationship.

It was a huge work trying to keep up a smiling face when what he intended to be comical wasn't funny at all but you didn't hurt his feelings; giving different excuses each time he tried to initiate physical intimacy - the only thing they shared was a brief kiss on the lips that barely lasted a second; trying to make out time for dates when all you want is to do is to be alone and snuggle with your cat; trying hard not to cringe at his sweet nothings; trying to keep up with his night calls when all you want is your beauty sleep; trying to stay awake in a phone conversation that bores to death.

So yeah, it was stressful enough to turn the hair gray.

It was not like she wanted to hurt James, she pushed him away as much as she could from the very beginning. She might not have warned him verbally but the signs were there yet James chose to ignore them and persisted enough to get a date and then a relationship that crashed badly - it didn't surprise her.

Dehlia did not lack interest in James alone, she was just not interested in guys as a whole. She was not asexual nor aromantic but a romantic relationship was just not for her and she has come to make peace with that the moment she entered puberty. She watched teenagers get together and break up, then move to the next partner; couples are lovey-dovey at first only to break up eventually and leave the children in a complicated relationship. She didn't want that kind of burden.

The door opened with a beep and Dahlia went into her apartment. Her house was a simple bungalow with a living room and two rooms. She used one as her bedroom while the other remained as the guest room even though she had never had anyone sleepover since she left the orphanage. Dehlia took out a mortgage on the house and had a moderate paying job that in the next ten years she would be done with the loan.

Yeah, her life was well planned.

The sound of a meow grabbed her attention and a white fluffy cat came out of the corner only to curl around her leg. Dahlia smiled, the love of her life was here to welcome her home.

"Here you are," She bent and picked the cat from the ground and into the warm embrace of her arm. The cat snuggled closer as if she found its family.

Dehlia went into the corner of the room where the cat's ceramic plate sat on the floor and then went to the kitchen where she brought out one of its canned foods and poured it out for it to eat.

Smuff jumped down from her arm and went to eat its meal leaving Dahlia with enough chance to go wash up. Once she was done with her bath, she made herself some pancakes. She took her food with a glass of milk to the living room where she plopped down on the sofa to enjoy her meal.

An interesting movie was playing since she had her flat-screen subscribed to Netflix. Dahlia sat cross-legged as she watched her movie while Smuff who was through with his meal already, climbed on top of the couch.

This was Dahlia's everyday pattern; wake, eat, go to work, sleep, and then repeat. Her life was organized and she liked it that way. She has no expectations hence no room for disappointment from humans. The only variable in her life was death and she was prepared for that, unlike other people.

By the time Dehlia was done with her meal, she lay down on the couch with her legs resting on the armrest while Smuff snuggled by her side. She was beginning to lose interest in the movie playing and picked up her phone.

Dehlia didn't need to chat because she didn't have a social media presence. No, she had Whatsapp and that was only because of work and her contacts were co-workers - no neighbors nor friends. She didn't need those.

There was an ongoing conversation in their group chat but she didn't need to check, knowing that it was just meaningless gossip. She chose her browser instead and scrolled through the news until she came upon an ad.

"Multiverse adventure?" Dehlia muttered and then clicked on the link that brought her directly to the app on the Play store.

"Are you looking for a romantic adventure or need to spice up your life? The busybody system is here to guide you through a voyage of a lifetime and any of your fantasies will come true!"

"As if," Dehlia found the info about the app quite hilarious. They sound like scammers.

Strangely the app did not have a single download, ratings, and reviews, plus the fact it was still in the beta program stage.

"The app must be quite horrible to not have a single download," thought Dehlia as she downloaded the app.

No sooner was the app downloaded, Dehlia clicked on it and it began to load. When the page opened, she was asked to go through the normal procedures of signing up.

Since it was an interactive story, she was asked to choose her genre - romance, fantasy, sci-fi, young adult, comedy, and drama series. Without wasting time, she choose the fantasy genre and was given different options - angels, fairies, dragons, vampire's, etc

Dehlia chose vampires - the creatures had always fascinated her since she was young. Done, she was waiting to

choose her name and style to reflect her personality when the next thing she heard was an announcement across the screen.

"Initialization….."

"Huh?"

Dehlia tried to return to the menu but she couldn't and strange enough, her eyelids began to droop and the next she knew, her eyes shut close and she fell sideways onto the couch and didn't hear the sudden notification

[Ding!]

[Welcome host to the Multiverse adventure!]