Apocalypse Trade Monopoly
Chapter 129: – Terms & Conditions

Chapter 129: – Terms & Conditions

Ava woke with the distinct feeling that she was being watched.

Not in the general, vague sense of being observed—no. This was targeted. Intentional. A presence carved directly into her awareness.

She opened her eyes.

Lucas Bai was sitting in the chair beside the bed. Arms crossed. One ankle balanced casually over the opposite knee. Golden eyes very much open. Very much focused.

On her.

She stared at him.

He didn’t blink.

"You’ve been watching me sleep." Her voice was rough, sleep-creased. "That’s not flattering. That’s just the worst."

Lucas tilted his head. "You watched me almost die, so I figured we were even."

She groaned, rolled to her side, and buried her face in the pillow. "That’s not how this works. There are boundaries. You don’t just park yourself next to someone and stare like a sleep-deprived statue."

"I do," he said mildly. "And I did."

Ava lifted her head slowly, giving him the kind of look that could cut glass. "Do you have a reason for this or are you just trying to achieve maximum creep factor?"

Lucas leaned forward, elbows on his knees. His voice was quieter now. Measured.

"I want a relationship with you."

That made her pause.

"You what?"

He didn’t smile. Not this time. "I said I want a relationship. You. Me. Not just contracts. Real partners."

Ava stared at him like he’d grown an extra head. "You just survived a core fusion. Maybe we wait on the romantic confessions until you’re not hallucinating."

"Not hallucinating," he said calmly. "Dead serious."

"Why now?"

He exhaled, slow and quiet. "Because the systems are syncing. Because there are changes coming. I need you to understand what’s going to happen."

Ava sat up against the headboard, sheets pooling around her waist. "You’re talking about biological changes."

He nodded. "System pair bonding. It happens when two users sync on a core level. We’re there."

She frowned. "But we didn’t agree to that. I didn’t even know it was a thing."

"That’s the problem with systems. Sometimes they don’t wait for consent."

Ava stiffened.

Lucas held up a hand. "That’s not me excusing it. I’m telling you because you need to be ready."

"Ready for what?"

His gaze flicked to her wrist, then back to her eyes.

"You’ll crave my blood again. But not just for system gains. It will trigger a neural imprint. It’s permanent."

Ava swallowed. "What kind of imprint?"

"You’ll always know where I am," Lucas said softly. "Your system will start protecting me automatically. Prioritizing me. Just like mine does for you now."

"That sounds dangerous."

"It is," he agreed. "But it’s also powerful. Synchronized pairs become something else entirely. The longer they stay together, the more their systems evolve in tandem. New skills emerge. Shared reactions. Cross-system resource access. It’s rare. And it’s not always voluntary."

She exhaled, pressing her palms against her thighs. "What happens if I walk away?"

Lucas met her gaze. "Then the sync breaks. Eventually. But it’ll hurt. And not just you. Me too."

Ava went quiet.

He leaned back again. "I’m telling you this now because I want the next part to be your choice. Not your system’s."

She glanced down, watching her fingers curl against the blanket. "So if I crave your blood again..."

"You’ll be bonded."

"And you want that?"

Lucas nodded slowly. "With you? Yes. I’d rather fight beside someone who already rewrote my system from the inside than waste time pretending I don’t care."

The silence stretched.

Ava looked up at him. "You are kind of a creep."

Lucas gave a half-shrug. "You bit me first."

Ava snorted. "That wasn’t a date. That was field medicine."

"Still counts."

She rolled her eyes but didn’t get up. The sheet had slipped halfway down her shoulder, and she didn’t bother pulling it back up. Lucas didn’t stare, but he didn’t look away either.

"You’re not going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Not a chance."

There was a silence. Not heavy. Not uncomfortable. Just quiet.

Ava watched him from under her lashes, one knee drawn up beneath the covers. Her voice, when it came, was softer than she meant it to be.

"You really meant it? The relationship thing?"

Lucas leaned forward a little, nodding once. "Yeah. I don’t say things I don’t mean. Especially not to you."

She looked at him, head tilted. Studying.

"I don’t do things halfway," he added. "And you don’t seem like someone who likes being lied to."

"I don’t," she said, after a pause. "But I don’t like being cornered either."

"Not trying to corner you." His voice was gentle now. "Just telling you what I want. You get to want something else. Or nothing. I’ll deal."

She stared at him for a long beat. Then smirked.

"You sound like a man trying very hard not to sound desperate."

Lucas gave her a crooked smile. "Is it working?"

"Barely."

Another silence settled in. This one warmer.

She shifted slightly on the bed, stretching out her legs beneath the blanket. Then she looked back at him with a look that was almost teasing.

"So if this is your idea of courtship, do I get flowers next? Or are we skipping straight to the co-signed blood contracts and bunker deeds?"

He grinned. "I had something more dangerous in mind."

"Figures." She leaned her head back against the wall, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "You know I don’t do commitments. Not the normal way."

"Good," he said. "There’s nothing normal about us."

Her smile faded slowly, but didn’t vanish.

"You really feel it? The bond?"

Lucas nodded. "It’s like a pull under the skin. Like gravity, but worse. I know where you are in a room even when I’m not looking. I know when your heart rate spikes. I know when you’re bluffing. You’re in my system now, Ava. Whether you say yes or not."

Ava swallowed once.

"I’m not ready to say yes."

"I know."

"But I’m also not saying no."

Lucas exhaled slowly. His voice lowered.

"Then I’ll wait."

And that was it.

No grand gesture. No pressure.

Just Lucas Bai, sitting on the edge of her life like he was willing to wait in the shadows until she turned to let him in.

And maybe—just maybe—she wanted to.

Not now.

But someday.

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