NOVEL NEXT Chapter 296: Hidden Possessiveness
My skin itself was shedding. Not dramatically — just the top layer peeling away like the world's worst sunburn, taking with it acne scars, minor blemishes, the rough patches from years of cheap soap. Underneath was skin that felt new, fresh, healthy. Not perfect — still recognizably mine — just... clean.
The pain shifted from burning to stretching. Muscles I'd never properly used were awakening, tightening, defining themselves. Not bulking up — staying lean, but every fiber becoming functional. The soft teenager body was being carved into something athletic without being intimidating.
I felt taller somehow, though I couldn't be sure. Maybe it was just my spine straightening from years of terrible posture, vertebrae aligning properly for the first time. My shoulders naturally pulled back, chest opening up, breathing becoming easier.
Another wave of vomiting. This time clearer, less black, but still carrying traces of waste. My body was determined to expel everything that didn't belong.
"ARIA," I gasped between convulsions. "How much longer?"
"Forty-three minutes remaining, Master. Your body has expelled approximately twelve pounds of waste material."
Twelve pounds of pure toxins and fat. No wonder I felt lighter.
The transformation moved to my face. I felt my features shifting subtly — nothing dramatic, just... optimizing. The asymmetry everyone has naturally was evening out. My nose straightened slightly. My eyes became more balanced. Not movie star handsome — just above average, the kind of face that would get second looks without stopping traffic.
When it finally ended, I was sitting in a bathtub that looked like an oil spill had occurred. The black sludge was inches deep, chunks of dissolved matter floating in the toxic soup. The smell was unbearable.
I stood on shaky legs, the waste sliding off my new skin like it was coated in teflon. Nothing stuck to me anymore.
The mirror showed Peter Carter — still me, still recognizable, but cleaned up. Lean muscle where soft flesh used to be. Clear skin with a healthy glow. Features that were handsome without being remarkable. The kind of guy girls would call "cute" and mean it.
[DING! All-Perfect Pill Integration Complete]
[Body Purification: 100%
Status: Free of all disease, infection, parasites, toxins, genetic defects, and cellular damage
Sexual Stamina (Peter Carter Form): +40%
New Attributes (Stats): +10 (LOCKED)
Note: Attribute(Stats) bonus sealed until Gym Mission completion]
"Seriously?" I muttered. "I just went through hell, and the upgrades are locked?"
[Complete Daily Gym Mission to unlock Stat attributes
Days remaining: 30]
I sighed, staring at the locked attributes message. That mission... I'd put it on ice until after the move. Completely ignored it while dealing with more pressing matters.
Come to think of it, our new mansion had a gym but no equipment. How had I not noticed? What if the girls wanted to work out? Mom might want to exercise when she stayed home with no work at the hospital. Hell, I'd need it myself just to burn off the constant tension. A place like that mansion demanded a gym — not as luxury but as necessity.
Lucky, we had empty gym rooms. Two of them gathering dust in the east wing.
"ARIA," I said, decision made. "Order complete gym equipment. Everything. Highest grade but residential quiet. Power racks, Olympic weights, full cable systems, cardio machines — the works."
"Certainly, Master. Budget parameters?"
"Whatever it takes. But here's the non-negotiable requirement: No male delivery or installation personnel. Women only."
"That's an unusual restriction. Most companies—"
"I don't care if it's the best fitness company in the world." My jaw tightened, protective instinct flaring. "If they can't guarantee — and I mean guarantee — that every single person stepping foot on our property is female, we take our money elsewhere. No exceptions, no negotiations."
"Master, I can run comprehensive background checks—"
"ARIA, you could confirm they're saints with FBI clearance. Doesn't matter." The image of my sisters flashed through my mind. Sarah's analytical beauty, Emma still fragile from Trent's assault. "My sisters are gorgeous. Beautiful enough to trigger something primal in any man, professional or not. I'm not taking that risk."
Emma wasn't healed yet. The thought of strange men in her space, near her, when I wasn't there to stand between them and my family...
"And honestly?" I continued, the truth spilling out. "I just don't like the idea. Male strangers in my mother's house, touching our things, breathing our air while I'm not there to watch them. Call it possessive, call it paranoid — I don't care. Female crews only, or we wait until we find one."
[Vendor located: Elysian Fitness Solutions. 87% female technicians. Confirming full female crew availability.]
"Triple-check their identities. Visual confirmation at the gate with your security. If they try any last-minute substitutions, send them away. If they complain about the requirement, find someone who won't."
I stared out at the Miami dawn through the bathroom mirror, feeling the weight of responsibility. This wasn't just about weights and machines.
I stopped staring out the window. A cold satisfaction settled in my chest, displacing the earlier sigh. This wasn't just about weights and treadmills. This was about control. About safety. About carving out a space within those walls where my family could be strong, be vulnerable, be themselves, without the prying eyes or lurking shadow of unwelcome male presence. They deserved that fortress within the fortress.
And I would build it, brick by brutal brick, starting with this. Every nail driven, every weight bolted down, done by hands that posed no threat. Anything less was unacceptable. Anything less was failure.
One careful decision at a time.
I turned on the shower, watching the last of the black sludge wash away. My new body felt different — lighter, stronger, more responsive. Not superhuman like when I transformed into Eros, but optimal. Like this was what Peter Carter was always supposed to be if genetics and environment had been perfect from birth.
The naive kid was still there in my reflection. The same innocence in the eyes, the same uncertainty in the expression. The pill had cleaned me up, not changed who I was. That was still my choice to make.
But now I had the body to back up the power. Even in base form, I was ready.