Chapter 122: Three Women Make a Play? (Patreon)

"I agree."

After hearing Annette's explanation, Ivan realized he had no real reason to refuse.

He'd never been a man who couldn't adapt to circumstances, and the rights and wrongs, the pros and cons, were already laid out so plainly before him.

There was no need to insist on his original plan anymore.

Those three simple words lifted a great weight off Annette's mind.

With that, the G-Virus could finally be completed.

And she and William now had a new way out as well.

"Well then. Pleasure doing business, Mayor Ivan."

"Likewise."

The two of them shook hands.

After discussing the finer details of how everything would be carried out, the group got into their cars and drove back to Raccoon City.

Before leaving, as she closed the car door, Annette turned to Ivan.

"I hope we get the chance to meet again."

Ivan said nothing, only smiling and giving a small nod.

Seeing this, Annette returned the smile, then used her own means to return to the mother nest.

Once Annette was gone, Ivan settled back into the driver's seat and was about to start the car to head to Rebecca's apartment for their date.

Just then, Makima, who had been sitting in the back, moved up to the passenger seat.

"Master, can I come to the dinner?"

Buckling his seatbelt, Ivan answered simply.

"You can."

He had no idea that tonight, besides dinner, Rebecca had also prepared a "big surprise" for him.

And since he still hadn't fully gauged Makima's situation, he wasn't comfortable leaving her alone either.

With the engine's roar, the Grand Cherokee pulled away, carrying the two of them off.

In Room 102, Jill watched Rebecca bustling around in the kitchen.

A little embarrassed, she spoke up.

"Rebecca, I... I really don't know how to thank you."

"Don't say that, Jill. This was my decision. You don't need to feel guilty about it."

Picking up a cloth from the table, Rebecca carried the simmered bone broth over and set it down.

Her feelings were tangled. She didn't want to see Jill hurt — after all, Jill had always been good to her since she'd enlisted.

But the problem was that Jill had fallen for her man. Though she and Ivan hadn't taken that final step yet, once these two days passed and they truly became husband and wife in every sense, it would be settled beyond question.

So on one hand, Rebecca hoped Ivan would turn Jill down; on the other, she didn't want to witness Jill's heart breaking...

After much agonizing, Rebecca still decided to arrange for the two of them to meet.

As for what happened after that, only heaven could say.

Rebecca's understanding, considerate reply only made Jill feel worse.

She felt she was being shameless, that she could actually go through with something like this.

But she didn't want to leave either — because if she left now, she might never get another chance to speak so openly with Ivan again...

Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~

The doorbell broke the strange, tense atmosphere.

Rebecca wiped her hands and went to the door, peering through the peephole.

Makima? What...

She hadn't expected this complication. Rebecca couldn't help blaming herself for not making things clear with Ivan earlier that day.

Now the situation, already complicated enough, had gotten even messier.

But since Makima had already come, Rebecca couldn't very well throw her out.

With no other choice, Rebecca opened the door.

She put on a warm smile.

"Ivan, Makima's here too. Come on in, sit down."

"Dinner's all ready."

"Great."

With that, Ivan led Makima inside.

When he saw Jill, Ivan didn't think much of it.

After all, it was a dinner gathering — the more people, the livelier it'd be.

"Jill."

"Ah... haha, Ivan. Come, sit down."

As she spoke, Jill got up a little flustered, ushering Ivan to a seat.

But when she caught sight of Makima, she suddenly felt lost.

What was going on? She thought back to what Ivan had told her earlier.

Realization dawned on Jill — he must have brought Makima along out of worry she'd lose control on her own.

But how was she supposed to bring that up now?

The thought crossed her mind, and even easy-going Jill couldn't help the flicker of resentment in her eyes as she looked at Makima.

She quickly composed herself, though, and greeted Makima.

"Makima, you came too. Come, sit."

Makima wore a professional, practiced smile.

She sat down naturally at the table.

"Thank you, Senior Jill."

Having shut the door, Rebecca watched the whole scene unfold.

In a corner where no one could see, she shook her head, troubled.

She hoped Jill wouldn't misunderstand — she truly hadn't known Makima would come along with Ivan.

That afternoon, she and Jill had both been distracted, their minds on how the evening would go, and neither had given a thought to the wildcard that was Makima.

By now, Ivan had picked up on something being off.

What was weighing on Jill's mind?

Makima, meanwhile, looked the picture of innocence — spine straight, hands folded on her lap, the very image of a well-behaved guest.

As the host, Rebecca realized the plans for tonight were probably ruined.

Jill, too, quickly pulled herself together.

She didn't blame Rebecca for it.

As Ivan's official girlfriend, Rebecca giving her this chance at all was already something to be grateful for.

Makima showing up was clearly something neither of them had seen coming.

And Jill knew Rebecca's character well enough — she was certain Rebecca wasn't the type to act one way to your face and another behind your back.

Given what had happened, Rebecca must have felt terrible about it too.

So when the meal officially began, Jill, having composed herself,

returned to her usual bright spirits.

Seeing this, Rebecca felt a wave of relief.

She quietly resolved to make it up to Jill later, and to apologize to her properly.

Lucky for them their friendship was strong — if it had been shakier, this could easily have blown up right then and there.

After all, however you looked at it, this felt like someone was playing a cruel joke on them.

At the table, Jill asked, curious.

"Ivan, what did Annette want with you?"

"Has she already caught wind that we're planning something against the mother nest?"

At that, Ivan set down his chopsticks, and just as he reached for a napkin to wipe his mouth—

a pale, delicate hand was already there, wiping it gently for him, as if by reflex.

Ivan gave Rebecca a tender smile.

After enjoying her attentive care,

Ivan gave the two women a detailed account of his conversation with Annette that day.

Jill understood Ivan's reasoning, but she couldn't hold back.

"But are we really just going to let them keep running that virus experiment?"

"Sure, some of the subjects are hardened criminals, but with an experiment on that scale, there have to be innocent people caught up in it too."

As she spoke, Jill trailed off, unable to finish.

She picked up the red wine on the table, poured herself another glass, and took a large gulp.

She'd already had quite a bit to drink before this.

She knew that saying this wasn't putting pressure on scum like William and the others — it was placing a heavy moral burden squarely on Ivan, the one who'd had to make the decision.

If there had been any better way, Ivan surely wouldn't have chosen this one.

And yet here she was...

"Ugh, sorry, Ivan. I... that's not what I meant."