Jonathan's eyes sparkled. He knew exactly what his mother was trying to do.
Diamond Palace had everything a person like him could brag about: spa, gym, heated pool, huge tubs with rain showers, and ice-cold rooms with nanotech mattresses that hugged your back like clouds. There were even Pods.
If Ren owned one, Jonathan imagined himself using it whenever he wanted, streaming his sessions to show off online and, most of all, telling his classmates that he now lived in Diamond Palace.
"That's right, Auntie," Jonathan said, playing the good boy with a smile. "If you let me stay, I can help Ren with his studies. We're family, after all. And you'll help us save on rent. Everyone wins."
He leaned back like he had already moved in. "And now that Ren is so rich he can live here, a little help for relatives won't hurt, right?"
It was only a sleepover that stretched into months. Maybe years. They had rooms. Surely the "generous cousin" would appear.
