"Hello, mother."
...
"Kaiden." She nodded in greeting.
"What?!" Nyx screamed first, followed by Aria's "H-h-h-huh?!" Luna just slumped back into her chair as she was on the brink of fainting.
Without waiting to be invited, Vespera took a seat at the table. She completely ignored the trio and only focused on her son.
"How have you been?" She asked in a cold, emotionless tone.
Kaiden wasn't disturbed by her distanced antics since she's been like this forever. As for how Vespera could awaken despite being over twenty years of age the moment the mana apocalypse hit? No, she wasn't one of the lucky few who awakened later in their life. When the initial mana boom happened ten years ago, anyone had about a 15% chance to awaken, no matter their age. Vespera was one such person.
"I'm finally happy after years of being depressed."
"Good," she replied curtly.
"I got a gym membership and have a personal trainer; I even worked hard as a waiter in a bar."
"I know."
Her creepy admission might've been outrageous, but he was used to it. She liked to be in control. Kaiden did not doubt that she was also aware of... "I also landed a role in a film."
Vespera pulled her suit's sleeve slightly up on her right wrist, revealing a tasteful, elegant wristwatch.
After glancing at it for a single moment, she parted her lips and began monologuing in her monotone, cold voice. "You finished shooting the third and final video exactly 78 minutes and 12 seconds ago and received a respectable offer from Zadie Crowe, one of the top managers of XXXVidz. Her favorite color is blue, flower type is jasmine, pet animal is dog, movie is Pride and Prejudice, and her hobby is playing competitive chess—just in case you want to make a good impression on her.
You've managed to sexually dominate Lirael Port, also known by her stage name 'Angel.' She's been raving about you to multiple adult actress acquaintances of hers over Whats*pp on her phone. It's the newest release of the Sams*ng Galaxy series she bought on a whim during her Vacation to Turkey last summer, but she is angry with herself for not getting an Iph*ne instead because she thinks it has a better camera, which would let her take better pictures of her two hamsters of the Winter White Dwarf subspecies. Their names are Nibbles and Peanut, and she has a dedicated Instagr*m handle, @WinterWhiteSupremacy, where she exclusively posts images and videos of them.
As a result of your month-long efforts of training your body in the gym called 'Titan Training,' as well as with the three adult toys you bought from 'Velvet Desires'—two of which were sold to you by the young lady to your right—and the third by the owner's deadbeat son who is in $60,000 debt due to his gambling addiction, you won the bet that you made with the aforementioned company executive, who then kicked out the Brown family's triplet brothers who were expelled from high school all on the same day when they attempt raped their classmate on the school's rooftop.
They spent the rest of their childhood in the local youth detention center. They were born to a junkie mother who overdosed two years and thirteen days ago and a domestically abusive father who has been in jail for fourteen years and will remain there for ten more at the very least due to the murder charges he was sentenced for, letting you star with the 19 years old Luna Aster, the 19 years old Aria Levander, and the 20 years old Nyx Cosmos during their debut under the direction of the 'Untainted Holes' adult filming studio."
"Well, you most certainly have done your homework..." Kaiden chuckled wryly.
"Indeed," she nodded for the third time.
"Why are you here today, Mother?" he asked, knowing full well that it would be better if he got the answer out of this eccentric woman as soon as possible.
"To disown you."
"I see..." Kaiden sighed, expecting that something like this could be awaiting him. After all, the Ashborn family was one of the most prestigious names in the United States of America. They couldn't have one of their mainline members be a pornstar. Vespera and his father were the co-guild leaders of 'New Dawn,' one of the mightiest guilds in the nation.
"I've had a subordinate hack into the studio's database and change your name. From now on, you're officially Kaiden Grey. Here are your new identification papers. I also had your bank accept this change without raising any issues on your end," Vespera announced before reaching into her coat and pulling out an envelope, which she slid across the table to land perfectly in front of him.
"Thanks," Kaiden accepted the envelope. He wasn't at all surprised that she strongarmed one of the biggest financial institutions in the country to immediately change his name in their system without asking any questions. It was such a small thing for her that she likely didn't even have to be present for it—just a call from her assistant should've been more than enough.
Afterward, Vespera didn't say anything to him and instead stared deep into his eyes for a good dozen seconds. Once she had her fill, her features contorted just for a moment before she stood from her seat. The Shadow Monarch turned and began walking toward the exit. Before she left, she stopped at the door and said, "Have a nice life, son."
"You too, moth- no. Have a nice life, Vespera. Also, stop spying on this stranger from now on. I don't wanna give the police a heart attack by asking for a restraining order against Vespera Ashborn."
Kaiden's words made the woman flinch once again, but she didn't turn around. Soon, her visage was no longer visible, leaving three flabbergasted girls in her wake and a nonchalant man who grabbed a salmon nigiri and popped it into his mouth, then began chewing it.
"What the fuck happened just now?" Luna mouthed.
"You said you weren't from that family!" Aria shouted accusatorily.
Kaiden shrugged his shoulders, "I lied."
"But why? Why become a pornstar when you have immeasurable wealth and power available to you at your fingertips? Your Mother is the fucking Shadow Monarch, for Christ's sake! You should be one of the most privileged existences on Earth!" Nyx shouted, desperately trying to understand why he would throw all of it away.
Kaiden placed his chopsticks down on the table, turning more serious. He took a deep breath and began.
"Because I hated my life at 'home'. Maybe I'm just a snot-nosed rebellious brat in the eyes of people like you three who must've experienced true misfortune, but I couldn't breathe in our grand mansion filled with extravagant luxuries. I was ridiculed, badmouthed, and looked down upon for being the only commoner among my four siblings."
He stopped for a second only to shake his head dejectedly, "What are the chances? My father and mother awakened during the initial mana boom, followed by my two brothers and two sisters, leaving me as the single ordinary bum in the family. My younger brothers bullied me, my older sister treated me like trash, and my father outright refused to acknowledge my existence.
As if that wasn't enough, I was constantly bombarded with news of their most recent accomplishments in the dungeons and other competitions while I was on my knees, begging the heavens and all that is holy to awaken me as well. When I couldn't bear leading such a miserable life any longer, I moved to the college dorm and lived away from the world of the awakened, letting me finally breathe. Then something happened, something I invited you three to talk about, and I decided to follow my dreams of becoming a pornstar. That's my story."
A long minute of silence descended on the restaurant's private room as the trio did their absolute best to digest his words.
Aria was the first to speak up. "Still, how could a mother do this to her child?! She could've just deleted the recordings, easily strongarmed Zadie into maintaining silence, and just given your rebellious butt some good spanking filled with motherly love! Instead, she just disowns her son?! What the hell?!"
"She did it for me."
Confusion welcomed his statement.