Infinite Cashback: My God-Tier Cashback System

At that moment, a man in a tailored suit and polished leather shoes walked into the lobby of the San Fierro Grand Hotel.

The instant he stepped inside, a strange chill crept up the back of his neck. For some reason, he had the overwhelming urge to make a run for it.

His eyes swept across the lobby until they landed on a face he knew all too well.

Oddly enough, he had only met that man once.

Yet he doubted he would ever forget him.

That face haunted his dreams often enough, appearing like a nightmare before beating him black and blue all over again. Even after waking up, the lingering fear refused to fade.

Seeing Luca in person was far worse.

Damian felt his legs trembling beneath him.

He was genuinely terrified of the man.

His first instinct was to pretend he hadn’t seen him and quietly leave.

But another thought quickly followed.

’What if he already noticed me?’

’What if he thinks I’m disrespecting him by pretending not to see him?’

Damian didn’t dare gamble on it.

Swallowing hard, he forced himself to walk over.

Luca had noticed someone staring at him earlier but hadn’t paid much attention.

The truth was... he didn’t recognize Damian.

It wasn’t surprising.

They’d only spoken once, and the Damian he remembered had been swollen, bruised, and barely recognizable after the beating he’d received. The sharply dressed man approaching him now looked like an entirely different person.

So when the stranger stopped in front of him wearing an overly eager smile, Luca looked genuinely puzzled.

"Mr. Hale." Damian bowed slightly, smiling so hard his face looked stiff. "Have you eaten yet? If not, I’d be honored to treat you to a meal."

His eyes stayed fixed straight ahead.

He didn’t dare glance at the three women standing beside Luca.

As far as he was concerned, they all belonged to Luca.

Forget touching them.

He wouldn’t even risk looking.

Luca raised an eyebrow.

"...Who are you?"

"Uh..."

Damian awkwardly rubbed the bridge of his nose.

He had spent all that time worrying about being remembered.

Turns out...

Luca hadn’t even recognized him.

Maybe coming over wasn’t such a good idea after all.

The last thing he wanted was more interaction with this terrifying man.

Especially after what had happened a few days ago.

His cousin had his leg broken over a single sentence from Luca.

The entire family had packed up and fled overseas.

And now, the blind date he’d reluctantly agreed to had somehow led him straight back to the same terrifying man.

’This is just my luck...’

"I’m Damian Hawthorne, Mr. Hale," he finally introduced himself with another respectful bow.

"Oh."

Recognition finally dawned on Luca.

"So it’s you."

Back at The Crimson Velvet Lounge, he’d hit Damian before he’d even gotten a proper look at his face.

By the time the lights came on, the poor guy had already been beaten beyond recognition.

’I wonder if his mother could even recognize him afterward...’

Looking at him now, he actually seemed fairly presentable.

The moment Damian introduced himself, Ivy quietly lifted her head.

’Wait...’

’Isn’t this the blind date my family arranged for me?’

’Didn’t they say his family’s assets exceeded a billion?’

Then why...

Why was someone like him acting so deferential toward Luca?

Her confusion deepened.

She had assumed Luca was successful, perhaps around the same level as her own family.

But judging from Damian’s attitude...

That clearly wasn’t the case.

Luca’s status seemed to be far higher than she’d imagined.

Before she could sort through those thoughts, Luca spoke again.

"By the way... Matthew Montgomery is your cousin, right?"

Damian’s heart nearly jumped into his throat.

’Please don’t bring that up...’

He didn’t know if Luca intended to settle old scores, but he certainly wasn’t brave enough to argue.

"Y-Yes."

"Did you carry out what I asked?"

"Don’t worry, Mr. Hale." Damian nodded rapidly. "I personally made sure it was done. I didn’t cut them any slack. Their whole family has already moved overseas."

"Good."

Luca nodded with satisfaction.

"So what brings you here today?"

Damian scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"My family arranged a blind date for me."

"They said her name is Ivy Celeste."

"I’ve never met her before, so... honestly, I don’t even know what she looks like."

He genuinely hadn’t seen her photo.

Everything had been arranged in such a rush that he’d barely had time to leave the house before being sent here.

The pictures his parents had forwarded were still sitting unopened in his phone.

The moment those words left his mouth, Luca’s expression became rather strange.

He turned toward Ivy.

"...Class Rep."

"He’s talking about you, isn’t he?"

Ivy coughed softly.

"I... think so."

Damian froze.

"Huh?"

Following Luca’s gaze, he finally looked at Ivy.

Beautiful.

Very beautiful.

Her skin was flawless.

But somehow...

His own face turned even paler than hers.

After one glance, he immediately looked away again.

With a face that looked ready to cry, he turned back toward Luca.

"M-Mr. Hale..."

"I..."

"I really didn’t know..."

"This was all my father’s arrangement..."

Without waiting for anyone to respond, Damian hurriedly bowed deeply toward Ivy.

"Miss Celeste, you and Mr. Hale are a perfect match."

"I sincerely wish you both a lifetime of happiness."

"I’ll be leaving now."

"You all have a nice chat."

"I’ll explain everything to my family later."

The moment he finished speaking, he turned and bolted.

He ran so fast that his polished shoes slipped on the hotel steps.

He crashed hard onto the ground.

Even then, he didn’t stop.

He scrambled back to his feet, grabbed his shoes, clutched his aching back, and sprinted away barefoot without looking back once.

It was as though some terrifying monster was chasing him.

Watching Damian flee, Luca couldn’t help feeling speechless.

’Did I really leave that much psychological trauma behind?’

’Am I honestly that scary?’

Shaking the thought away, he turned back to Ivy.

She still looked just as stunned.

With an apologetic smile, he said,

"Class Rep, I’m really sorry."

"It looks like your blind date misunderstood the situation."

"It’s alright."

She forced a faint smile.

"At least... half of what he said was true."

Damian had assumed she and Luca were together.

The misunderstanding was that only half of it was real.

She did like Luca.

Luca simply didn’t return those feelings.

"...Right."

Pretending not to catch the hidden meaning, he smiled politely.

"Class Rep, go enjoy your meal."

"It’s on me."

He waved over a nearby waiter.

"Mr. Hale."

"What can I do for you?"

"Arrange a private room for this lady."

"Make sure she gets the best dishes."

"And don’t charge her."

"Understood, Mr. Hale."

The exchange between Luca and the waiter was smooth and effortless.

By this point, even if Ivy wanted to ignore the clues, she couldn’t.

A shocking thought slowly formed in her mind.

She looked at him in disbelief.

"...Luca..."

"You’re the owner of San Fierro Grand Hotel?"

"That’s right."

He answered as casually as though he were talking about the weather.

"The San Fierro Commerical District and San Fierro Building belong to me as well."

"...Those too?"

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

For a long moment, she simply stared at him.

Her heart churned violently.

Ever since childhood, she’d always listened to her family.

She rarely questioned their decisions.

The only time she’d truly tried was when she’d admitted she liked Luca.

Her parents objected.

So...

She obediently gave up.

If she were honest, there had also been another voice inside her back then.

A voice telling her that the gap between them was simply too wide.

That forcing the relationship would only end in disappointment.

So she’d left the country.

She’d tried to bury those feelings once and for all.

Only now did she realize...

The man she’d walked away from had climbed to heights her own family could only dream of reaching.

Watching him walk away with Naomi beside him, her eyes gradually reddened.

She murmured softly to herself,

"...Was the choice I made back then really the wrong one?"

...

Meanwhile, some distance away from where Luca stood...

Damian felt utterly broken.

Luca had already left him physically battered once before.

Now it felt as though his spirit had been crushed along with it.

He bent over with both hands braced against his knees, gasping for breath as though he’d just finished a marathon.

’Is this really how I want to live my life?’

Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the pavement.

’My family... my pride... my dignity...’

’He’s trampled all of it beneath his feet.’

’I can’t keep living in fear like this...’

Just then, a memory surfaced.

A rumor he’d heard some time ago from people in San Fierro’s underground circles.

Slowly, he pulled out his phone.

His fingers tightened around it until his knuckles turned white. Leaning heavily against a nearby wall, he slid down until he was sitting on the ground, chest heaving as sweat continued to trickle down his face.

Passersby couldn’t help glancing at the sharply dressed man.

"Poor guy... looks like he just got fired."

"I don’t think so. Look at how dressed up he is. He probably got stood up on a date."

Whispers drifted through the air as people speculated while walking past.

Damian ignored every single one of them.

His mind was elsewhere.

After several long minutes, he finally worked up the courage.

Taking a deep breath, he dialed a number.

The phone rang only once before someone answered.

"Hello. Who is this?"

Damian closed his eyes briefly.

Then, after one final steadying breath, he spoke.

"...You’re looking for a man named Luca Hale, aren’t you?"

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