Lies and Lavish Lifestyles is a short story based on an event experienced by my friend Emily during her early adulthood. Choose the decisions and options for Emily in order to complete the game. Good luck, and enjoy!
[[Begin the story now]]The story begins at a night club you work in. Its 1:00 AM and you've been serving drinks all night to sleazy men and drunk women. Your boss says you're the best fit for the job. You are head strong, and have no issue in rejecting or kicking people out. However, someone spots your attention.
[[See what he looks like]]
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He has a flawless chisled jaw, sharp stubble and a charming grin. Whilst glancing over at you, he causes you to blush, leaving you intrigued and speechless.
[[See what he is wearing]]
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His unbuttoned white top shows off his broad and tall physique, perfectly styled along with his rolled chinos and white sneakers. Your shift is ending soon.
[[Wait for him to approach you]]
[[Go up and talk to him]]
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Your shift ends and you are walking back to the bar when you see the man again. "Hey I'm Antonio", he says in a dreamy foreign voice. You reply, "I'm Emily". He asks if he can get you a drink.
[[Get a drink with Antonio]]
[[Question why he wants to buy you a drink]] You build up the courage to approach the man in a seductive manner. You introduce yourself as Emily. "Hey I'm Antonio, do you want to grab a drink", he says in a dreamy foreign accent.
[[Get a drink with Antonio]]
One drink leads to another, and you and Antonio are hitting it off. He tells you that he is 24 and is a young entrepreneur who owns an app. He polietly asks you questions and is listening well. He then ask for your number.
[[Refuse to give your number]]
[[Give him your number]]
"Why do you want to get me a drink?", you ask. "It's only a drink, I think you're a cool girl", he says.
[[Get a drink with Antonio]]
Antonio's whole auroa changes. His face goes red and eyes widen. You've dodged a bullet you think to yourself.
[[End story]]A couple of days have passed, you keep checking your phone waiting for him to message you. Your mind wonders into the endless possibilities as to why he hasn't messaged yet - Does he like you? Does he not like you? Does he already have a girlfriend? Was he in fact just some random who made up a cool story? These thoughts constantly blur your concentration.
[[Text Antonio]]
[[Wait for Antonio to text you]]
Its been months since you've spoken to Antonio. In bed you roll over to your side to check how many likes you got on your recent Instagram post. You are contemplating why you didn't get as many likes this time. You begin to compare this photo with your posts from the last couple of months. Observing the changes in likes and comments between posts you don't know why there is a big difference. You haven't changed that much, have you? Scrolling down and down your posts you accidently tap on a news notification from the Sydney Morning Herald.`
[[Click on it]]
You send him a message that says;
[["Hey it was great meeting you the other night, I was wondering when you'd like to meet up again?".]]
or
[["Hey, how has your week been?"]]
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He won't message you.
[[Send him a message]]
[[Do not message him]][[You continue messaging Antonio]][[You continue messaging Antonio]] [[You continue messaging Antonio]]You mindlessly refresh your Instagram in hope that Antonio will post something. You move onto Facebook staring at his profile, in anticipation for "active now" status to appear. Your delivered snapchat haunts you with each minute he hasn't replied.
[[End story]]
[[Reply]]
[[Reply later]]You've commited to meeting up with Antonio tonight, at a rooftop bar overlooking Sydney harbour. You spent hours pondering what to wear, and took intricate care in applying your makeup. Antonio begins to open up and tell you how hard he has worked to make his early fortune as an entrepreneur. Not a moment has passed without you both talking. As the dinner comes to an end he insists on paying for the extravagant bill.
[[Don't let him pay]]
[[Let him pay]]
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He sends another message that reads "????".
[[That's weird...you think]]
[[Reply]]He sends you another message. This one is lengthy explaining that you should at least give him a reason on why you dont want to meet up.
[[Don't reply]]
[[Reply]]
Try again.He's Italian so he insists on paying.
[[Continue the date]]
[[Continue the date]] Whilst in the uber on the way to Antonio's house you realise how keen you actually are for him. The Uber pulls up and you can hear the sounds of the waves crashing into the sand. As you approach the grand tall door of the Bondi Beach mansion you begin to question the wealth he alluded to. This doesn't seem realistic for a guy his age.
[[You're suspiscious]]
[[I'm thrilled]]
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[[One week later]] As he pours you a drink from his mini bar in the dining room you ask him how long has he been living here. He replies "one year". As the conversation continues you excuse yourself to go the bathroom. Antonio says it is just down the hall on the right. You make your way down the chandelier-lit hall and try to open what you think is the bathroom door.
[[Open the door]]
You tell him you're sorry but you've got to leave. He places his hand on your thigh and insists that you stay for one more drink. Feeling threatened you say you have already called an Uber.
[[Get in uber back home]]When you were last with Antonio, he said he wanted to see you again. A few days after the date you sent him a message thanking him for dinner and told him you had a great night. However, he hasn't replied back. You decide to...
[[Check his Instagram]]
[[Send Antonio another message]][[End story]] When you check his Instagram you notice Antonio hasn't uploaded any posts, or stories since he last saw you. This triggers you to talk to your friends about it at work.
[[Talk to friends]]
On your shift your friends want a debrief on your date with Antonio. You tell them that he hasn't contacted you since your last date. You also mention that he hasn't posted anything on Instagram.
[[Friend one: "That's super weird, I would probably try and get in contact with his friends".]]
[[Friend two: "I wouldn't worry, maybe he isn't keen on you anymore".]]
You go through Antonio's Instagram posts and come across a friend who is tagged in many pictures with Antonio.
[[Send Antonio's friend a message]][[One week later]]
"Hi, I met up with your friend Antonio last week and was just wondering if you have heard from him"
[[Message sent]]His friend reads your message very quickly, and starts to type and then stops. Ten minutes later you check Antonio's friend profile- you notice he has blocked you.
[[One week later]]
Its now been another week. You're starting to feel unsure of what you may have done that has resulted in this lack of communication. Was it something that you said to him? Were you rude to him? Maybe its not you, maybe its him. Was I not his type? You feel so small in the world and the emptiness is controlling you. This feeling of uncertainty really hazes your mind.
[[Sleep]]
You send Antonio another message saying: "hey how are you going, I was wondering if you would like to meet up?"
Still no response...
[[One week later]]<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/police-seize-900-000-of-ice-allegedly-from-switzerland-headed-for-sydney-s-east-20190514-p51n6n.html"; target="_blank">Click here</a>After a few back and forth flirty messages Antonio asks if you want to meet up 7:00 pm on Friday for drinks and dinner at a rooftop bar in the city.
[[You're free]]Your eyes cautiously open, feeling puffy and sore from only 4 hours of sleep. This lack of sleep has really gotten worse in the last few weeks, you can't remember the last time you woke up feeling refreshed.
[[End story]]
[[Sleep for 1 hour]][[Sleep for 2 hours]][[Sleep for 3 hours]][[Sleep for 4 hours]]
[[Open your eyes]]Its locked.
Out of the corner of your eye Antonio emerges in a panic "no, no - don't go in there!!". Feeling flustered, you go into the correct room.
[[You feel apprehensive to stay at Antonio's]]
[[Continue the night]]