Page 42 of Dark Consequences

Rose rolls her eyes and snorts. “Not even close. Raphael is every bit as great as Michael, but he’s not Michael. Besides, Raphael is completely infatuated with Lily.”

“We barely know each other.”

“Look, I met Michael at a club, and within five minutes, we were having sex in the bathroom.” Rose shrugs. “Sometimes you just know right away. There’s no explaining it.”

“What was the gift that drove you to kiss him?” Gabriella asks.

Rose’s soft chuckle and glance at Evie tell me they already know. Michael and Enzo must have shared the details.

“There was this doctor in Columbia. He was the one responsible for everything. He drugged and raped me before selling me to the local cartel. Well, anyway, I guess Raphael tracked him down and presented his severed penis to me in a gift box.”

Gabriella goes silent and still while Rose and Evie fall into a fit of laughter.

“He gave her a dick in a box,” Rose jokes between fits of laughter.

“Wrong dick, though,” Evie comments back.

“Holy…shit,” Gabriella finally says. “That’s…a unique gift and one hundred percent my brother.” She laughs too, and before I know it, I join in, enjoying myself because I don’t feel any judgment or pressure around these girls. They understand what I’m feeling because they live in this life and understand it better than anyone I knew from before ever could.

“Knock, knock,” Alice sings before she appears in the doorway with Mei and Liam. She volunteered to watch the kids while we wrapped the many presents that arrived this morning. Much against my annoyance. But Raphael pressed the checkout button last night on the online cart we packed before I could get a word in otherwise.

“Mommy!” Mei cries out before she sprints forward to collide with me.

“Hi, princess. Did you have fun with Alice?” I smooth her dark hair away from her flawless, porcelain skin and stare into her blue eyes, sparkling with joy.

“Yep! We made bread with fruit in it!”

I glance up at Alice for clarification.

“Panettone. Think of it like fruit cake but better,” she answers.

Liam squeals when Rose reaches for him. I watch him and see Mei at that age in my mind’s eye. When she was a baby, Xiao often used her to control me. If I behaved at one of his parties, I got to spend the night with her. If I pleased his men, I got her for a day. Xiao spoiled her as she grew older, and I’m not proud to say this…but I used it to my advantage. So when she wanted her mommy, Xiao eagerly complied. Still, he kept using her whenever I misbehaved. A constant dark storm cloud of threats hanging over my head, always forcing me to seek shelter.

Rose bounces Liam on her knee while she talks with Evie. He sees me and gurgles some baby nonsense, waving his chubby arms around in the air. If I didn’t know any better, his cuteness makes my ovaries flip with need.

“Mommy, when can I have a little brother?” Mei asks.

All conversation ceases, and we’re suddenly in the spotlight.

I reach for Mei and cup her arms, bringing her close enough to look up at me. “We’ve talked about this, honey. Not now.”

Mei pouts and stomps her foot. She always does the same thing whenever we have this conversation. “But I want one now!”

“Mei, that is enough,” I say sternly. “We are guests here, and you will behave. Do you understand me?”

Mei drops her face and mumbles, “Yes, Mommy.”

I sigh and lean forward to kiss the crown of her head. “I love you, Mei.”

“Love you too.”

“Do you want to watch Beauty and the Beast, Mei?” Alice asks.

All thoughts of a sibling slip from her mind at the sound of watching what has quickly become her favorite movie as she chirps, “Yes, please!” And then she’s gone to the other side of the room, where Alice turns the TV on and starts the movie before sitting on the couch next to her.

“Lily, can I ask you a question?” Rose asks. “It may be sensitive, so if you don’t want to answer, that’s fine. No offense taken.”

“Okay,” I answer, wary of her question.

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