Five Masks of Sin (Haremworld)

“Ah, so there’s a catch.” He smirked. “Okay, lay it on me.”

“I don’t want my parents to ever have to work again. I want a job at one of the charities you set up with the money, and I want to be able to help you use the money for good. I might not have the love story I dreamed of, but I can make the world a better place instead. It’s a reasonable request, I think.” I shrugged. “For that, I’ll help you. I’ll have your baby, but I want an open marriage after the baby is born. You said yourself that infidelity destroyed your family, so let’s make sure that we’re loyal to each other by not putting that restriction on our life. Clearly, you have no problem sharing me with other people.”

“This is an intriguing offer.” He twisted his lip into a half-smile. “But we’ve got some more time before the end of the World Ball. Can I give you a hard maybe?”

“I’m offering to marry you and help you get what you want and you’re giving me a maybe?” I tilted my head in shock. “Really?”

“What you’re offering isn’t exactly what I had in mind. I’m not saying no—I’m definitely leaning towards yes.” He nodded quickly. “But I want you to have some more experiences before you leave the World Ball. Tonight, I want you to choose the guy that you leave with.”

“Haven’t I done that already?” I twisted my mouth in confusion. “I swear I chose you and Simon—Lenny is the only one you’ve chosen for me.”

“Not really.” He shook his head back and forth. “I pursued you. Simon pursued you. I want you to do the pursuing tonight. I want you to walk in there, find the hottest guy you see and even if he’s out of your league—which I don’t think anyone is out of your league—but regardless, I want you to leave with him.”

“That’s ridiculous.” I scoffed and exhaled sharply. “I can’t do that.”

“Yes you can.” He nodded. “You’re not giving yourself enough credit. If you want to be my wife one day, you’ve gotta learn to charm people.”

“Okay...” I sighed and stared at the table for a moment. “I’m not one for charity normally, but will you buy me a new dress?”

“Whatever you want.” Maximo smiled and stood. “Let’s take a shower together. I want you one more time before I send you out into the wild.”

Chapter 9: Dane

Seven years ago

“You hit her!” I tried to get past my ex-wife, who was blocking my path, as my daughter screamed from the corner of the room.

“Oh fuck off, I didn’t hurt her. She’s just being dramatic!” Maggie backed away from me and grabbed my daughter, Adeline. “You’re fine, aren’t you honey?”

“You hurt me.” Adeline started squealing, holding up her arm that had a welt where Susan had struck her with a wooden kitchen spoon. “Daddy, I want to go with you!”

“You’re not going anywhere with him, and when he’s gone, you and I are going to continue this discussion. You thought that spoon hurt your arm? Just wait until you feel it on your ass, you little brat.” Maggie shook Adeline—hard.

“Daddy!” Adeline squealed again.

I reacted violently. I wasn’t going to let the psychotic bitch hurt my daughter. I lunged and tore Adeline from her by force, pushing my ex-wife so hard that she spun in a circle. Her feet came out from under her and she tripped, going headfirst into the kitchen counter. There was blood—a lot of blood. It looked like something out of a horror movie. I put Adeline down and did everything I could to stop the bleeding as I called 911.

Please don’t die—even if you are a psychotic bitch.

I knew I was fucked. My ex-wife was bleeding on the floor and I was the one that put her there, even if it was an accident. The welt on Adeline’s arm wasn’t going to be enough to justify what I had done, especially in the South where corporal punishment wasn’t really frowned upon. There was no way that I was going to stay out of prison. When the ambulance showed up and I knew Maggie was in good hands, I ran out the back door, holding Adeline in my arms. I just wanted to get her as far away from there as possible and I wasn’t thinking rationally. I didn’t get far. I refused to use Adeline as a shield or subject her to another horrifying sight, so I surrendered to the police that drew their weapons on me. Adeline was taken to her grandparents and I was taken to jail.

I’m sorry, Adeline.

“THIS IS ALL THE MONEY I have.” I sat down across from a young woman that had most of her head covered with a hoodie. “I just want a chance to start over.”

“I’ve checked out your story, and I believe you’re telling me the truth.” She nodded and pulled the hood down close to her eyebrows. “After your divorce, your ex-wife’s parents took custody of your daughter. The records are sealed, but it was pretty clear there was an incident.”

“I know.” I sighed angrily. “I promised Adeline I would never let her mother hurt her again, and I sat in prison while that promise was broken. I can’t be there for my daughter. Even if I could, the restraining order would just get me tossed back in prison.”

“And you can’t do much on the outside with a felony conviction on your record.” She nodded. “I have a friend that went through something similar with an ex-girlfriend. I get it.”

“People say you’re the best hacker in the world.” I put my hands flat on the table. “Can you help me try to live what is left of my miserable life without this cloud hanging over my head? I would never hurt anyone, I swear it.”

“Yeah, I can help you.” She nodded. “But keep your money. I don’t need it as much as you will.”

The woman pulled out a laptop and opened it. She started typing furiously, with her fingers moving across the keyboard so fast that I thought she was going to break the keys. I had no idea what she was doing. I was fairly incompetent when it came to computers. I leaned back in my chair and waited, unsure what else to do except put my money back in my pocket. I had no idea what to expect when my cellmate told me there was a support group for people who were serving time for domestic violence when they were really the victims. I didn’t feel like a victim. The day I pushed Maggie would be scarred into my memories forever. I was trying to save my daughter and instead I lost everything.

“Okay.” She closed her laptop. “You died in a fire last night.”