“I’m afraid that both my baby and I will die,” Leilani says coldly, “Mr. Clifford, you shouldn’t force me to do anything. Take my word, and things will go well for you.”
Andrew looks at her thoughtfully, and Leilani smiles gently. Eager to change the topic before he can think of new arguments, she looks around the room for a clock. Upon seeing the time, she pushes the quilt away and stands determinedly.
“Have you had lunch yet?” she asks him, “It’s already noon, and I’m hungry. Can we have lunch together?”
Though Leilani hasn’t eaten a proper meal in days, she doesn’t feel hungry, but she knows she needs to get nutrition to her unborn baby. Andrew squints at her, but he doesn’t deny her request. Instead, he leads her to the dining room.
The cooks have already prepared several nutritious dishes. The food is made light and healthy to help Andrew’s recovering heart, but it’s also ideal for a pregnant woman. Leilani sits close to Andrew to make him happy—if he’s content, it’s easier for her to plan her escape in peace. Though Andrew wonders why she’s so nice, he’s too happy to worry about it.
She feeds him his food, peels an apple for him, and watches TV with him after their meal. She acts like a doting and attentive lover, and he seems to glow with joy. Suddenly, he holds her face between his hands and kisses her on the forehead. From a dark corner of the room, a camera films them and sends the video to Waylen.
“I’m not nice to you,” Leilani glow, pulling away from Andrew, “I’m just taking care of your heart.”
After lunch, Leilani retreats to her bedroom. She rifles through her luggage and retrieves her mobile phone. She turns it on but gets an error message: no signal. With an exasperated sigh, she gets out of the bed and slips her feet into slippers. She hopes she can find a signal in some other part of the house.
Before she can leave the room, a group of women stops her at the door. Their perfume is so strong it makes her sneeze. She takes a hesitant step backward but regards them coldly.
“Can I help you with something?” she asks icily.
“No, but we can wherever we like,” Ruby says, smiling a falsely sweet smile, “So you’re Mr. Clifford’s new lover? Well, you’re not bad. Your face is maybe a five, and your chest is a solid eight. Your ass is a six, and I suppose your legs are tens.”
Ruby glances at Leilani’s legs and hides her jealousy behind a judgmental glare. Leilani’s legs are long, slender, and perfectly proportioned, but Ruby’s are rather short. Ruby looks up at Leilani’s face again and wants to scream. The other woman’s skin is flawless and smooth, and her facial features are almost perfect.
“So, were you Mr. Clifford’s lover before me?” Leilani asks.
She is slightly taller than Ruby and looks down at the other woman as condescendingly as possible.
“Your face is a ten, and your chest is a seven,” Leilani says, eyeing Ruby, “As for your bottom, that’s a six. I’d score your legs, but I can’t seem to find them.”
“You!” Ruby hisses, shaking with rage, “You shouldn’t be so pleased. Mr. Clifford will tire of you soon, and then you’ll learn your place.”
Leilani smiles serenely. It seems that the women at Andrew’s house enjoy the drama of fighting over him.
“I’m not interested in Mr. Clifford,” Leilani says.
“How dare you?” screams one of the women, “You have no idea how lucky you are.”
“I think you’re full of it,” Rub says, “If Mr. Clifford didn’t like you, you’d be miserable. This confidence is just an act.”
Soon the women begin arguing with each other. Their argument quickly turns to scream. Leilani rubs her temples and gazes at them for a moment. Then she raises her hand and begins to point at them while counting aloud. The women pause and give each other confused looks.
“There are seven of them: one for every day of the week,” Leilani thinks, “If Andrew exhausts himself with them, he’ll lose interest in me.”
“What are you doing?” Ruby snaps, “Why are you counting us?”
“I was just noticing that there are seven of you,” Leilani says, “Conveniently, there are seven days in a week.”
“What do you mean by that?” the women ask.
“I can make an arrangement for you,” Leilani offers, feeling like a pimp, “Each of you has a chance to serve Mr. Clifford exclusively for one day. What do you think?”
The women exchange suspicious glances.
“Why do you want to help us?” Ruby demands, “What’s your purpose?”
“Because I’m pregnant,” Leilani answers simply.
The smell of their perfume is giving her a throbbing headache, and she has no interest in theatrics. Nonetheless, the women all widen their eyes in shock and gasp dramatically.
“If you have any doubts about whether or not I’m pregnant, you can ask the doctor,” Leilani says as soon as they’ve stopped screaming, “My pregnancy makes it impossible for me to serve Mr. Clifford, but as you know, Mr. Clifford has a strong desire.”
Leilani doesn’t need to explain more. All of the women know about Andrew’s desires. Some of them are beginning to nod their heads in agreement.
“If you are willing to serve him, I will persuade him to promise that you can serve him in turns,” Leilani offers.
“Why should we believe you?” Ruby asks.
“It’s a risk-free arrangement for you,” Leilani says, “In the end, Mr. Clifford’s happiness is my responsibility.”
The women whisper among themselves. Eventually, they agree to Leilani’s proposal.
“In order for this to work, you need to change something,” Leilani says as if the idea is an afterthought.
“You mean we should change the ways we make love?” asks one of the women.
“No, I mean the decoration and atmosphere,” Leilani says.
“Oh, I get it,” says one, “You think we should wear s.e.xier clothes.”
“I’ve already tried that,” complains another, “But it’s useless.”
“Yeah, ever since Mr. Clifford had the operation, he hasn’t touched us,” chimes another.
Before they can begin arguing again, Leilani clears her throat loudly.
“I’ll solve these problems, but I need to buy some new clothes and cosmetics to do it,” she announces.
She’s hoping she can use the women to get out of the house.
Upon hearing that Leilani wants to leave, the women begin to complain and object.
“We haven’t been out for a very long time,” one woman says, “Mr. Clifford doesn’t allow us to go out. If we need something, we can make a list, and someone will buy items for us.”
“You can’t leave here on your own,” objects another, “You’ll get lost immediately.”
“Are there any other ways?” Leilani asks, trying to hide her disappointment.
“The only way is to ask Mr. Clifford to allow you to go out with a team of his guards,” Ruby says.
“You should help me,” Leilani says, “I need to go shopping if our plan is going to work.”
The women nod and agree, but Ruby scowls suspiciously.
In the morning, the women wait at the dining room table to have breakfast with Andrew. Andrew emerges from his room wearing a dark blue robe and looking irresistibly disheveled. He’s surprised to see all of the women sitting at the table.
“Why are you up so early?” he asks.
“Since Miss Peters just joined the house, we thought we should welcome her,” Ruby explains.
“Yes, we want to make friends with her,” says another, “It’s really important to us that we all get along well.”
“I just joined them,” Leilani says demurely, “Although they are so kind to me, I feel rather embarrassed.”
She showed smiles as she hands him a bowl of oatmeal.
“Why do you feel embarrassed?” Andrew asks.
“I didn’t know there would be so many women here, and I didn’t bring anything to thank them for their hospitality,” Leilani explains, “I want to buy them some gifts to show my friendship and appreciation.”
“You can have whatever you want,” Andrew says, “Just make a list, and someone will get the items for you.”
“I want to buy them myself,” Leilani says charmingly, “I want it to be a sort of good-faith effort.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.