“There are things that you, as an outsider, don’t know, will not understand. I offer you right now, an out.”
I realized that I still didn’t know her name; she had never introduced herself. That alone spoke of some sort of disdain that she held for me or some need for secrecy. I would let her speak, but this woman certainly didn’t have my best interests in mind.
“I will tell the world that my son was mistaken and that your Renai tests were negative. You will promise me and will sign several legally binding documents with heavy penalties, that you will never come back here again, and you will never knowingly speak to a Renai again. To settle you into your new life, I will offer you a lump sum of five million dollars and a comfortable house in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, worth two and a half million dollars. I have been told that you are a consultant. I have connections with every major consulting firm in Boston. If you wish, I will arrange a position for you there.”
It was a mind-boggling offer. What must be a beautiful house, enough money to never work again, travel, and a life ofleisure and learning if I wanted it, and a job that would satisfy my ambition if I wanted that instead. All I would have to do was give up this world and four men, three of whom I had only met a few days ago.
I could have a life. A better life than almost anyone I had ever known. I could have everything I wanted, but I would be alone. I would never hear Ettore call me his little savior again, I would never mess with Bartosz or see his burgeoning pride again, I would never taste Jin Woo’s skin or bask in his good-natured smile. I would never have that missing piece of myself that I had known all along was Oskar. I would have it all, but I would be alone.
My mind was made up in an instant.
“No, thank you. I would like to stay, I would like to see the men I love and care for, and frankly, I would like to thank your son for his help. “ I do not take your offer,” I said. I saw her mouth open as she went to speak, but I didn’t give her the chance. “Nor any other offer that you dream up.” I am Renai, and while I am still learning what that means in totality, I want to live like a Renai.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed, and her upper lip curled in disgust, a disgust that had been lurking underneath all of her words the entire time.
“You will live to regret your choice, girl,” she snapped, but I just reached back and once again tapped the button with the bell on it. I was done with this conversation.
“I don’t think so. If that’s all,” I gestured to the door and looked at her pointedly, making sure that she got my meaning. I was close to yelling, ‘Get the fuck out of my room, you hag,’ but that couldn’t be good for my stitches. The woman strode to the door in a huff, not looking back, basically body-checking a nurse who was entering the room.
In his hands was a glass of water, which he told me to drink in small sips, which I did as I glared at the door where the woman had left from. Once I finished and he was adjusting something on one of the machines, I turned to him,
“I need to speak with Ettore, Jin Woo, Bartosz, and Oskar? They came and visited me before. Can you bring them to me?”
The nurse smiled at me.
“They have barely left your side. It was only because they had a hearing that they weren’t here when you woke up.”
When he saw how I flinched when he said hearing, he gently patted my hand.
“Don’t worry at all about the hearing, honestly, it’s mostly just everyone heaping praise on them for finding an unregistered female Renai after all this time. They are even talking about holding another conference in a couple of months with just the most eligible bachelors this time, for you to pick. Everyone is interested in you, and everyone wants some of your genes!”
The way he was speaking of my genes skeeved me out a bit, but I had to tell myself that I didn’t have all the context and that I was sure that they wouldn’t hold an entire conference just for me. So biting down my apprehension, I smiled at the nurse and watched as he promptly flushed.
“The man opened a drawer that almost blended in with the wall and removed a Jell-O cup and spoon from within it.
“Have that, just take very small bites. I think they’ll be back within the hour. They’ll be happy to see you up and speaking, you’ve been unconscious for more than a week, and your surgery was a long and risky one.”
I nodded, and once he saw that I was able to eat a bit of Jell-O without choking and dying, he turned to leave the room, leaving me alone to wait until my men finally returned to me.
***
I must have fallen asleep, but it must have been only a light sleep because I could feel the heat of fingertips close but not quite touching my skin. My eyes fluttered open, revealing a four-eyed monster that it took a while to separate into Oskar and Bartosz, their faces so close to mine that I couldn’t see anything else.
“Mina? How do you feel?” Bartosz asked. In a gauzy sort of way, I noted that it was unusual for Bartosz to speak first; he was usually more likely to sink into the background.
“I’m feeling better, my stomach is tender, and whatever drugs they are giving me are making me sleepy, but other than that I’m good.”
It ended up being Bartosz's fingers hovering over my skin, and I luxuriated in the feeling when he finally touched my skin, trailing a long stroke down my skin, catching my cheekbone. I felt that heaviness hit me again, now that I had my men back with me, something inside me settled. But I couldn’t sleep now, I had to talk to them, had to hear how things went, and tell them about the strange interaction I had with Constantine's mother.
“Help me sit up, one of you,” I said, and received not two but four hands gently pulling me up until I was sitting propped up against the pillows. Bartosz walked around the bed when I was settled and climbed up next to me, an arm slung on the pillows behind me, not quite touching as if not to jostle me or add any weight to my already tired shoulders.
Now positioned and able to have a good view over all my men, I looked them all over properly.
They were all in what looked like clean clothes; they had most likely changed into them before they went to court. Jin Woo was in a business suit with a crisp white collared shirt with the top button unbuttoned. Bartosz was in a thick navy sweater and professional-ish athleisure pants. Oskar was in a traditionalNorwegian sweater and corduroy pants, and Ettore was in expertly tailored maroon pants and a silky, black long-sleeved shirt that I could just tell was expensive. It occurred to me that this was the first time that I had seen them properly dressed and not bedraggled. Their clothing seemingly fit them, and another piece slid into the puzzle of who they were as people, and once again, it soothed something within me.
While their clothes looked put together, the rest of them were less polished. Jin Woo, for example, looked peaky; his face was thinner than it had been on the island, his cheeks slightly hollowed in. It broke my heart.
“How was the court?” I asked Bartosz, but he didn’t seem caught up in what was bothering the other three.
