c31

Chloe Pov

"Whose turn is it?" I asked, we were each sitting on a beanbag with the coffee table in the middle.

"It's Harmonie's I think," said Corine pointing with her chin to Harmonie who was in front of her.

"Hm?" she said when she heard her name,

"It's your turn, truth or dares?"

"Truth" she replied, so I reached for one of the picks on the stack of cards with truth marked on it.

"Ooh, that's a tough one," I said, before looking up and reading,

"Tell us who you are most afraid of when this person is angry." I then showed the card to all, so they could see that was what it said.

"Only one person?" asked Harmonie, thoughtfully.

"It's up to you," I replied, Harmonie, nodded.

She thought for a while and finally replied, "My little sister."

When she answered the question, I was drinking grape juice from my number 5 glass, her answer took me by surprise, and I swallowed hard. The liquid went up my nasal cavity and out my nostrils while I was choking and coughing. It was no fun.

I quickly calmed down with the help of Sylvia, who was stroking my back. I thanked her and when she saw that I was better, she went to sit down again. Corine passed me a handkerchief which she went to get and then resumed her seat.

"You almost choked," Cassidy said, and I nodded and said,

"Her answer surprised me."

"Oh really! Why?" asked Cassidy, I looked at her and then lowered my head to look at my hands.

"I'm afraid of her, too," I said softly. But they all heard me.

"Is she that scary?" asked Corine, puzzled.

"Yes, when she's angry, really sheer anger. There, yes, she is frightening. The rest of the time, she's herself." I said with a shrug, they clearly didn't seem to get it.

Harmonie, for her part, had a slightly pensive look on her face: "What she's trying to tell you is that my little sister acts like a golden retriever most of the time," she said and I nodded.

"You know what the saying is about the ones that are the quiet ones? That they are scary when they are pissed off. I agree with that, but let's add a new category to it - those with golden retriever behavior. Or, to be more precise, those who are always smiling, who make you think that everything is beautiful, everything pink. She's very nice, respectful and so on. And she loves to smile and laugh. And it's a very rare thing for her to get angry. She can get annoyed at some things, and she can get upset, but it's very rare that she gets angry. I've had the opportunity to see her in a state of anger once, I don't know if it's luck or bad luck but that was enough for me."

"What happened?" asked Sylvia, and I looked at her, and then my eyes fell back to the floor, to remember that fateful moment.

"On that day, we were sitting on the couch in silence with H and her, and we were watching a film. She had a phone call, and I'm not sure why, but by the time she got off the phone, there was a sudden change in the atmosphere. And really, I'm not going to lie to you, I felt a shiver run down my spine. At that moment, I had the impression that it was because of the cold temperature, even though it was clearly summer. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harmonie get up very slowly, as if she didn't want to make any noise, and literally sprint away. I, on the other hand, didn't understand the situation, I was still sitting down, and then I had the bad idea to have a look at her sister and when our eyes met I had the impression that my soul almost left me for a moment. I jumped to my feet and left the living room very quickly."

"After you hadn't even dared to go near her for almost two weeks and I think it made her sad," Harmonie said with a slight smile,

"It was a surprise and a bit of trauma to me. But really, fortunately, she always has a Golden Retriever's behavior, being enthusiastic about everything and everyone."

Harmonie nodded, then said, "Whose turn is it?"

"Mine, I choose Dare," Valerie said as she reached for the stack of Dare cards, her eyebrows raised and a smirk appearing on her lips. 'This doesn't bode well,' I thought, once again fearing for my life.

"Give a lap dance to the person you think is the hottest," she read aloud, still smirking.

'Oh, oh!' I immediately turned back to Harmonie who had a horrified look on her face. I think in her mind, she was probably saying, 'Please let it not be me.'

"Hm... this is going to be tricky because I think you all look hot in your own way." I immediately looked at her and began to think, 'Please let it not be me.'

Turning my head to look at the others, I changed my wording, 'Please let it not be me, and certainly not Sylvia.'

"But of course, I've always had my little preference for a certain person here in this room who probably recognized herself." And she stood up and walked towards Harmonie.

If looks could kill, Valerie would be six feet under the ground, the menacing stare Cassandra was giving her was cold. It even gave me chills. Yes, as you may have noticed, I am extremely sensitive to changes in the atmosphere. She's scary, 'Why is she next to me? H save me.'

She didn't have to put on music, because we could already hear the music, which happened to be on a playlist I would call 'HOT'.

Before Valerie could even reach Harmonie, Harmonie reached for the coffee table and drank the cursed drink, number 8 was the number on the glass.

After drinking, Harmonie's face contorted into a grimace, and then she started coughing uncontrollably. She rushed out of the living room to probably go to the kitchen, still coughing, after telling us she would be back.

"Dada, no' okay, 'unty?" asked Adélaïde tiny voice next to me after she looked up from her picture book at Harmonie's cough and stared at me.

Adélaïde had been in Cassandra's arms since the beginning of the party, as soon as the little one saw her, they wouldn't let go of each other, much to the despair of Corine and Cassidy, who wanted to hold the little one.

"She's going to be okay, baby, don't worry," I said, trying to reassure her as best I could. The little one nodded gently, closed her picture book, and buried her head in Cassandra's chest.

"What's in the mixture that makes her cough so much?" Valerie took the blender with the 'cursed mixture' as I like to call it, she put some back in glass 8 before she smelled it, then she started to gag, "What's in there?" she said with disgust on her face.

"Egg, soda, lettuce, milk, and a little vinegar and some spices," I replied, the others' eyes going wide.

"That stuff is poison," Valerie said, wincing. And the others all nodded in agreement.

"How did she drink that?" asked Sylvia,

"Anything is possible if there is a will," I replied, looking at her. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow,

'Sexy...' I looked away from her, 'She's quite dangerous, this woman.'

Then we heard footsteps approaching, and we turned our heads to see if it was Harmonie.

And it was indeed her.

"My lips are beginning to swell..." she said as she sat down. Hearing her voice, Adelaide raised her head from her hiding place.

"Hi, Dada," she said softly, Harmonie looked at her and then smiled.

"Hi, mama." She patted her head, and Adelaide took the opportunity to return to her hiding place.

Harmonie then took her goblet number 3 and drank its contents, "You went a little overboard with the chili pepper," she said with a pained face.

"Chili pepper? I didn't put any chili pepper in this mix, though." I replied, looking at Corine quizzically.

"At some point, you said we should put chili pepper in, and when I saw that you had prepared it in a small container, and it was next to the blender, I thought you probably forgot to put it in," Corine replied with a sorry expression.

'Ah, that's right, I did mention it.'

"Sorry H," Corine said to Harmonie and Harmonie smiled at her, but it looked a bit like a grimace, probably because of the pain.

"Sorry," I said in return, the reason I didn't want to spice it up, not even a little, was Harmonie. She can't handle the chili, again she tries to hide it, but it must be excruciating for her.

"You know, you could have just let Valerie give you the lap dance," Cassidy said, looking at Harmonie, her head tilted slightly.

" It's embarrassing..." Harmonie replied quietly, rubbing her eyebrow.

The opportunity to get a lap dance from Valerie is indeed an experience in itself. If I hadn't been interested in Sylvia, the person I had been before with such an opportunity would have accepted it, even after an argument like the one I had the other time. And she also was on the other side of Cassandra.

Because let's face it, Valerie is a very beautiful woman, well-built and gorgeous. She also has a very sweet personality, except during training of course, but in everyday life, she is a good person and also very sensitive. Sometimes her emotions get the better of her and she speaks without thinking.

After hearing Harmonie's answer and seeing that she was embarrassed, the others smiled.

"Well, shall we continue?" asked Cassidy, and after a nod, we got back into the game.

"It's your turn..." Harmonie said.

"I'll take a dare" she picked and read, "Kiss the person to your right for 30 seconds."

I breathed a sigh of relief as I was on her left. The person to her right was Valerie.

"Do you want to drink cup 8? Because I don't." Cassidy said, I think deep down she was happy to kiss her, especially with that stupid grin she was trying to hide, but her eyes couldn't lie. She probably has a little crush on Valerie.

"Neither do I," Valerie said with a grin, and they kissed. Meanwhile, I looked away, I was not a fan of PDAs.

Well, it's mostly that Sylvia was present, and out of respect I just decided not to look at them. 'What if she wasn't there?'

I shook my head so as not to start a stupid debate in my head.

While the others counted, Harmonie and I pestered the baby.

"You'll make her cry if you keep this up," Cassandra said quietly, stroking Adelaide tenderly.

Her eyes were filled with joy. This gesture on her part was also our signal to Harmonie and me to stop.

The way she handled Adelaide was very natural and the softness in her eyes was amazing to see. Like it was natural for her to have this maternal side with the little one that she may have been missing in her life. And she was happy. That's what mattered. They were both happy in each other's arms.

"...30!" I heard after I came out of my thoughts.

"Oh, it's over?" When I looked at them, Cassidy's face was all red and Valerie had a huge grin on her face.

"Is this the return of the Kissing Demon?" I said with a smile, Valerie turned back to me, her grin still there.

"No, Kissing Goddess," she corrected, turning back to Harmonie, "Isn't it Harmonie?"

Harmonie nodded, "Ouch!" she exclaimed softly, the others looked at her.

"Sorry, I bumped into a leg of the coffee table, you can go on."

When the others turned their heads away, Harmonie discretely rubbed her side, 'Like she's trying to ease the pain?' I thought to myself, but maybe I imagined things, I shrugged slightly and looked away, missing the moment when Harmonie looked sadly at Cassandra and Cassandra glared at her before looking away, all this happened in just a few mere seconds.

"H, have you ever kissed her?" asked Corine, my eyes landing on Cassandra, who had her eyebrows furrowed and was looking straight ahead.

'Uh-oh,' I thought as I looked at Cassandra, who obviously didn't like what she was hearing.

"No!" Harmonie said quickly, shaking her head violently, her face showing that she was in a panic.

"What are you talking about? You didn't hesitate the last time our lips met," Valerie said, understanding what she meant, and I tried to hold back my laughter as best I could.

Looking closely at Harmonie, I saw that she was slightly startled and stood up abruptly,

"What are you talking about? It was to save you, it wasn't a kiss. Or would you rather I had left you to your fate," she said as she lightly massaged her hip.

'It must be itchy,' I said to myself, missing again the interaction between Cassandra and her like everyone else* because I was looking at Sylvia, she gave her a look of pain and Cassandra pursed her lips and then ignored her and turned her head away.

When my attention returned to her, I saw Cassandra turn her head away, her eyebrows still furrowed, obviously not happy about the subject.

Feeling sorry for her, I decided to save her, "Stop it, Valerie, you know, very well, it was to save you. It was mouth-to-mouth to get the water out of your lungs after you almost drowned."

Valerie's grin formed again, with something in her eyes that told me I was in danger.

'Damn! She probably didn't like me mentioning that episode in her life.' Yet she was the one who mentioned the mouth-to-mouth episode first.

"Okay, it's true that in Harmonie's case, it was to save me." I saw Harmonie sigh with relief and sit up again.

"But on the other hand in your case, it wasn't to save me at all, or maybe it was, it was to save me from my loneliness," she said with her evil grin and pointed at me.

"That's in the past and besides, it didn't mean anything." I tried to defend myself as best I could.

"You're talking like we only kissed once." And then I really feared for my life, I didn't even dare to look at Sylvia.

"Please leave the past in the past."

"You didn't regret kissing me, especially since you were the one who initiated all the times we kissed."

'Yes, go ahead, push me further down... I'm screwed! Please stop Valerie!' I thought desperately, looking for a way out of this situation.

"The past always comes knocking at the door," Harmonie said, not really caring about my situation, and I saw an opportunity to get out of this mess.

"It's the pot calling the kettle black," I said, completely bluffing. She looked at me quizzically, as if to ask what I was talking about.

"You and your many adventures!" I wasn't talking about a relationship with anyone, of course, but let's just say some of them wouldn't know.

"But what are you talking about?" said the one who is the source of my misfortune, as they say," it's always beauties who get you into trouble." Yes, I just made it up, or maybe I heard it somewhere.

'Oh no, not you, Valerie! I'm trying to save myself here.'

"I want you to know that out of all of us, Harmonie was the only one who was 'clean'," she said, talking about our time in Lieme with Harmonie, Hazel, her, and me.

Of course, she was the "cleanest". She loved Cassandra and was obviously very loyal to her feelings. I rolled my eyes, I too could do that if I had someone I loved back then, then I noticed that Valerie had noticed my eye movements.

'No, please, Valerie, don't do this. Please!'

"And you were the worst." She added, still pointing at me.

'It's dead, it's ruined. You can bury me.'

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Corine in a very small voice, obviously unable to keep up with the conversation.

'Oh no, not you Corine, you're going to dig me even deeper into the hole. I'm going to cry.'

"Oh, we were talking about the hook-ups of Chl-" Harmonie started before being interrupted by the doorbell.

'Ah, just in time.'

"I'll go see who it is." So I fled from the living room, not daring to look at Sylvia. I didn't even dare during the whole conversation. I am really beginning to regret my past very much.

When I opened the door, I saw that it was Hazel who had finally arrived, she was dressed in the same outfit as us, but in mauve and didn't wear any makeup, but even in her natural look she is very attractive. I think you understood that it was all planned. I asked her to dress like that.

It was supposed to be Harmonie, Hazel, and me, but since Corine came earlier to help us and there was an extra outfit, I gave it to her. In addition to her outfit, she had her bag in one hand and a large brown envelope in the other.

"What's wrong?" I asked her after letting her in when I saw her frown.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Where is Harmonie?" She asked after giving me a kiss on the forehead.

"In the living room with the others."

"Okay, let's go," she said to me as she walked toward the living room, Harmonie and the others were talking when they saw us come in.

"Good evening," Hazel said, and the others answered her, come to think of it, I forgot to say good evening to her.

"'Harmonie ?"

"Yes?"

"Come, follow me," Hazel said, walking out of the living room, Harmonie behind her.

I turned back to the others, "Shall we continue?"

" Isn't that one of the sponsors of the high school?" asked Corine, watching Hazel's figure leave.

"Yes, it is. Didn't you see us hugging that day? "

"Yes, but I didn't know you were so close, I thought it was an acquaintance of yours, but I should have."

My eyes fell on Cassandra, who had her head down, looking at the tired child in her arms.

"That's our aunt," I blurted out without thinking, I didn't want to see her like that, misunderstanding over nothing. Even though they were not together yet, I could see how much they loved each other, so letting her get the wrong idea was not an option.

Everyone else and she looked at me after this revelation, only Valerie didn't look surprised.

"Well, she's Harmonie's aunt, her mother's little sister to be exact. But that doesn't stop me from thinking of her as my aunt too," I explained since Hazel tended to be very affectionate to the both of us.

"So those of you who were beginning to get the wrong idea. Be relieved." I think everyone somehow understood who I was talking about, but no one objected, they just nodded.

A smile formed on my face when I saw the small smile Cassandra was trying to hide.

" How about we keep playing until they come back? " I asked as I sat back down on my beanbag.

15 minutes later

After finishing another game of UNO

"They're taking a while to get back," I said, and saw Valerie getting up.

"What do you say we go get them, I'll take the opportunity to go to the toilet, I need to pee," she said, pointing upstairs.

"Okay..." I said, getting up from the beanbag.

...

When we got upstairs after a short pee break from Valerie, we knocked on the door.

...

Raise Pov

"What's going on?" asked Harmonie as she closed the door to her room, Hazel put her bag on the chair, and the envelope on the table, then took off her jacket and put it on the armchair, then walked over to the bed. She sat down on the bed, took off her boots, and slumped down on the bed with a sigh.

Usually, they took them off at the front door, but since it was a special night, they could come in with their shoes on. In any case, tomorrow would be a day of cleaning, Harmonie thought.

She looked at the envelope, wondering if the answer to her questions was inside. And it was Hazel's voice that answered her, "These are the documents Ana-Marie gave me for you to sign."

"Why didn't she just scan them..." Harmonie said with a slight sigh, and then she sat down on one of the free chairs, took the envelope, and began to look at the documents quickly.

Seeing that her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, Hazel asked, "What is it?"

Harmonie looked up and said, "Oh, it's nothing. It's just the investor materials. I just thought I'd better read them again tomorrow because I don't think I could get my head around them."

She put the documents back in the envelope and set them down on the wooden coffee table.

"Okay, and now Hazel, what I asked you to check," she said, raising an eyebrow.

Hazel straightened up on her elbows and said, "My contact is currently unavailable, the person will be back in a few days and I don't feel like doing it anywhere else or asking anyone else because firstly we don't have their permission and secondly my contact is someone I trust."

Seeing Harmonie nod in understanding, Hazel sighed in relief and added, "Besides..."

Harmonie raised her head as if to indicate that she should continue.

"Besides, I have something to check on in addition to the mission."

Harmonie nodded again as she stood, "Okay, I understand. I wasn't mentally ready for the results, but at some point, I'll have to face them."

Hazel hummed and Harmonie lay down beside her after taking off her shoes. Hazel took her in her arms and without realizing it, they fell asleep.

A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door, but no one answered.

...

Valerie and Chloe looked at each other in the absence of an answer, then their eyes settled on the door, and after a few seconds, they decided to open it.

The first thing they saw was Harmonie with her head on Hazel's chest, lying in her arms and Hazel's arms around her protectively.

Chloe stopped Valerie from entering, grabbed her phone, and quietly took pictures, then told Valerie to come closer. As she took a step into the room, Harmonie's head jerked up, and she struggled to open her eyes, then when she saw who it was, her head landed on Hazel, who once again pulled her closer.

So Valerie understood why Chloe had stopped her from entering, and Harmonie's reaction was lovely to her.

Chloe entered and said, "Why are you so tired?"

Then she started taking pictures of their positions, smiling, but deep inside she felt a little jealous.

Harmonie then opened her eyes slightly and replied in a hoarse and dry voice, "I practiced until late last night after I finished the preparations for today and I forgot to check the time... And I didn't take my nap today," she finished, unconsciously rubbing her head on Hazel's chest, which Chloe thought was funny. She still wasn't wide awake.

Five minutes later, they walked down the stairs.

Hazel covered her mouth and started to yawn, and Harmonie covered her mouth and yawned as well.

"Stop yawning, you're activating the mirror..." Chloe's eyes stopped on Valerie who was yawning in turn, "neurons," she said as she finished her sentence, and she felt like she was going to yawn as well.

"Stop yawning, we need to have fun. I'm going to put on some sound because I feel some people are going to fall asleep," Chloe said as she arrived in the living room, the others saw the look on Harmonie and Hazel's faces and understood what was happening and smiled.

Harmonie took her seat and looked at Adelaide, who had her pacifier in her mouth and was not far from being in Morpheus' arms, too.

"Did you give her, her bottle?" she asked, her voice slightly husky as she looked at Cassandra.

Cassandra nodded, smiling fondly, then said quietly so as not to disturb the little one, "Yes, Grace brought it to me, she finished it a few minutes before you came back and Lucie came to get the bottle."

Harmonie nodded, then looked around at the others. Corine and Cassidy stood in front of the buffet table with the trays lined up. Then she saw Valerie approaching them,

Valerie said something to them with a smile, Corine lowered her head and Cassidy looked a little embarrassed with her shifty look.

Cassidy's eyes met Harmonie's, but the latter, not wanting to be curious, looked away without any other reaction from her side.

"Okay..." Chloe said into the microphone in the 'DJ area' as she liked to call it, "... the music is about to start, so get ready to get fired up, my beautiful ladies."

Then, just as she was about to turn on the music, Hazel walked up to her and told her that she was going to turn on the music that would quickly ignite the evening in a matter of seconds. Chloe looked at her doubtfully, but finally shrugged and gave up her DJ spot.

From the first note, Chloe, Valerie, and Harmonie's glances widened in shock, it is necessary to know that the chosen song had too explicit lyrics, but it was not that that shocked them, it was the promise behind this song that worried them.

Hazel smiled wickedly, knowing she would get some people in trouble. She stopped the song and played it again from the beginning,

"This is the third time, so this is the last." Always with her smirk.

Valerie smiled in return, a little embarrassed inside. Harmonie looked at Chloe with a dark expression. Chloe smiled weakly.

"Come on, get up! A promise is a promise. They will finally learn what you have been doing for the last three years." Hazel laughed silently and quickly checked that the workers had discreetly turned on the cameras to get everyone's reaction, then looked at the people involved.

Chloe stood up with a closed face, Valerie joined her with a chair that she placed in the middle of the floor. Everything that had been there before was gone. Harmonie reluctantly got up as well and sat down on the chair that Valerie had brought.

"Well, I'll explain to our dear friends what's going on..." she said with a smile on her lips, her eyes sparkling with joy and mischief. "Three years ago, a promise was made after these three lost a game. Since we know that they love to dance, the team and I decided to give them a task... which is to perform a dance choreographed by us three times each time they hear the music I am about to play...".

She looked around at everyone, her teeth still showing, "Of course, the dance is special, and I wanted you to enjoy it. Oh, and just to clarify, this is all part of the performance, so don't be shocked."

After her explanation, she started the music, resting her chin on her hand on the table.

The music began, and only Valerie began to make sensual movements with her hands, and then gradually she approached Chloe like a lioness approaching her prey and danced around her while Chloe looked on without any reaction. The others, seeing this, said to themselves that she would not do it.

But suddenly Chloe grabbed Valerie's waist and brought their bodies closer together, then she moved to the rhythm of the song, as Valerie did, sensually. Her bored look had completely changed, she had become the one holding her prey in her hands, their bodies moving slowly but surely, and the atmosphere had become strangely hot.

Chloe's hand rested on Valerie's leg and slowly moved up the length of Valerie's back to the nape of her neck, abruptly bringing Valerie's head closer to hers, their lips just inches apart.

A playful smile was in Valerie's eyes, and Chloe discreetly rolled her eyes. They tried not to smile at the situation, if this had been before there would have been a sexual tension between them more true than nature, but this was not the case. They found it funny.

They didn't know that the camera had managed to catch the moment when Sylvia froze and sucked in a deep breath because of this action of theirs.

And the shocked reaction of the others.

At the moment they thought there was going to be a kiss, Valerie suddenly pushed Chloe. Actually, she had only brushed against her lightly and Chloe had done the rest, but the others didn't know that.

Then she approached Harmonie who did not get up from her chair and started to move her hips around the chair, when she was finally in front of them again and they thought she was finally going to get her revenge for the lap dance, they were shocked again and not in a good way, some of them even got out of their chairs.

Valerie had put her hand on Harmonie and just as she was about to sit on her, Harmonie pushed her, she fell to the floor, raised her head, and looked at Harmonie sadly, like a small wounded animal, seeing Harmonie's ignorance, she turned back to Chloe who was looking at her.

Chloe understood that she wanted her help and moved closer to her. But then Harmonie's gaze changed, suddenly full of obsession, as the pace quickened. She caught Valerie's hips after getting out of her chair and pulled her closer, one of her knees on the floor, both hands on Valerie's hips, and fiercely looked at Chloe.

Valerie tried to fight, but it was more like a struggle or a dance to the rhythm of the music, then the rhythm changed again, becoming more sultry and less fast.

Harmonie got up with the rhythm in every movement and helped Valerie to get up with one move in her arms, then the dance changed to tango movements.

And finally, they took each other in their arms with the rhythm of the music and Harmonie tapped discreetly on Valerie's leg. Valerie then wrapped her leg around her waist, her arms circled around her neck and her face hidden in Harmonie's neck.

And Harmonie moved gently on the last notes, as if it were a waltz, until the last note of the song.

The others had completely forgotten to react, some hid their jealousy, and others, Corine and Cassidy, were impressed, their mouths open.

The maids who were supposed to be filming were all blushing.

Harmonie still had Valerie in her arms, Valerie apologized to her as she went down, but seeing the smile behind Harmonie's eyes, she understood that Harmonie found the situation rather amusing, as did Chloe and herself, and smiled discreetly so as not to show it to the other two women, Sylvia and Cassandra.

Hazel saw that Valerie, Chloe, and Harmonie were acting normal, she knew that deep down they were having fun. It was just a dance, quite sensual, yes, but just a dance with no other emotion than fun for them.

And she smiled back, understanding that her mission had been accomplished. Even though they didn't show it, Hazel had noticed that since the incident in the training room there had always been something wrong between the three of them, but she knew that now it should be officially forgiven.

She then put on another song that would change the mood and officially start the evening.

From the first note of this song, unlike the previous one, Adelaide opened her eyes, bottle in mouth, and looked at the other three as they started to dance.

Cassidy smiled as she also knew the dance and joined them with Corine, who surprisingly also knew the dance.

Harmonie waved to Lucie and Tia, who had just arrived, probably having heard the song, to come and dance as well.

Hazel joined them in the middle, singing the words at the top of her lungs while dancing.

Adelaide moved in Cassandra's arms to put her down, now wide awake, and joined the others in their cheers, pacifier in hand. They formed a small circle around her. Amid the cheers, the little one smiled, danced, and jumped for joy, her pacifier still in her hand. Sylvia, Cassandra, Grace, and the others saw this and smiled.

Harmonie approached Cassandra, Chloe approached Sylvia, Hazel approached Grace, and the other girls approached the other maids, taking them to the middle of the dance floor despite their initial refusal because they didn't know the choreography, but they didn't know that this part of the song had no choreography and that they could just dance however they wanted without judgment.

The music continued and everyone enjoyed themselves, some ate, and others continued to play, but we could say that overall the night was successful despite some unforeseen events.

Midnight

After the excitement of the party, it was finally quiet.

"Well, here are your pajamas," Grace began, "We'll clean up tomorrow, go to sleep," she told the other maids.

They nodded and went to their rooms. Hazel had Valerie asleep in her arms and said, "Good night to you, my darlings. And she took her back to her room in the elevator.

Cassidy and Corine, who had decided to sleep together, picked up their pajamas and said,

"Good night;" before taking the stairs to their room.

Sylvia, who had not given in to Chloe's sweet eyes, also took her pajamas and went to her room.

Chloe said good night and went to her room.

Harmonie approached Cassandra and took Adelaide, who was long asleep, from Cassandra's arms. Cassandra took the pajamas she wanted, which like the others were in a transparent bag on the table, and joined Harmonie who was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

She unconsciously put one hand on Cassandra's lower back and carried Adelaide with her other arm. And they walked up the stairs.

....

Adelaide was already on the bed, asleep since she had been put into her pajamas long before the party ended, Cassandra was taking a shower and Harmonie, already in her pajamas, was on the phone.

Cassandra finally emerged from the bathroom in her pajamas, a towel in hand, wiping her hair. Understanding that she had not found the hair dryer, Harmonie told her caller to wait, walked over to Cassandra, took her hand, and went back into the bathroom.

She looked in one of the cabinets at the far end and found the hair dryer. She took the stool under the cabinet, unfolded it, and asked Cassandra to sit in front of the mirror and sink, plugged the dryer into one of the outlets, and began drying her hair.

"You have a lot of closet space," Cassandra said quietly, the hairdryer not being loud.

Harmonie nodded in understanding, not surprised that she couldn't find the hair dryer.

"Would you like me to brush your hair?" she asked, looking directly into her eyes through the mirror.

Cassandra smiled and nodded. Harmonie then took the brush from the drawer in front of her. And started brushing her hair after she finished drying Cassandra's hair.

Cassandra saw that Harmonie was paying attention to what she was doing by seeing the concentration on her face through the mirror, and her smile did not fade.

Harmonie stopped suddenly, pulled wireless headphones out of the front pocket of her nightgown, put them on her ears, connected them to her phone, and resumed what she was doing under Cassandra's watchful eyes.

"It's okay, Mummy, you can go ahead."

Cassandra smiled fondly when she heard what Harmonie called her mother.

"Elle dort déjà, il est minuit ici. Je vais bientôt me coucher aussi." (She's already asleep, it's midnight here. I'm going to bed soon, too.)

Harmonie's brushing suddenly stopped, and her eyes rose from Cassandra's hair and landed on Cassandra through the mirror.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she looked down as she continued to brush, "Oui, maman, elle va bien," (Yes, Mummy, she's fine) she said quietly.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow, wondering if she was talking about herself, and when she saw Harmonie's little smile, she knew she was, and she was strangely happy to know that Harmonie's mother had not forgotten her, that she was asking about her, and that Harmonie was talking about her too.

Harmonie then put down the brush and began to make a double French braid, then tied the end with the rubber bands she had around her wrist.

"Maman, je veux te demander de l'aide pour quelque chose..." (Mummy, I want to ask you for help with something...)

"Oui, c'est ça. C'est à propos de ce sujet. (Yes, that's right. It's about this matter.)

Not wanting to disturb her, Cassandra got up from the stool, kissed Harmonie on the temple and whispered "thank you" and left the bathroom, Harmonie watched her go with a smile on her face.

Cassandra went to lie down on the bed with Adelaide, the little one unconsciously moving closer to her, then slowly opening her eyes.

"Sleep, my love..." Cassandra whispered, patting her lightly and evenly on the back. Adelaide moved closer and whispered,

"Dada?"

Understanding that she wanted to know where Harmonie was, Cassandra replied softly,

"Dada is talking to her mommy."

"Mommy?"

"Yes, her mommy."

Adelaide climbed on top of Cassandra and again said softly, looking at her with tired eyes,

"Mommy."

Cassandra didn't understand Adelaide's reaction and continued to pat her on the back without saying anything.

Adelaide smiled through her pacifier, laid her head on Cassandra's chest, and repeated softly, rubbing her head lightly on her chest, "Mommy."

Cassandra's eyes widened and landed on Adelaide, she had just finally understood what Adelaide meant.

She was stunned, her eyes never leaving the sleeping child in her arms.

"What is it?" She heard Harmonie's voice ask her.

She looked at Harmonie who had just finished her call. She saw Harmonie put her phone down on the nightstand and walk to the other side of the bed, leaning against the headboard, her eyes on her, silently asking her what was wrong.

"I-" Her voice cracked, and her emotional eyes filled with tears.

She saw that Harmonie's eyes were full of concern, "What's wrong, Émi?" she asked, stroking her cheek.

"She... she called me," she took a deep breath and then said, "She called me... mommy."

Harmonie looked at her questioningly, "She called me mom, Harmonie," she said again, her voice cracking with emotion.

Her eyes looked at Harmonie, she was so afraid that Harmonie was against it and that the little one already had a mother. And she felt so selfish.

She had never thought that just hearing that one word would cause her so many emotions at once. She carefully placed the child on the bed, got up, and hurriedly left the room.

Harmonie, who had forgotten to react after what she had heard, a few seconds after Cassandra's departure her eyes landed where Cassandra had been earlier, finally realizing Cassandra's absence, she too got out of bed and ran after her.

She saw a maid, and without saying anything, the maid pointed to the front door, she thanked her without stopping and left the house barefoot.

Then she saw Cassandra standing in front of the fountain, looking at the starry sky and the moon.

Harmonie slowly approached where Cassandra was standing. Cassandra, who had heard her footsteps, froze.

Harmonie then sat down at the edge of the fountain, looked up, took Cassandra's hand, and pushed it gently towards her to sit beside her.

She then wrapped her arm around her shoulders and looked up at the sky as Cassandra looked back at her with tears in her eyes and face. Hearing her sobbing, Harmonie pulled her closer and Cassandra laid her head on the crook of her neck.

"It's a good thing my pajamas have long sleeves, it's cold." Harmonie said softly after a while, then lowered her head to look at Cassandra, "You know, I don't mind looking at the sky at night, but right now it's freezing, especially since we're barefoot, do you want to talk about it inside?"

She felt Cassandra nod her head and Cassandra straightened up, they stood up hand in hand and walked into the house.

...

With a blanket wrapped around her, Cassandra sat on the armchair in the room. Harmonie brought her a warm water glass and sat on the carpet next to her.

She waited for Cassandra to drink the water to warm up, then took the empty glass and put it on the coffee table, then looked at her, smiling slightly.

"If she wants to call you that, I don't mind, if you don't mind, for the rest I'll take care of it. So don't get yourself in such a state," she said quietly.

And then she remembered something, she added, "I have a busy week next week with the company, do you mind keeping her by any chance?"

A broad smile formed on Cassandra's face, and she quickly nodded, "No, I don't mind. What about her nanny?"

" Her nanny is trying to get his future wife, and he has to help me with the business as well."

She nodded without asking any more questions, she was already happy to have the little one with her.

"You are very pretty," Harmonie said softly, her eyes full of emotion as she looked at her.

"You're waiting for me to get puffy eyes and a teary face to tell me that," Cassandra said reproachfully to Harmonie, but with a little joy that she couldn't hide.

Harmonie shrugged, "You're pretty in all your states."

"You are a sucker..." Cassandra said simply, joking with a smile on her face.

"Only for you," she said softly, her voice slightly hoarse, and it obviously had an effect on Cassandra.

She blushed and said, "Don't do that, our daughter is here".

"There are other rooms."

Cassandra shook her head, "Not today, okay?"

"Okay, it's up to you."

They stood and headed for the bed, then Cassandra stopped suddenly as she looked back at Harmonie.

"Come to think of it, I almost forgot. Your dance with Valerie-"

Harmonie interrupted her, her eyes worried, "It was just a dance, darling."

Cassandra suddenly kissed her, Harmonie's eyes widened and then closed, savoring the kiss.

Cassandra put her arms around Harmonie's neck and Harmonie on her hips, and they moved even closer.

Knowing that it would be more if they didn't stop, they pulled away.

Cassandra tried to catch her breath as Harmonie looked at her with disappointment.

Cassandra came close to Harmonie's lips again and said in a dangerous whisper, "I have nothing to reproach you for today, but I hope for your sake that it was just a dance and that it's the last time you make me jealous on purpose. And if not, I'll give you a reason to regret it."

Harmonie, afraid of reprisals, nodded quickly, then Cassandra smiled, kissed her, and they went to sleep with Adelaide in the middle.

...

On her side, Chloe had managed to sneak into Sylvia's room, despite Sylvia's refusal at first, and they slept together without doing more.

...

The moon and stars adorned the sky perfectly, illuminating the night beautifully.

...

"Mommy, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," said the child, still crying.

"Mommy, please, help me."

"Mommy, please, Mommy, please."

Harmonie looked at the child, who couldn't stop whimpering—a hateful look on her face.

"Can you stop whimpering now?"

The child looked up at her, you could clearly see that the child's face was immaculate with

tears despite the surrounding darkness.

"I want my mommy," the child said with trembling lips.

"Why?" asked Harmonie,

"I want my mommy," the child repeated with a determined look.

Harmonie looked at him and said,

"She's not here anymore."

"Why?"

"She's gone."

"Where?"

"Far away."

Tears welled up in the child's eyes again,

"Did she go without me?"

"You couldn't follow her."

"Yes, I could." The child said stubbornly.

"No, you couldn't. You tried to follow her, but you failed. And you are still trying."

Harmonie then crouched down in front of the child, who was obviously dressed in dirty clothes.

"But know this, no matter how hard you try, I will always stop you."

The child had stopped crying with their head down,

"Why?" They said darkly,

"Because my purpose is to save you from yourself, again and again."

"You say your purpose is to save me, yet it is because of you that she is gone."

"Think what you will. But it doesn't matter how much you struggle. I will stop you."

"YOU, MURDERING BITCH! GIVE ME MY MOTHER BACK!" screamed the child who happened to be chained as they tried to get closer to Harmonie.

Harmonie watched as the child struggled before finally bursting into tears.

"I told you, she's gone, your mother," Harmonie said calmly.

"She died because of you. YOU KILLED MOM!"

Harmonie's eyes suddenly opened, she sat up and began to massage her temples. "That dream again, you just can't leave me alone," she whispered softly, she got out of bed, went to open the mini fridge, and took out a bottle of fresh water. She opened it, took a few sips, and closed the bottle before putting it back in the fridge.

"What's wrong?" whispered Cassandra softly as she opened her tired eyes after Harmonie had climbed onto the bed. Being a light sleeper, Cassandra tended to wake up easily.

Harmonie shook her head slightly before she let out a long sigh, making as little noise as possible so as not to wake Adelaide.

"Why did you wake up?"

"It's okay. I just had a bad dream."

"Are you sure you're okay, dear?"

Harmonie nodded, then said quietly, as if to convince herself, "Yes, I'm fine."

Her eyes fell on her daughter, she kissed her on the forehead, then Cassandra's and lay back down.

"Good night," Cassandra said quietly as she closed her eyes.

"Good night," Harmonie said, closing her eyes as well.

....

"King, we have some leads on where she's studying, it's only a matter of time before we find her," said a man in a black suit, kneeling in front of a man sitting in a chair.

The man in the chair smiled, "Very good, I like it when you are efficient. And that traitor, Yves?"

"We found his hideout, King."

The man in the chair stood up, and the man on his knees shook slightly. Seeing this, the man standing had a grin on his face, just like when he was sitting, the whole of his face could not be seen, it was as if some kind of mask prevented it, and the darkness and lack of light did not help. Only his smile could be seen, a smile that made anyone who crossed his path and knew who he really was, feel nauseous.

Then he buttoned his jacket before saying, "Well, you did a good job. Damien!"

A man emerges from the shadows and says bowing, "Yes, King."

"Call Jack and tell him it's time to get rid of these vermin."

"As you wish, King."

"And show, this wretch, the way out," he said before heading for the door.

"Very well, King."

The man was shot before he could even breathe a sigh of relief. Without knowing the 'why or how' of this act.