However, I’d had to leave the final stages to Nila lately. Seeing as I couldn’t seem to say no when they begged for another story. And another. And another.
I could feel their joy at spending time with us. The recited adventures weren’t just stupid stories to them but true experiences they adored. They weren’t doing it to drag out bedtime; they literally wanted to keep hanging out with their parents.
And I was fucking honoured by that.
So, of course, how the hell could I say no?
Hence why Nila did the final kisses and the terribly hard job of turning out their lights, ensuring the glowing heart lamp was on to protect them from the ghosts of Hawksridge Hall, and leaving them to bicker in the soft pink darkness while she tiptoed back to me.
I looked up as Nila entered.
She grinned, shutting the door behind her.
Three days had passed since our attempt at being social with the masquerade. Three days for me to get over my exhaustion of listening to so many different people, opinions, and right and wrong in everyone.
Three days since Sully and Eleanor had left.
And Nila had been cagey today, ever since she’d read an email from Eleanor and downloaded something on her phone.
“Alright, out with it.” I glowered at my delicious wife as she kicked off her silken slippers and sat on her knees before me. Her dark hair hung in straight sheets, her chest rose and fell beneath her honey-coloured shirt.
Licking her lips, she sucked in a breath. “How are you feeling?”
“Me? Why? What’s that got to do with whatever you’re hiding?”
“I just want to know if you’ve recovered from the masq.”
That was the thing about living with someone who got me. Who understood and accepted me unconditionally. I didn’t need to hide, and that was the greatest fucking gift anyone could’ve given me.
This hall no longer had evil pouring through its brickwork. It had love and safety and utter happiness. Cut was gone. Daniel was rotting in Africa somewhere. Bonnie was ash. And Kes was regularly visited in his peaceful resting spot.
A lot of my family was dead, but those who deserved to stay alive were thriving.
Jasmine was happy.
My kids didn’t have a heinous debt hanging around their necks.
There would be no more Debt Inheritance or death between my house and Nila’s.
“I’m sufficiently revived. Why?” I took her hand, rubbing away the chill in her fingers. “What’s going on?”
“I...have something.”
“What something?”
“Eleanor gave it to me.”
“Gave you what precisely?”
“I had to wait until today to get the link for the app she mentioned, but it’s on my phone now. I’ve read her instructions. I know how to load Euphoria, and she’s kindly included a few VR scenes that are ready to go.”
I scowled. “What the hell is Euphoria. And VR?”
Nila shook in my hold, inhaling again. “It’s one of Sullivan’s creations.”
I let her go, reclining against the pillows. “Oh no. I’ve had enough of his creations, thank you very much. If it’s another drug, I’m not taking it. You, better than anyone, can understand why. Or are you forgetting what happened between us before the Third Debt?”
She shook her head, her eyes flashing with pain as they always did when reminded about our screwed-up past. “It’s not a drug. Well, it is, and it isn’t.”
“Not interested.”
She huffed and grabbed her phone, her legs splicing apart before slipping gracefully beneath her. Tapping the screen, she brought up an app with palm trees and an emblem that said: ‘Pleasure in Euphoria is euphoric’.
“This is an app that transports us to a different place. It’s obviously not real. It doesn’t literally transport us, but it’s like a computer program. We wear these—” Putting her phone down, she grabbed a small wooden box from her drawer and placed them on my lap. “Eye lenses and earbud sensors. A bit like when Vaughn plays PlayStation, you know? He wears the headset and headphones? He sees the game all around him. He’s immersed.”
Opening the box, I glanced at the typical small containers for eye lenses and the earbuds. “And you want to play a computer game?”
She blushed. “I want to play a game...with you.”
I tensed as a wash of her emotions caught me by surprise. My condition allowed me to eavesdrop on my wife. I knew when she was pissed at me for leaving my polo gear untended and dirty on our chaise lounge. I knew when she stared at me with love when I kissed and played with our children. And I