NOVEL NEXT Chapter 305: Revelations Over Fine Dining
The Maybach glided through Miami traffic like a shark through dark water, ARIA handling the wheel with such precision it felt more like levitation than driving. Every one of Soo-Jin's shopping bags was tucked in the trunk with military order, because of course my AI organized luxury retail like it was prepping for a Pentagon briefing.
Soo-Jin herself kept glancing at her reflection in the tinted glass, still stunned at the transformation from trafficking survivor to trust-fund princess in a single afternoon.
"This restaurant better have good food," Madison said, stretching lazily like a cat. "All that shopping worked up an appetite."
"It's Miami's finest," Amanda replied, scrolling her phone like she was reading scripture. "Five-star ratings, celebrity clientele, the works. Bread probably costs the same as an entire week's groceries."
The place lived up to the hype — marble floors polished to surgical sterility, chandeliers sparkling with generational wealth, and waiters trained in the art of reverent flattery. The kind of establishment where the dress code wasn't fabric, it was net worth.
They sat us at a corner table: privacy for us, vantage for me. Perfect. The other diners were exactly what you'd expect — hedge-fund faces, plastic surgeons' best work, reality-TV disasters who thought subtlety was a disease.
That's when I committed the tactical misstep of removing my mask.
The effect was instant, and honestly? Fucking hilarious.
Every woman within visual range suddenly developed an intense interest in our table.
Conversations froze mid-sentence. A wine glass hovered in the air like its owner forgot how gravity worked. One woman actually stopped chewing and just sat there with her jaw open, staring at me like a broken mannequin at a clearance sale.
"Holy shit," came a stage whisper from behind us, about as discreet as a car alarm. "Do you see that guy? He looks like he was carved by angels with serious daddy issues."
"That face should be illegal," her friend added, with the conviction of someone drafting actual legislation. "There should be laws."
"Is he even real?" another voice piped in. "Because no one looks like that. He's like if gods sculpted a man as a social experiment in lust."
Amanda leaned back, grin wide enough to cut glass. "This is entertaining. Do you always cause riots just by sitting down?"
"Pretty much," I said, sipping water as three separate women "took selfies" with their phones angled directly at me. "It's a curse. A. Beautiful. Curse."
Soo-Jin's gaze lingered, soft and sharp at once. "In Korea," she murmured, "we would say you have a very dangerous face. The kind that makes good girls do bad things."
"That's oddly specific," Madison laughed, though she casually slid her chair closer to mine like she was staking a claim on prime real estate.
"So," Amanda said, leaning forward with all the gravity of a courtroom cross-exam, "I think it's time we had a real conversation about what the hell I'm signing up for here."
Fair. Amanda and Soo-Jin were both about to move into the estate, and it wasn't exactly fair to let them walk in blind. Better to hand them the truth upfront than let ARIA casually drop it into conversation like a fun fact.
"Alright," I said, setting down my glass. "Here's the deal. I'm a high school student, technically. I've got two versions of myself — regular me and enhanced me. I've got a family I'd burn the world for, and I'm engaged to Madison here, though she refuses to let me wear a ring."
"Rings are possessive," Madison cut in smoothly. "I need one to mark my territory. You don't need one to limit your options."
"Your options?" Amanda raised a brow; her tone balanced between curiosity and judgment.
"That's where it gets complicated," I said, like I was announcing quarterly earnings. "There are… other women in my life. Seven, to be exact."
The silence that followed could've been bottled and sold as weaponized awkwardness. Even the background noise of the restaurant faltered, like Miami itself was pausing to eavesdrop.
"Seven?" Soo-Jin whispered, her accent wrapping around the number like it was too heavy to hold. "You have… seven women?"
"Ortega, Luna, Isabella, Victoria, Sofia, Anya, and Janet," I listed them off as casually as someone reciting their grocery list. "Each one special. Each one important. Each one aware of the others."
Amanda broke first, laughter bubbling out of her until she was grinning ear to ear. Not horrified laughter — entertained. "Holy shit, you actually have a harem. Like… a functioning, organized, non-delusional harem."
"I prefer to call it a mutually beneficial arrangement," I corrected, leaning back in my chair. "Some women are sexually frustrated. Some are emotionally neglected. Some are just plain bored or imprisoned in their current situations. I solve problems. That's what I do."
Amanda laughed harder — mostly because she knew she was living proof of exactly that claim.
Soo-Jin, on the other hand, looked at me like I'd just declared I could juggle skyscrapers. In her world, men cheated, yes — but behind closed doors, with shame and excuses and lies. Not this. Not laid bare across white tablecloth and crystal glasses like I was explaining tax policy.
"In Korea…" she began slowly, the words heavy and deliberate, "this would be… very scandalous. Men may have mistresses, but secretly. Always secretly. The women… they would hide in shame. But here…" She looked at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. "These women know about each other?"
"Of course," I said, sipping water like the question was rhetorical. "Secrets corrode trust. Transparency builds loyalty. They don't compete with each other because they don't need to. I don't waste time pretending to be something I'm not."
Her cheeks kept getting redder by the second, fingers worrying the napkin like she thought it might bloom into a shield.
"They know," Madison confirmed, tone cool as crystal. "Some of them have even met. It's not about shame or secrecy — it's about honesty and fulfilling needs that weren't being met elsewhere."
"And you're okay with this?" Amanda asked, eyes locked on Madison, testing her resolve.
"I'm his anchor," Madison replied without hesitation, the words steady enough to sink ships. "The others are… adventures. I'm the foundation."
Amanda gave her a long look, then nodded slowly — not concession, but recognition. "You know what? I have to admire that. Most women would be clawing each other's eyes out, but you've got this figured out. Eros, you're lucky as hell to have a woman like Madison."
Madison straightened, subtle as a knife unsheathing. Shoulders back, chest forward, chin lifted — a quiet declaration that didn't need words: this is my territory.
"And if I move into this…" Amanda probed.
"You'd be part of that world, in my new place," I said, simple, unflinching. "Living there, available when you want me knowing you're not the only one — but also knowing that doesn't make you less."
Amanda's grin widened, sharp and satisfied. "Good. I was worried I'd end up in some separate apartment, only seeing you occasionally. But full-time access? Being able to fuck you every hour if I want to?"
Soo-Jin let out a tiny squeak and buried her face in her hands, her neck flaming scarlet. The poor girl looked like she'd just been dropped into a live grenade drill. "Oh my… you are so… so direct," she muttered through her fingers. "W-we do not speak like this in public."
"Every hour might be ambitious," I said, fighting back laughter at her horror, "but we could certainly try to accommodate that schedule."
Soo-Jin peeked at me through her fingers, mortified. "You Americans are so… forward about everything. This is very… very embarrassing to hear."
"Welcome to the team, sweetheart," Amanda smirked, clearly enjoying the chaos. "You'll get used to the casual sex talk. It comes with the territory."
Soo-Jin made another sound of pure despair and slumped so low she was practically under the table. Honestly, she looked like she was going to spontaneously combust, which only made the rest of us laugh harder.
"So," I said, once the laughter cooled, "any other questions about the arrangement? Because I'd rather clear the air now than deal with surprises later."
Amanda leaned back, satisfied, like she'd just closed a major deal. "Just one question. When do we move in?"