I sat on Killian's lap and showered him with as many kisses as I could. He deserves them, girl—he's the first man who's ever told me, "I love you." I always thought it would be different, that I'd spend my days watching love from afar. And I don't say that with pity, no; I truly believed I'd repeat exactly what Carol had done with me—you know, adopt a girl, save her life, and eventually become just another headstone in beautiful Mary Garden, assuming I could ever pay off the massive debt on my house. It wasn't a bad plan.
I caught a whiff of Mr. Vandereck's cologne in the hallway, as if he had just passed by my bedroom door. A few minutes later, Annia's phone rang. Still perched on Killian's lap, I looked at her in surprise and said:
"Good morning. How is it possible that you two are so beautiful after staying with me?"
She smiled, yawning, and replied, "Good morning, my queen of courage and love. Truth is, we were planning on crashing with you, but my father's little show usually ruins my plans and…"
She didn't finish the sentence because she checked her phone and shrieked, "Yes! Dad left a few minutes ago. That means the mansion is all ours for today!"
Evangelina woke up and asked what all the fuss was about. When Annia told her, she threw her arms up and said:
"Yes! Best news ever. This house is the most fun in the world. You'll see, Carmilla—by the end of the day, you're going to love it."
I smiled, thinking to myself: Are they insane? I hate this mansion.
Annia seemed to read my mind and explained, "I'm an only child, and believe me, they indulged my every whim. This house holds surprises. Let's go get cleaned up. I'll see everyone in my room in an hour."
We all agreed. I was the last one out of the shower, and by the time I made it to Annia's room, the door was ajar. I overheard her and Killian talking. He was telling her he'd found a weak point in Mr. Vandereck—a glimmer of hope to pressure him into signing the contract without the wedding. She replied that they should just accept it already, that after all, this whole farce was an opportunity for the four of us to be together.
Evangelina's voice was the most level-headed of them all. She calmly explained that there was a third option: forging an alliance even deeper than marriage by making Annia a Longfield with rights to both empires. I listened in awe as she detailed the legal nuances of various states where courts may accept the will of an adult to be incorporated with full rights into another family without losing those of their family of origin. Essentially, she outlined a process of cross-adoption: Killian would become a Longfield-Vandereck and Annia the same—she even cited 19th-century sources and case law.
I walked in, stunned, and asked, "Sorry, but I overheard Evangelina's theory. Is that actually true? How do you know all that?"
Laughing, she replied, "I'm what they call a genius—a nerd, gifted—all those words people use to describe the strange ability to read, understand, process, and cross-reference information a hundred times faster than the average mind. But I was born in this packaging, and apparently, I draw more attention for how I look than for how I think. Now, who's hungry?"
The tour of the mansion began with breakfast in the top-floor café. Honestly, girl, I felt like I was eating in Imperial Rome—or at least that's what it looked like. Lounging on heated stone chairs in a setting designed to resemble the Colosseum, the staff brought us ten different dishes. I couldn't believe it. The floor was covered in sand imported from Italy, and there were original statues all around. I thought: Who on earth came up with something like this?
Annia explained, "When I was a little girl, my mom asked me, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' and I said, 'I want to be a gladiator.' Well… like I told you, they indulged my every whim."
The most incredible thing I saw in that mansion, besides the circular library, the movie theater, and a mini amusement park, was at the end of the hall. Annia stopped at the door and, before opening it, said with a smile:
"Seven years ago, I was completely in love with Marian Pierce. She went to my school. I worked up the courage to ask her to prom, and she said yes. The happiness of that month, planning every detail, was magical. After the dance, I was going to bring her back to the mansion and make love to her. Three days before, she canceled because she started dating Alexandro—the hottest guy, the athlete everyone wanted. I didn't go to the dance. I stayed here, crying like an idiot, depressed for days. But that entire beautiful time of happiness I told you about is preserved in this room, where I had everything prepared for that magical night that never happened."
When she opened the door, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a ballroom styled like those prom scenes in movies—a disco ball, dim lights dancing across the floor and walls, and a black limousine parked right inside. The interior of the vehicle was a massive bed, prepared for that night of love that never happened.
Killian laughed and said, "This is fantastic. You really wanted to sleep with her."
Annia feigned offense and told him she had been in love with that Marian girl, that it was about much more than just sex.
Evangelina laughed and said she had been on a plane heading to Paris Fashion Week when her prom took place. I added, even more amused:
"I didn't even go to school. My adoptive mother homeschooled me. There was no prom for me either."
Killian pointed out that we were all the same in that regard—that he had never set foot in a school until university, having always been taught by private tutors.
Annia then took us by the hands and said, "None of the four of us went to prom. Tonight, those sad memories are going to be erased forever. Tonight, this room will finally be used. I'll pick up Evangelina at eight, and Killian will do the same with Carmilla. Yes… finally… we're going to have one."
We all agreed. She sent a short, precise message to the staff: "Prepare Hall Twelve for a prom. Just the four of us. Make sure it has everything we need."
We had lunch at the mansion's spa, by the edge of a heated pool as vast as the Atlantic, in a space that smelled of tuberose, roses, and lilies. When the staff left, Evangelina tied up her hair—red as the embers of hell—and undressed without the slightest hesitation. Wearing only her bikini bottoms, she began to swim. I thought: How beautiful it must be to feel intimidated by nothing, the way they do. Annia followed her lead and jumped into the water, so I did the same and asked Killian to join me. He took off his shirt and pants, and the four of us gathered in the center, looking at each other, happy to have found one another.
I drifted back a little to take them in. They were so beautiful. Evangelina and my man looked like illustrations of superheroes or Greek gods. Annia, with her strong, sculpted arms, was without a doubt a warrior—or maybe a gladiator, just as she had always wanted. It took me a few minutes to realize they were all looking at me—with desire, with joy.
Killian swam toward me, kissed me, and started tickling me, not stopping until I burst into laughter. The girls joined in, and just as I was about to collapse, he kissed me again. I could feel his passion at the same time as Evangelina's lips on my neck, soft and tender, and Annia's light bites on my shoulders as she whispered:
"You have something, Carmilla. You really do."
That repeated phrase—the one I had already heard from her—made me reflect. Even though I can feel that they like something about me, neither she nor I can quite define what that "something" is.
I took a short nap in Killian's arms, with Annia stroking my legs, lulled by Evangelina's incredible voice as she sang an old love song.
When they woke me, we went to Annia's dressing room. We laughed when we saw more than fifteen prom dresses that had never been worn. She once again pointed out how intense that month of planning everything around Marian Pierce had been.
When Killian came for me at the appointed time, I opened the door wearing a pink dress, with sheer details and a beautiful, natural flow that wrapped around my body. He was dressed in a black suit. He kissed me, and his lips made me tremble. I felt the urge to pull him back into the room, but I didn't. I took his arm and we walked to the ballroom.
The girls were stunning, both in pale blue dresses—one with bare arms and the other with a completely open back. When we entered, we saw everything from the food and punch to a ballot box to vote for prom king and queen. It was just us. The sound system was voice-controlled, and Annia asked for a playlist of slow songs, so we went straight to the dance floor.
Under the reflections of the lights and the disco ball, I let myself go. Killian is an excellent dancer. His scent is different from yesterday—more woody, definitely cedar, with a hint of smoky tobacco. Masculine. It turns me on. He looks into my eyes and says:
"I have a secret to tell you."
I tilt my head gently, exposing my ear to his lips. He leans in and whispers:
"Before I flew here, I paid off the debt on Mary Garden. When you go back home, you'll also find my 1955 Mercedes-Benz W196R in the garage, registered in your name. You can keep it or auction it off. With that money, you can live the rest of your life without worries, without being tied to any of this madness."