I Married Three Calamities (And Got A System For It)

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Together in Loneliness

A couple of hours had passed since Solaris’s searing episode. Thankfully, Moon had a D-rank Healing Serum on hand, which she reluctantly handed over to Mars to heal Solaris.

She clearly wasn’t happy about it, saying, word for word, "This sun bitch doesn’t deserve it."

Mars wisely decided to ignore that. By now, he understood that hoping the three women would set aside their enmities was just a foolish dream.

Clearly not possible. At least, not this early.

So he’d reached a point where, as long as they weren’t actively trying to kill each other, he was fine with it.

You had to be realistic, after all.

’Look how far we’ve come. Hell, it’s barely been a day since this whole mess started.’ Mars cursed inwardly, sitting on the couch, Solaris’s head resting in his lap.

His chest was still bare, his t-shirt burned away by Solaris. And since he’d been brought here so hastily, with no spare clothes waiting for him, he had no choice but to stay like this until he retrieved his things from his old apartment.

’I might as well quit my job. But then how do I handle my debts? Fuck.’

Too many problems piling up at once.

Moon and Willow sat across from him, saying nothing, watching him with different expressions, though both looked displeased. Angry, even.

Even though neither of them had gone through an episode like Solaris’s, they were clearly unhappy about what had happened to them too.

They’d lost everything overnight. They would have loved to blame Mars, the way Solaris did, but neither of them was quite as unreasonable as her.

They knew Mars had been dragged into this against his will.

Which made it all the more infuriating. Because now they had no one left to blame but their families, and the world...and blaming those monsters who called themselves family was far scarier.

’Family? What family.’ Moon scoffed inwardly, replaying her last conversation with her mother in her mind, ’Because I refused to marry that pervert, you sold me off to a waiter instead? Mother, how little do you think of me? Whatever I did, I never did it on purpose. Do you really think I’d poison half my family...for pleasure?’

The more Moon dwelled on it, the hotter her anger burned. But that anger came tangled with fear of her mother, and soon fear overtook it, leaving her feeling helpless.

She clenched her fists and closed her eyes, trying to steady herself.

Willow fared no better. She stared blankly at a fixed point in the room, mind somewhere else entirely.

She thought of her father...and her mother. Her father, who’d never cared for her. And her mother — her sweet mother, the third wife of her father, who owned nothing in her own name — the mother who loved her more than anything, yet feared what Willow might become if she stayed in that cursed house.

’So you sent me away...told me to accept this marriage so I could finally be free of them. But Mother...can’t you see? How can I be free of my own blood? I’m worse than any of them. But you refuse to see it. You don’t want to see it. Because seeing it would mean admitting your daughter is a monster too, just like the ones you hate so much.’

It was painful, and her heart ached constantly.

Music and reading had always been her coping mechanisms, ways to calm her bloodlust and soothe her mind and heart.

But now one of those had been stripped from her.

Willow wanted blood.

’I’ll kill them all.’ She thought, teeth clenched.

Mars watched them both calmly, though his Gift was picking up on their emotions, and none of it read as good news.

Still, he said and did nothing more, not right away. He’d give them time to process before doing anything else.

’Slowly, Mars. Don’t screw this up.’

The one thing on his mind was that Moon and Willow would likely go through what Solaris just had, once they hit 25%.

’And Moon’s only one percent away from 25%. Oh, fucking hell, this is like mixing fire and gas together and praying an explosion won’t happen.’

Practically impossible, yes. But a man could still hope.

Mars finally pulled his eyes away from them, turning toward the open kitchen and the sunken table.

The table was half-burned, some chairs had suffered the same fate, and one had been completely shattered by Moon.

’We’re already short on money. And now we’ve got repairs to make on top of it.’

Problems kept piling up, relentless.

Still, amid all of this, there was a glimmer of hope. And that was his System.

He summoned his panel again and looked over the rewards he’d earned for stopping Solaris’s episode.

[Rewards: Awakening Talent Sphere (Special); Chosen Serum Recipe (C Rank)]

’I didn’t ask many questions before, because Massage Talent didn’t exactly thrill me. But,’ Mars frowned slightly, ’what exactly are Talents? I’ve never heard of them.’

[Talents make it easier for you to excel at something, depending on their rank. Your Massage Talent grants massage skills far beyond the norm. If it evolves, it could even heal, or more.]

’Oh, that’s actually pretty cool.’

[And compared to a Gift, a Talent doesn’t require mana. It’s passive. Most Talents, at least.]

Mars nodded slightly, understanding. ’So this Sphere will grant me...a Talent?’

[Yes, Consort Fox.]

’And the Chosen Serum Recipe?’

[It grants you the recipe for a Serum of your choosing.]

’Does it have to be something I already know, or that exists already?’

[No. It can be anything. But be warned, if the Serum is too complex, you might not be able to source the ingredients needed to brew it.]

Mars carefully controlled his expression, keeping his growing excitement from showing. His mind raced, and he quickly decided how to make the most of this.

If he could figure out a Serum Gifted people needed and were willing to pay for...he might finally be able to solve their money problems.

His mood lifted instantly, and a smile crept across his face.

Moon and Willow noticed right away, eyebrows raising in question.

But before Moon could say anything, Solaris groaned, beginning to stir awake.

All eyes turned toward her, watching her slowly lift herself from Mars’s lap and sit beside him, groaning and grunting off and on.

"Fuck, my head hurts." Solaris said, rubbing her temple, then lifted her gaze to find the others watching her. Her face twisted, "The fuck are you all looking at me for?"

"Do you remember anything?" Mars asked, "From before you passed out?"

Solaris turned to look at him. She took in his current state: shirtless, burn marks scattered across his skin.

Her mind traveled back, her body trembling faintly. ’He...he healed me?’

Solaris’s expression slowly began to crumble, a flicker of regret crossing her face. But she shook it off quickly, her expression turning cold again,

"I only remember watching the news and seeing everything I worked hard for get stolen from me." She said curtly, clearly unwilling to say more.

"You’re lying." Moon said immediately, frowning in disgust, "You remember everything. You even remember trying to kill—!"

"I said I don’t fucking remember." Solaris cut in, anger flaring, "But I do recall some fuzzy memory of a certain whore cracking a chair over my head."

"So you remember that part, but not why that certain whore had to beat you with a chair?" Moon scoffed. "You’re—!"

"She doesn’t remember." Mars said gently, shrugging it off, "It happens. And it’s not like anything too serious happened. Well, aside from the fact we no longer have a dining table. Guess it’s time to learn how to eat on the floor."

Mars grinned, "Hope you’re ready, princesses. Should be quite the experience."

"Getting cocky, are we?" Moon giggled, "But you’re being far too gentle with Solaris, sweetheart. She deserves to be beaten within an inch of her life."

"Tsk." Willow clicked her tongue, staring at the floor, then clicked it again.

Solaris said nothing. She looked at Mars with a puzzled expression, clearly not expecting this reaction at all.

’Since the beginning, he is what I expected at all. What’s wrong with him? Why isn’t he angry?’

She pressed her lips together, silent, only huffing, as if daring anyone to blame her outright.

After a moment, Mars spoke again,

"Tell me, Solaris, has what happened earlier happened before?"

She hesitated before nodding slowly, "Yeah. Once."

Mars didn’t push further, sensing it was a sensitive subject. He turned to Moon and Willow,

"And you two?"

"Yes, sweetheart." Moon said.

"Yes." Willow followed.

The three women exchanged glances. They’d known each other for years, thanks to their families’ rivalries, but this was the first time they’d realized the others had gone through the same thing they had.

It was a strange feeling. As though they suddenly had something in common.

And looking at Mars, they realized they now shared something else too...something binding.

In that moment, remembering the news broadcast, the reality of their marriage finally settled in.

Something none of them could quite process yet, but true, nonetheless.

So when Mars spoke again,

"Let’s talk about how we’re going to move forward from here."

...none of them argued.

Because now they understood they were alone, but together in that loneliness.

"Sweetheart~, you’re so sexy when you act like a real husband. I want you inside—!"

Mars coughed loudly, cutting Moon off, "For fuck’s sake, Moon!"

"Told you, didn’t I?" Solaris scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, "She’s a whore."

And this time, even Willow nodded,

"True."

’Fuck this shit.’

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