Louis woke to Cherish’s hair in his mouth. He gently moved it aside. The room was dark with the thick curtains drawn. He could hear the soft breathing of the women around him. His cock was hard and pressed against Cherish’s thigh. He tried to move away without waking her, but she stirred and opened her eyes.
“Good morning,” she whispered.
“Good morning,” he whispered back. “Sleep well?”
She nodded. “I had a dream. We were all in a field of flowers. It was beautiful.”
“That sounds nice.”
“It was.” She looked up at him. “You’re… hard again.”
“Sorry,” he said.
“Don’t be sorry,” she said, her cheeks flushed. “It’s nice. Knowing you want me.”
“I always want you,” he said.
She bit her lower lip. “Do you… want to do something?”
“With you?”
She nodded. He shifted and slid his cock between her thighs. Her skin was soft and warm. She gasped. He moved slowly, the head of his cock rubbing against her clit through her folds.
“Oh,” she whispered. “That feels… good.”
“Yeah,” he breathed. “You feel good too.”
He continued to move, his cock sliding back and forth against her wetness. She started to move with him, her hips rising to meet his. He could feel her getting wetter as her thighs relaxed around him. He wanted to be inside her, but not yet.
“Louis,” she whispered. “I feel… strange. Like I’m getting warmer.”
“It’s okay, Cherry,” he said, kissing her neck. “Just let it happen.”
She closed her eyes. “Okay.”
He kept up the slow, steady rhythm, savoring the feeling of her soft thighs around him. He could feel her getting closer, her breathing becoming more ragged. Maeve stirred behind him. She must have been awake. She didn’t say anything. He felt her warm breath on the back of his neck, and then her hand on his back, her fingers tracing circles on his skin.
“Oh, Louis,” Cherish moaned. “I think I’m… I think I’m going to…” Her body tensed, and then she cried out, her thighs tightening around him. He held her as she came, her body shaking in his arms. He stopped resisting. He let himself go too. His cock pulsed as he came across her stomach. He collapsed beside her, burying his face in her hair.
“Louis,” she whispered. “That was… that was…” She couldn’t find the words. He smiled and kissed her cheek. “I know.”
Gladice yawned loudly. “Morning, lovers. Did you have fun?”
“Shut up, Glads,” Angelique grumbled beside her. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”
“You’re awake,” Gladice said. “And so am I. And so are they. We might as well all be awake.”
“Fine.” Angelique sat up and stretched. “I was trying to give Louis and Cherry some privacy, since it was her first. But you ruined it.”
Cherish blushed and pulled the covers up to her chin. “I’m sorry, Angelique. I didn’t mean to wake anyone.”
“It’s okay, Cherry,” Angelique said, her tone softening. “You don’t have to be sorry for anything. Especially not that.”
“I think it’s hot,” Gladice said. “Waking up to the sounds of sex.”
“It’s not that hot when you’re trying to sleep,” Willa said, sitting up on the other bed. “But I agree, it’s better than an alarm clock.”
“I liked it,” Maeve said, her voice soft. She was sitting up too, her back against the headboard. “It was… gentle.”
Louis propped himself up on one elbow. “Morning, everyone.”
“Morning, lover boy,” Savannah said from the other bed. “You had a busy night. And a busy morning.”
“I did.” Louis smiled. “It was worth it.”
Donya sat up, stretching her arms. “I agree.”
“What time is it?” Angelique asked.
A number displayed on the wall, projected in soft light. 11:47 AM.
“Shit.” Gladice sat up, rubbing her face. “We slept the whole morning.”
“Open curtains,” Angelique said.
The curtains opened. Bright sunlight filled the room. Louis blinked, shielding his eyes.
“Set the light to seventy percent,” he said.
The light softened. He looked at the view from his window: a perfect blue sky, Los Angeles spreading out below, with the Pacific glittering in the distance.
“Wow,” Cherish said, her eyes wide. “You can see the ocean.”
“That’s why we call it the Dominion of the Pacific,” Louis said.
“Show-off,” Willa said, though she was looking too. “That’s quite a view.”
“We should get up,” Savannah said. “I’m starving.”
“Agreed,” Angelique said. “I want coffee.”
“Élise will bring us breakfast if we ask,” Louis said. “Do you want to use the bathroom first, or should we have breakfast in bed?”
“Breakfast in bed,” Gladice said, lying back on her pillows. “I could get used to this.”
“Me too,” Cherish said, snuggling into the covers.
“You are all lazy,” Willa said. “I’m going to take a shower. A proper one. Without men trying to use my tits as washcloths.”
Louis laughed. “It was fun, wasn’t it?”
“It was ridiculous,” Willa said, but she was smiling as she headed to the bathroom.
“I’m joining her,” Savannah said. “Don’t eat all the food without us.”
“We won’t,” Louis said.
Savannah followed Willa into the bathroom.
“I need to go too,” Cherish said, slipping out of bed. She looked around for her clothes, then stood still. Louis watched his cum drying on her stomach. She looked at Louis, her cheeks flushed. “I… I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Take my T-shirt,” Louis said, pointing to his wardrobe. “It’s in there. Take whatever you want.”
“Thank you.” Cherish went to the wardrobe and opened it. Her eyes widened. “Wow. You have a lot of clothes.”
“I have more in the closet,” Louis said. “Help yourself.”
Cherish took a white T-shirt and put it on. It came down to her mid-thigh. She looked at herself in the mirror, then at Louis. “Is this okay?”
“You look beautiful,” Louis said.
She blushed and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
“House service,” Louis said.
“Yes, Mr. Collins,” a pleasant female voice answered.
“Who’s that? Élise?” Maeve asked.
“No. Just the house AI,” Louis said.
“Do you have a name for your house AI, Louis?” Angelique asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, it’s just a tool,” Louis said.
“Let’s give it a name, then,” Donya said. “It’s more personal.”
“You can call it whatever you like. I don’t mind,” Louis said.
“I will call it Aisha,” Donya said. “It’s a good name.”
“Aisha it is, then,” Louis said.
Someone knocked on the bedroom door. Everyone froze. Gladice turned toward the door first. Louis had already started toward it when Angelique touched his arm.
“It’s fine.”
The knock came again.
“Louis?” Élise called from the hall. “May I come in?”
Louis opened the door. Élise stood in the hall in a pale blue dress, her hair pulled back neatly. She looked at his face, then past him into the bedroom before meeting his eyes again.
“Come in,” Louis said.
Élise stepped inside. Two staff members followed, each pushing a service cart. The first held dishes under silver covers, bamboo steamers, small lacquered bowls, tea, iced matcha, coffee, and glass pitchers of water. The second held eight slim boxes in matte black-and-gray packaging. Louis recognized the packaging at once and smiled.
Gladice sat up. “Is that what I think it is?”
Louis nodded.
“Good morning everyone,” Élise said, turning to face the room. “Brunch is served. And here are your new phones. The rest of the deliveries are downstairs. Our staff are unpacking and sorting by category. You may visit the packages when you’re ready.”
“Thank you, Élise,” Louis said. “We’ll have breakfast in bed.”
“Of course.”
Élise directed the staff to set individual trays across the three beds and place the larger dishes on the low tables. Once everything was ready, they lifted the silver covers. The trays held century egg and pork congee, miso-glazed salmon, soft tamagoyaki, grilled mushrooms, sesame cucumbers, small bowls of kimchi fried rice, karaage moffles, sliced melon, strawberries, dragon fruit, mochi pancakes, and mini custard tarts.
The staff bowed slightly and left. Élise paused at the door and looked back at Louis.
“I’m glad you’re home, Louis. Truly.”
“Me too, Élise.”
She left and closed the door quietly behind her. Cherish came back from the bathroom and looked at the food.
“This is… a lot.”
“It’s brunch, Cherry,” Gladice said, already reaching for a plate of moffles. “We’re fancy now.”
“I’m not sure what half of this is.” Maeve stared at her tray, her eyes wide.
“It’s brunch,” Gladice said, picking up a moffle. “Try it. You’ll like it.”
Cherish got into bed and looked at her tray with a small smile. “It’s so pretty.”
Willa returned from the bathroom in a towel, drying her hair. “I smell food.”
“Brunch is served,” Angelique said.
Savannah followed her out, also in a towel. “Good. I’m starving.”
They both climbed onto their bed and started eating. Louis tried a piece of the tamagoyaki. It was exactly as he liked it. He looked at Cherish, who was still studying her tray.
“Try something, Cherry.”
She picked up a piece of karaage. She took a small bite. Her eyes lit up. “It’s good.”
“I told you,” Louis said.
“And it’s different from the fried chicken Mama used to make.” She took another bite.
“It’s Japanese style.” Angelique took a spoonful of congee. “The food here is the best. I missed it. A lot.”
“We got decent fried chicken, but not like this,” Savannah said, taking a piece too. “Damn.”
“Is that pork? In the porridge?” Donya asked, pointing at her bowl.
“It is.” Louis smiled. “I can ask them to bring you a halal version if you want.”
“No, I think I’m done with halal food for a while.” Donya tasted a small spoonful. “It’s good. Allah will forgive me.”
“I’m sure He will,” Angelique said. “It’s the Dominion after all.”
“We have all sorts of food here,” Louis said. “From all over the world.”
“Good to know.” Maeve finished her piece of karaage and tried the fried rice. “This is different too.”
“That’s kimchi. It’s Korean.”
“Spicy,” Maeve said, her eyes watering slightly. “I like it.”
“And what’s that?” Cherish pointed at a dark, translucent piece beside the congee.
“Century egg,” Louis said. “It’s an egg preserved for a few months. In clay and ash.”
Cherish’s eyes widened. “You eat eggs preserved in mud?”
“It sounds gross, but it’s not bad,” Angelique said. “It tastes much better with congee. Try it with the pork.”
Cherish hesitated, then took a small bite of the egg with some congee. She chewed thoughtfully. “It’s… weird. But not bad. Like cheese.”
“Good analogy,” Willa said, taking a spoonful of the salmon. “This fish is amazing.”
“I told you,” Angelique said. “They have the best chefs for the First Family.”
“I’m glad I’m part of it now,” Gladice said, taking a bite of the custard tart. “Even if it’s just by association.”
“I am too,” Maeve said, finishing her fried rice. “Even if I don’t understand what half of this is.”
“You will,” Louis said. “Just try everything. That’s the best way to learn.”
Savannah laughed. “That’s also the best way to gain ten pounds in a week.”
“I don’t care,” Gladice said. “I’d rather be fat and happy than skinny and miserable.”
“Spoken like someone who has never been skinny and miserable,” Willa said.
“Maybe,” Gladice said. “But I am happy now.”
“Me too,” Cherish said, eating another piece of the fried chicken. “Can we have this for breakfast tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Louis said. “We can have anything we want.”
“I like the sound of that,” Savannah said. “I think I’m gonna like living here.”
“We all will,” Angelique said, finishing her congee. “It’s a good life. If you can handle the politics.”
“And the surveillance,” Willa said. “Don’t forget that. Big Brother Collins is watching you.”
“Only if you give him a reason to,” Gladice said. “So don’t.”
“I’m more worried about the cameras in this room,” Willa said, looking around. “Are we on candid camera right now?”
“No,” Louis said. “My dad doesn’t like to have cameras in his own house. But we do have audio sensors for the house AI.”
“So Aisha can hear everything we say?” Maeve asked, her eyes wide.
“Yes,” Louis said. “But it’s programmed to have only basic functions like adjusting lights, temperatures and ordering house service. It doesn’t even have a proper memory. My dad likes to keep it simple for privacy, at least inside the family residence.”
“Convenient,” Willa said, her tone dry. “I bet the real surveillance happens outside the house.”
“Of course,” Louis said. “Every public space in the Dominion is monitored. And some private ones too. But not here.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Willa said. “For now.” She turned to her tamagoyaki, taking another bite. “At least the food is not bugged.”
“Unless your dad is a fan of espionage cuisine.” Gladice smirked. “Is that a thing here?”
“It might be.” Louis laughed. “Don’t give him any ideas.”
Gladice finished her tart and wiped her fingers. “I’m done with food. I want my phone.” She reached for a box and opened it. Then she lifted an electric-blue phone from the box and turned it in her hand.
“Look at this.”
Gladice turned it on. The screen flashed white, and the Athena logo appeared.
“Oh, I love it.”
Angelique opened her box too. Willa had already turned hers on.
“Damn,” she said. “The processor is fast.”
“Nice color,” Gladice said, glancing at the pink phone in Willa’s hand.
Willa smiled. “Thanks.”
Savannah opened the slate-gray one and inspected it without turning it on.
“Where’s the tracker?”
Willa looked up. “What tracker?”
Savannah tapped the back of the phone.
“All phones have them. Government backdoors, location services. Even the good ones.”
Willa shook her head. “Not this one. The Athena X-30 Sovereign has a full privacy stack: a dedicated secure element, signed firmware, a hardened operating system, and end-to-end encryption. No vendor recovery key. No remote-access backdoor. Even Dominion agencies can’t pull data from it without the owner’s credentials. That’s why it’s so expensive.”
Savannah frowned at the phone. “Really?”
“Really,” Willa said. “The rich can buy privacy. The rest of us get monitored.”
Savannah gave a small smile and turned on the phone. “Okay. I like that.”
Donya held the emerald phone in both hands and examined it for a moment before touching the screen. Cherish held hers carefully.
“Do I... turn it on?”
“Press there.”
She pressed the button, and the screen lit up.
She stared at the startup screen. “Oh.”
Maeve left her black phone in the box while she ate another piece of fried chicken. Then she picked it up.
“What do I do with it?”
“Everything,” Louis said.
“Like what?”
“Talk. Text. Browse. Buy things. Whatever you want.”
“This seems weird.”
“It gets weirder.”
She frowned at him, then copied the others and pressed the power button. The screen lit up, and she stared at the setup page.
“Okay,” she said slowly. “This is kinda cool.”
They entered their names, completed face and fingerprint scans, and worked through the security prompts. Willa helped Maeve choose a password and rejected her first four suggestions.
“What’s wrong with ‘Maeve123’?” Maeve asked.
“Everything,” Willa said. “Try again.”
Louis downloaded the Tengri app and logged into his account. The app stalled while it restored his profile. At first, he thought the connection had failed. Then the unread notification count began to climb. It jumped by tens of thousands, paused, refreshed, and continued climbing. His pulse quickened.
Maeve noticed his expression first. “What is it?”
The others turned toward him. The count stopped at 1,928,745 unread notifications.
“Holy shit,” Willa said.
Cherish leaned over. “Is that all for you?”
“Yeah,” Louis said. His voice came out quieter than he intended. “I guess they missed me.”
Gladice laughed. “Of course they did. You’re a celebrity, Louis. A celebrity who was kidnapped and then escaped and came home with a bunch of hot women.”
She looked down at her own phone. Her grin faded.
“Uh,” she said. “I think I have... a lot too.”
“Same,” Angelique said, her voice flat.
Willa looked over. “Yeah. That’s a big number.”
Gladice scrolled once and stopped. “My mother posted.”
Everyone looked at her.
Gladice swallowed and looked back at the screen. “She posted a photo from when I commissioned. Said she’s proud of me and I’m always welcome home.”
Donya touched her arm. “That’s good, isn’t it?”
“It’s not bad.” Gladice shrugged, but her eyes were wet. “It’s just... too much.”
Donya’s phone chimed three times in quick succession. Willa’s began chiming too. Savannah turned hers face down as it started making noise.
“Can we shut them up?”
“Yes.” Willa enabled silent mode on her own phone first. “Silent mode. All of you. Now.”
Everyone reached for their phones at once. Louis found the news tab, and a video began playing before he could stop it.
The footage shook as someone filmed the wet pavement and shouting crowd outside the Chicago embassy. Then Louis and the others ran through the frame, and his own voice came through the phone speaker, louder than he expected.
“I am Louis Collins!”
Cherish flinched. On the screen, Louis and the others threw the money into the air. People rushed forward, and someone screamed. Angelique appeared briefly, her hair loose and her expression hard. Gladice shoved someone aside while Savannah crossed behind Louis. The camera caught Willa, Donya, Cherish, and Maeve only briefly before showing the embassy gate, the Dominion Guards, and the door closing behind them.
The clip restarted automatically. Louis stopped it.
Gladice leaned over and tapped her own screen. “Here’s another one. Different angle.”
“Don’t play it,” Angelique said.
Gladice ignored her. This angle was closer. Louis saw himself in sharper detail. His face looked thin and exhausted, his expression angry. The camera stayed on the running group, then zoomed in on his face as he shouted at the gate.
Willa took the phone from Gladice and paused it.
“Okay, I think we’ve seen enough.”
Savannah raised an eyebrow. “How many angles are there?”
“Enough.” Louis closed the app.
Maeve’s expression had gone blank. “Everyone saw this?”
“Yes,” Louis said.
Maeve shook her head. “I don’t like this.”
Cherish lowered her lavender phone and stared at the screen. “Why do they care so much?”
Louis met her eyes. “Because they don’t have real lives. So they watch ours.”
Gladice took a long breath. “Well, fuck them. We made it back. That’s what matters.”
Louis scrolled. His name appeared everywhere, along with Angelique’s and Gladice’s. Headlines filled the screen.
LOUIS COLLINS RETURNS!
DARLING OF THE DOMINION ESCAPES CAPTORS.
RUNNING THROUGH CHICAGO!
SUPREME PRESIDENT DECLINES QUESTIONS AFTER SON’S RETURN.
WHO WERE THE FIVE WOMEN WITH LOUIS COLLINS?
“Five?” Donya said. “There are seven of us.”
“They already knew me and Gladice.” Angelique leaned back against the pillows. “They’re trying to figure out the rest.”
Donya’s phone kept lighting up with new notifications, though it made no sound. She looked down at it.
Willa noticed. “You okay?”
Donya turned the phone so Willa could see the screen. A local Chicago thread filled it, followed by another. Someone had posted an old photo from a fundraising dinner. Donya stood beside her father, several years younger, smiling with braces and wearing a soft blue hijab. Another post showed a missing-person notice from several weeks earlier. Below it were the comments.
That’s Dr. Al Madani’s daughter.
She was one of them?
She’s alive?
Does her family know?
Why did she leave with Collins?
Is she going back to Chicago?
Who are the others?
Donya read the visible comments without scrolling. Louis watched her face carefully. She lowered the phone to her lap.
“My parents will get calls,” she said. “People will be asking them about me.”
“Your family is fine.” Angelique reached over and touched her knee. “They know where you are. They know you are safe.”
Donya nodded, but her thumb hovered over the screen. For a second, Louis thought she might type something. Instead, she locked the phone and set it beside her bowl.
“I told them yesterday,” she said. “I told Baba and Mama I was going with you. With all of you. They understood. It hurt them, but they understood.” She looked down at the dark screen. “Now strangers are asking if I am going home.”
Everyone fell quiet. Gladice’s smile faded first.
Donya picked up her tea. Her hand was steady. “I am not angry. I just don’t want them bothering Baba at work. He deserves better than reporters at his door.”
Willa’s phone pinged again. She glanced down and swore under her breath.
“What?” Savannah asked.
Willa held up her phone. MIT discussion threads filled the screen, along with old campus alerts, a cropped student ID photo, a picture from a robotics lab, and screenshots of classmates’ posts identifying Willa Locke as a missing student. Someone had circled her face in a frame from the embassy video and placed it beside a university photo.
“Great,” Willa said. “Now they know I’m alive too.”
“Welcome to fame,” Gladice said. “It’s fucking terrible.”
Savannah picked up her phone again. “What about me?”
Willa hesitated.
Savannah noticed. “Search.”
Willa ran the search. Angelique did too. Louis checked several clips, still frames, and discussion threads.
Black girl with Louis Collins.
Who is the black woman with Collins.
New Bodyguard of Louis Collins?
None of the results included her name. Savannah watched without reacting.
“Good,” she said.
Cherish leaned forward, clutching her phone with both hands. “Can they find me?”
“I doubt it,” Louis said. “I didn’t see any phones or computers at your home.”
She shook her head. “No. They are illegal there. I just had books.”
Louis touched her hand. “Then you’re safe, Cherry.”
She nodded. Her shoulders eased, though she was still pale. Maeve watched them without speaking, her expression flat.
“Do they know about me?”
Willa ran another search. A grainy frame from the video showed Maeve half-turned, with swelling still visible near one eye. The comments underneath argued over whether she was injured, a hostage, a soldier, or “probably one of the rescuers.” Someone had suggested she looked Irish. Someone else said she might be Canadian.
Maeve snorted. “Irish. Fucking idiots.”
Gladice smiled. “Why not? You’re a redhead.”
Maeve rolled her eyes. Louis opened his messages and immediately regretted it. Thousands of unread messages waited for him from friends, former classmates, media contacts, family friends, and political contacts. Some came from people he had not spoken to in years, others from people he had never liked, and all of them wrote as though they had always been close.
He went to the top of the list and found a single message from Serana.
Welcome home, idiot. See you later.
He smiled and sent back a heart. Then he closed the app. He did not want to see the rest yet.
Angelique noticed his smile. “What?”
“Serana.”
“Ah.”
Gladice leaned over. “What did the little genius say?”
“Nothing,” Louis said. “Just welcome home.”
Gladice nodded. “Good. She’s still my favorite Collins except you.”
Savannah gave a quiet laugh. Donya unlocked her phone again. This time, she opened her messages and tapped the conversation at the top of the list. She stared at it for a moment, then typed. Louis did not read over her shoulder. When the reply came, her expression eased.
“My father says they are ignoring calls from journalists,” she said. “My mother says I should eat more.”
Louis smiled. “Your mother is right.”
“Good woman,” Gladice said.
The knock came again. Before anyone answered, Élise opened the door and stepped inside. She looked at the empty plates and smiled.
“Everything to your liking?”
“Very much,” Angelique said.
“Good.” Élise looked at Louis. “Your parents, Miss Bourbon’s parents and Miss Wang are waiting in the garden. They would like to speak with all of you regarding the media statement.”
“Who’s Miss Wang?” Savannah asked.
“Venessa Wang. She’s the Minister of Information,” Louis said. “And the boss of my dad’s PR.”
Savannah looked unimpressed. “So she wants to know what to tell the world.”
“Yes.” Louis stood. “We should go down.”
“Do we have to?” Gladice asked. “I hate PR. I want to play with my new phone.”
“It’s important, Glads,” Angelique said. “We need to control the narrative.”
“The narrative is we were kidnapped, and now we’re back,” Gladice said. “End of story.”
“There’s more to it than that,” Willa said. “And we need to decide how much to reveal.”
“Fine,” Gladice said. “Let’s get dressed then. But I’m keeping this comfortable vibe.”
Élise took several boxes from the cart and opened them. “Here’s something comfortable for you. I will wait outside.”
“Thank you, Élise,” Louis said.
She left, closing the door behind her. The boxes contained T-shirts, sweatpants, hoodies, underwear, and socks from high-end brands, sorted into sets labeled with their names.
“Your dad is efficient,” Willa said, taking a pair of white panties from a box. “I’ll give him that.”
“He is,” Louis said. “And these are only temporary. Auriel will bring more options this afternoon.”
“I can’t wait,” Gladice said, taking a black thong and matching bra. “I need something sexy.”
“You need something clean,” Willa said. “That’s all that matters for now.”
“I need both,” Gladice said, winking at her. “And I will have both.”
Maeve took a simple pair of cotton panties and a plain black bra. “These are… nice.”
“They are,” Louis said. “You deserve nice things.” He took a pair of black boxers and a white T-shirt. “Let’s get dressed.”
They began to dress. Cherish took a pair of pink panties and a matching bra, then a white hoodie and a pair of gray sweatpants. She looked at herself in the mirror, a small smile on her face.
“I look like one of you now.”
“You are one of us,” Louis said. “Come on. Let’s go.”
They joined Élise in the hall and followed her downstairs.
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