"Good."

Chapter Song: Cruel Youth - Devil In Paradise

"Good."

Mokuba stirred his steaming beverage in silence, trying to figure out what to say next. "I'm no good at this stuff," he finally admitted.

"Then butt out."

"I can't butt out. Joan is involved in this too, and none of us want to lose our baby."

"It's not my baby and it's not my problem."

"What if it could be yours? That ring has other powers too. Joan could probably use it on you and Marc and make it happen."

"Fuck. No." Laura took a long, slow sip of her coffee while glaring at her boss.

"I don't get it," Mokuba's voice rose an octave, "you let Marc have sex with anyone he wants and you do the same, but when he finally gets someone pregnant, you don't give him the time of day?"

"I saved him from mediocrity. I gave him a home, cooked his meals, cleaned up his messes, all so he could develop his skills as an artist, and this is how he repays me? By knocking up some whore with a magical ring? I'm done with men. They're selfish, greedy pigs."

"Say what now?"

"I held onto my marriage a decade too long. I married Marc thinking that he would be a responsible co-parent, that having someone to love would give him a sense of responsibility, but he's never taken on his share of the housework, and I've had to work my ass off just so he could advance his career. I've come to accept that if I got pregnant, I'd be stuck at home taking care of the baby while Marc brought home the bacon, but I'm not going to be cajoled into doing that for some young whore's baby while she runs around fucking you rich pricks."

"It's Seto's and mine too. And don't forget Michael. There will always be someone available to watch the baby. We can even hire a nanny if it's too much for the rest of us to handle. You won't have to do a thing. We'll have staff to handle the housework too."

"No, I'm out. I practically pulled Marc out of a dumpster fifteen years ago, and now I'm wishing I'd left him there. He just proved to me that he's still as reckless as the day I met him."

Mokuba's forehead creased. "We all used protection. It was an accident."

"No no. You can't just magic a baby into someone without wanting it. Marc knew what he was doing. He was hoping to get lucky just like you and your brother."

"So . . . that's it? You're just giving up on Marc? You don't love him anymore?"

"Love has nothing to do with it. I've told Marc countless times that I would leave him if he got someone else pregnant. Usually that scared off any woman with baby rabies, but apparently fear doesn't apply to whores."

"Why should she live in fear? She's been through a lot, but she keeps on going, keeps on trusting. That's something to admire."

Laura rolled her eyes. "Would you admire a puppy for trusting its master after it got kicked?" Before waiting for an answer, she continued, "I need to live my life for me. I wasted my best years taking care of a man-child because I didn't have the guts to stand on my own."

"What if Marc can't live without you?"

"That's his problem."

"But . . ."

"God, you're naïve. Just wait until you're forty-five, and you'll see that love is nothing but an illusion brought on by our hormones driving us to breed. The sooner you come to terms with that, the better."

"I think Joan has already come to terms with that."

"Good for her. I wish her all the best. She'll need it with you four douchebags."

"Are you . . ." trying to get fired, Mokuba wanted to ask, ". . . jealous?" he said instead.

"I am not jealous. I don't miss my twenties at all. I let every man with a scrap of power walk all over me back then."

"Well that's you, not Joan."

"Exactly why I don't give a fuck."

Mokuba sipped his coffee as his brain played with the puzzle pieces Laura had given him. Her bitterness seemed to come on suddenly, but what if Laura had merely been pretending things were fine all this time? What if Joan's pregnancy was merely the straw that broke the camel's back? He needed more information to complete the picture. "How are things with Matteo?"

"None of your goddamn business."

"Laura, I can't help you if you–"

"I never asked for your help, but if you really want to help, you can tell Marc to go fuck himself."

"Uh . . . I'll leave that one to you."

"First smart thing you've said all day. Now, unless you have anything work-related to discuss, I'm going back to mine." Laura grabbed her coffee cup and marched back to the office. Mokuba stared into space for a few minutes before heading back himself.