And when the night comes, whose side will I be lying by?

Mary took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Her hands shook as the elevator slowed down to a stop. In spite of Dakota’s remodeling, the Master’s Suite remained suspended above the other rooms in the hotel, lording over them.

And now here she was.

Mary had been to the Master’s Suite several times before; and it had certainly been enjoyable. She knew the bed very well.

But now she would be living there.

Am… am I going to share a bed with Nick!? She half-wondered, half-hoped. Her heart pounded in her chest as she imagined the possibilities. Her and Nick together, embracing each other. Sleeping side by side, just as she’d always dreamed she would with her husband, ever since she was a little girl on her family’s farm.

But… there would be the other women.

Nick would still have his harem. So even if they were living together… would she have to share her bed with the other girls, too? That seemed to be the direction things were going in. And that made her hesitate when she stepped into the entrance hall, and considered the direction things would be going with him.

Dakota was obviously trying to angle her into threesomes. But Mary… Mary didn’t want that.

She wanted Nick all to herself… even though she knew that wasn’t very likely to happen, either. He would be with the other women, and she would be okay with that. And as long as she didn’t have to join them in having sex…

Mary could deal. Maybe a couple months ago, this would have been the dealbreaker of dealbreakers. But Mary had been **** into so many situations that she wasn’t comfortable with, and **** herself to be okay with it. She pushed past those worries and insecurities and doubts, and **** herself to cope; if not for all the times she’d had her boundaries pushed against, and come out the better for it, she might run screaming from this whole mess.

But she would take it on its face. That’s what she did, after all… even if she continued to doubt herself in the process.

Sucking up her courage and vowing to make the best of this situation for Nick’s sake, she knocked on the door of the Master’s Suite; only realizing as she did that Nick wasn’t even here- he was with Marley, living out a dream of some kind.

The door swung open regardless, and a familiar face popped up in front of her.

“Mary!” Holly chirped, her face bright with excitement. “You made it! Come on in!” She was a bundle of eagerness and energy, and her joy was infectious. Mary could already feel herself starting to relax as she stepped inside, and she felt Holly’s desire to hug her already; of course, she wouldn’t do something like that, but she wanted to.

“Hey, um… hey.”

There wasn’t much else Mary could really say about the situation. She gave Holly an awkward wave and walked inside.

The Master’s Suite was as amazing as Mary remembered. Bright and gold everywhere, except… there were a few things that were different. It took Mary a second to process the differences. Dakota had done some slight remodeling here, as well. Of course, Holly’s gilded cage remained in the corner, but other than that, there had been some definite changes to the sleeping area.

Mary’s jaw dropped when she saw it.

“Wait… two beds!?” She turned to Holly in disbelief. “Seriously? Dakota actually gave me my own bed? For real?”

Indeed she had. Where once the Master Suite had enough space for the largest king-sized bed known to man, now there were two of them. Dakota had used her powers to extend the wall of the suite out a significant amount, so there was enough space for two king-sized beds, placed side by side with a couple feet of walking space between the two of them.

“Yes, it’s for real.”

A chill ran down Mary’s spine and she froze in place. Shaking, she turned to see Dakota sitting on the couch, cane in hand, and a sly smile on her face.

The second Mary met Dakota’s piercing gold eyes, she fought off her uncertainty and doubt, and focused on what mattered. Putting on a tough air of confidence. Dakota always looked down on her and treated her and the other girls like trash. Well, Mary wasn’t going to let that happen to her this time, no sir!

“…Let me get some drinks for you two!” Holly, sensing the tension in the air, quickly made herself scarce. She scurried off to the kitchen, leaving Mary and Dakota facing each other off.

Mary did a remarkable job of not appearing to be afraid. She held her head up high and focused on Dakota, staring at her with resolute determination.

“Can I help you?” She asked coldly. “Is there something you needed from me?” Always polite to a fault, Mary tried not to take any sort of “tone” with Dakota, or even appear that antagonistic to her. She wanted to be as compassionate to Dakota as she could afford to be, but the other girl…

“I just thought it was well past time for us to have a talk,” Dakota said, rising to her feet and approaching Mary like a panther stalking her prey through the forest. “That’s all, Mary. Just talk. It’s a little deserved, don’t you think?”

“Oh?” Mary raised her eyebrow curiously. She was a little uncertain, but at the same time, intrigued. And worried, couldn’t forget about that.

She and Dakota were standing eye to eye at this point. The dark-haired girl’s lips were pulled back into a sneer.

“You’re Nick’s wife, after all. And I’m his best friend,” she explained, holding her hand over her chest. “And after everything I did for you at your wedding… You haven’t forgotten that already, have you?” She batted her eyelashes. The tone of her voice almost sounded hurt.

“No, of course I didn’t,” Mary replied, shaking her head. If it wasn’t for Dakota’s forceful personality, then Mary’s wedding might not have been the success it was.

Mary’s hand instinctively reached down to caress her exposed stomach. She might not have been showing yet, but there was no denial that a new life was forming there.

Again, a bit of Dakota’s handiwork.

“…But I also haven’t forgotten everything that came after the wedding, either,” Mary added, narrowing her eyes. “And everything you did when you took over as host and treated Sylvia like that.”

Dakota let Mary’s words roll over her like a light spring breeze. She didn’t seem fazed by her antagonistic statement at all.

“Mary… that was… an unfortunate occurrence,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “I can’t deny that… nor will I.”

She shook her head.

“But you and I have a lot in common right now, don’t you think? We’re both women who love Nick more than anything. And we both have been eliminated from the show. Though one of us was eliminated a little more voluntarily than the other…”

Mary pursed her lips into a tight line.

“What do you want, Dakota?” She asked.

Then, to her shock and horror, Dakota’s expression morphed into a look that Mary could almost describe as frustrated rage. But even as those feelings rose up onto the surface, Dakota seemed to fight them back. And then, as quickly as they appeared, they passed, and she was all smiles again, calmly caressing her cane.

“…I told you, Mary,” she said, reaching out stroking Mary’s cheek. “I want to be your friend.”

Mary stared at Dakota like she was from Mars.

“…My friend?” Mary shook her head. “You can’t be serious!”

“Why can’t I?” Dakota scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. “Because I’m the host? And yet, you befriended Sylvia, even after everything she did. You stood up for her and everything, you even sacrificed your spot at Nick’s side for her sake.”

“Sylvia isn’t like you,” Mary replied. “She felt bad for what she did. She atoned for her actions, and regrets them. That’s not you.”

A shadow crossed Dakota’s face, filled with an emotion that made Mary freeze where she stood, because she never expected to see the other woman make an expression like that.

She looked heartbroken. If only for the briefest of flickers.

“Do you think that I’m incapable of regret?” Dakota asked quietly.

Mary tensed. She didn’t know how to respond to that question, if she was being completely honest. When it came to Dakota, the idea of regret… well, what was she even regretting in the first place? Mary didn’t know how to think about that.

“…I believe that anyone who is truly sorry and repents for their sins can be forgiven,” Mary asserted, holding her hand over her chest. “That if you accept the lord’s love into your heart and atone for the things you’ve done, and work to change as a person, then you are deserving of forgiveness. Is that you, Dakota? Can you truly say that you regret your actions, and wish to change?”

Dakota didn’t look very impressed.

“Mary… I’m trying to be the bigger person here.” Dakota tucked her cane under her shoulder and took Mary’s hands into hers. “I’m trying very hard to be friends with you, as you are Nick’s wife, and it would be for the best if we had a positive working relationship. But as someone who knows far more about the workings of the spiritual world than you… please stop with your heavy-handed arrogance.”

For Dakota of all people to say that came off as the greatest of rank hypocrisy. Mary shook her head in disbelief.

“You CAN’T be serious,” she sputtered, shaking her head. “Me?! Arrogant!?”

“Are you saying that one can’t hold an arrogant perspective of themselves, and still identify it in others?” Dakota sniffed. “How arrogant of you.”

Mary’s eye twitched. She pulled her hands away from Dakota, but Dakota tightened her grip. She wasn’t about to let the other girl escape that easily.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Dakota snapped, shaking her head. “I like that part of you, Mary. The certainty that you are correct, both intellectually and morally, and your refusal to budge on that front. That and your devotion to Nick are your best features, in my opinion.”

Mary felt like Dakota had slapped her across the face.

“Dakota…”

“But with that in mind… remember that not everybody holds the same beliefs as you,” Dakota reminded her. “Would you believe that an atheist is capable of being forgiven? Or someone who believes in the ‘wrong’ religion?”

Mary tensed. “That… we’re talking about completely different things here!” She snapped, shaking her head frantically. “This is about you not being willing to change your ways and become a better person, Dakota! It has nothing to do with spiritual beliefs!”

Even as she said that, though, she couldn’t deny the fact that she was the one who brought spiritual beliefs into the conversation in the first place, much to her embarrassment.

Dakota sniffed, not satisfied with that response.

“Then what way would you have me change?” She demanded, lowering her hands. “To meet the lofty standards of redemption, in your mind?”

Mary blinked. “That… well, I wouldn’t say… Well, to start, what about Sylvia?”

Dakota made an unpleasant face. “What about her?”

“Sylvia learned that transforming other people is wrong,” Mary snapped. “And that you shouldn’t hurt people by forcing transformations onto them! Maybe if you worked on that a little bit, then these statements that you’re just trying to be my friend would seem a little more believable!”

Dakota snorted and rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and grabbed her cane. “You don’t even believe that!” She declared, her voice aching with incredulity. “Come on, Mary. And you called ME a hypocrite?”

Mary blanched.

“Wh-what?!”

Dakota jabbed Mary in the chest. “These milk tanks of yours, they give transformations too. Or don’t you remember turning Rose into her ideal version of Nick’s wife? What about Gina?”

“That… that’s different!” Mary snapped, her cheeks flushing. “Those things… I did that with their permission!”

More or less, anyway. There were a few gray areas that Mary didn’t feel comfortable touching on with Dakota.

Dakota rolled her eyes again. “But you wanted to do it, right? Sure, it’s convenient that they agreed… but in your heart, you really wanted it. You WANTED to transform them, and honestly… even now, part of you wants to transform me, doesn’t it?”

Mary swallowed. Her face paled. “Th-that…”

“I wouldn’t recommend it, though,” Dakota continued, shaking her head and wagging her finger from side to side. “Remember, your milk turns a woman into their ideal vision of Nick’s partner- what they see as being his perfect wife. And I don’t think you want to see that from me.”

She reached up and seized Mary’s chin, forcing the redhead to look her in the eyes again.

“Because the woman you’re looking at right now… she’s the one who loves Nick more than anything. You may be his wife, Mary, but you aren’t nearly as devoted to him as I am,” she snarled. Then in an instant that flash of rage abated and she was all smiles again. She let Mary’s chin go.

“…But it’s not a competition,” she said, shaking her head. “Not between us, anyway. The two of us are both going to do our best to make Nick happy. And we may not get along perfectly… but I know you want Nick to be happy. And you know that I want the same, don’t you?”

Mary didn’t say anything. She just stared at Dakota, trying to make sense of the woman’s words.

The lack of response from her didn’t go unnoticed. Dakota’s smiling face slowly shifted into a look of disgust and frustration.

“…Oh. I see… So that’s the way it is, then?” She scowled. “You think that I don’t want Nick to be happy, is that it?”

Mary gasped. “N-no, that’s not… I just… I was thinking, that’s all!” She frantically tried to clarify. “Dakota, I know that you want Nick to be happy… and I know that you think that what you’re doing is the best way to go about it… bringing him beautiful women to fall in love with him… pushing them together, so he’ll be happy and satisfied… but it’s not as simple as just forcing everyone like this, you know that!”

“What I know is that Nick is the master,” Dakota stated. Any trace of intimacy had left her voice; she was all business now. “And, as the master, he has certain responsibilities, both to the show, and to the women in his life.”

She reached up and patted Mary on the cheek. “Women like you, his wife. And in turn, you have your own responsibilities to him, don’t you, Mary?”

Mary tensed. She didn’t like where this was going. “Dakota…”

“Shall we discuss how those responsibilities will go, then?” Dakota had already turned away from her, in every way but physical. Then she did that as well, and led Mary over to the beds. “I think you’ll find that most of those responsibilities will come into play here, in the bedroom.”

Mary looked warily around the room. “You gave us two beds,” she said quietly. “Thank you for that, Dakota.”

“Oh, you don’t need to thank me. After all, I’m just doing my job, right? It’s not as if a woman like me would ever do anything nice for someone out of the goodness of her heart.”

The bitter sarcasm in Dakota’s voice made Mary’s heart ache.

“Dakota…”

“This bed will be yours,” Dakota said, gesturing to the large king-sized bed that had been conjured into being since the last time Mary was in the Master’s Suite. “You’ll be spending your nights sleeping here, while Nick… entertains the other women of his harem.”

She turned to Mary, wearing a cold smirk on her face. “It may not be the sort of situation you envisioned, I know,” she said sarcastically, patting Mary on the shoulder. “You can ask Holly all about what it’s like, sitting on the sidelines and watching the man you love sleep with countless other gorgeous women.”

Mary had a feeling Dakota wasn’t just talking about Holly as she said that.

“I won’t… have a problem with that,” she stammered, not at all convinced by her own words.

Dakota clicked her tongue and wagged her finger again. “Oh, Mary, Mary, Mary. What a bad girl! Aren’t you the one always saying that it’s not okay to lie? Come on now. We both know that it’s going to crush you to see your husband sleep with other women.”

It certainly wouldn’t be pleasant. But crush her?

“I can manage,” Mary defiantly replied. “But… I know Nick loves the other women in his harem. And if Nick loves them… then that’s good enough for me. Even if I won’t be participating, I can still be happy for them.”

Of course, it was a little different than before. After all, last time at least Mary could sleep in solace in her room, not having a front row seat to all the debauchery going on with Nick and his other lovers the way she would now.

“…I’m so glad you said that, Mary,” Dakota said, wearing a wicked expression on her face. “After all… just because you’re sleeping in separate beds, that doesn’t mean you can’t participate.”

Mary’s face turned red. “W-wait…”

“As Nick’s wife, you have absolute privilege of sleeping wherever you like,” Dakota said, extending her arms out to the sides. “And of course, Nick can sleep wherever he wants. If he wants to crawl into bed with you after a long night of plowing his partner into the mattress, he can do that. Or perhaps he’ll want to unload his sexual tension onto you, because his current lady friend is the sort who won’t give it up so easily. There are a lot of situations, you know.”

“So I’m a bed-warmer,” Mary scowled. It could still be worse, though. At least she had her own bed to sleep in.

“Not all! I just told you, you’re his wife!” Dakota shook her head. “And as his wife, you have special privileges. Like I said, if you want to join in on the sexual fun… go right ahead! You have the privilege of entering Nick’s bed as you see fit. And while you can’t **** him to touch you… I doubt that he would turn you down.”

If Mary was hearing that right, Dakota basically just said that she was entitled to threesomes with her husband. Which, honestly, made a decent amount of sense, but at the same time, it really didn’t.

“I got it. I can have sex with him at will, and vice-versa,” Mary sighed. “Is that what you came here for? To tell me I have the right to sex with my husband?”

Dakota scowled. “You know… I still haven’t heard much more than that half-hearted ‘thank you’, you know. For giving you your own bed, instead of forcing you to sleep next to your husband even when he’s cuddling with a woman who isn’t you.”

Mary winced. “That- You’re right,” she admitted, nodding reluctantly. “It- I didn’t mean for it to come off as half-hearted, Dakota. I really meant it. That was very kind of you. Thank you, Dakota. It means a lot to me that I have a small part of the room that’s mine.”

Dakota seemed honestly shocked by the sincerity of Mary’s apology. As though even if she was the one to taunt her about it, she didn’t actually expect the other girl to express herself so sincerely.

“…Well, it is what it is, if you really did mean your thank-you,” she muttered, shaking her head. Then she perked right back up. “And it’s not just a small part of the room, either! As his wife, you’re entitled to more of your fair share of the space, just look!”

She gestured to the wall beside the bed. It took Mary a second to process what she was seeing, but she realized it was a closet stocked full of the same outfit she was **** to wear. As well as her other clothes, the ones from her old life that she wasn’t able to put on anymore.

“My stuff…” She gasped.

“That’s right,” Dakota nodded. “You’re moving in, remember? It only makes sense that we bring your things up here. What, did you think we’d toss out all your old stuff when you left the show?”

Actually, part of Mary had assumed that. A very small part.

“And my books!” She gasped, looking at the bookshelf next to the bed. All the books she’d bought at the bookstore, and even a mountain of them from her own library back home, stood out in front of her.

“We just wanted this place to feel a bit more like home for you,” Dakota replied with the smirk of a sleazy car saleswoman. “So you can be a bit more comfortable in your new role as the master’s wife, that’s all.”

Mary didn’t know what to say. She was overflowing with gratitude, even though she knew that Dakota was the one responsible for it all.

“…Thanks, Dakota,” she said, blushing. It was the best she could muster at the moment, even though she really was grateful for the other woman going the extra mile. It didn’t change how she saw the wicked host, but it was still a kind gesture on Dakota’s part nonetheless.