Then go on and pretend nothing's wrong

“Here you go!” Rose said with a chirp, setting down a covered tray in the center of the table with a flourish. “My newest specialty!”

She removed the cover, and flooded the room with the sweet aroma of apples and caramel.

“Apple Tarte Tatin!” She introduced. It was quite an interesting look.

“What, it’s like… an apple pie?” Nick questioned.

Rose scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Americans, am I right?” She looked to Amelia for some support, but the older woman just raised her eyebrow in curious amusement.

“…Never mind.” Rose blushed and cleared her throat, before turning back to Nick. “Not at all! It’s far more delicious than a simple apple pie! Tarte tatin is a French delicacy, where a fruit is caramelized in butter and sugar and then baked over a tart, like so!”

Nick looked at the sumptuous dessert in front of him. It was a little odd, almost like a pie without the crust. A big mound of caramelized apple slices wobbled slightly atop several layers of crispy pastry.

“…I-I don’t really see what the difference between this and an apple pie is,” he admitted sheepishly.

He knew better, he really did, but a part of him wanted to see Rose’s reaction.

And she didn’t disappoint.

The half-naked patissier puffed up her cheeks so wide it looked like her red face was going to pop off. She trembled in frustration and balled up her hands into fists as she fought back against the urge to scream.

As always, she looked adorable when she got frustrated.

Holly rolled over laughing in her cage, and in doing so made herself the target of Rose’s ire.

“Just for that, you don’t get any!” Rose sniffed. “And here I was, nice enough to make you soup and steaks too!”

“Eh!? No, I’m sorry! I couldn’t help it!” Holly wailed, turning pale at the thought of not getting to sample any of Rose’s latest delicacy. “I’ll be good, I promise!”

She clutched the bars of her cage and shook them like a prisoner on **** row.

The little gremlin knew Rose too well. She knew that there was no way the blonde would ever, ever be able to stay mad at her for long.

And lo and behold, Rose exhaled a long sigh and nodded in resignation.

“Okay, fine,” she relented, and cut off a slice from the tarte tatin that she put aside on a separate plate for Holly. “…But only after Nick eats his!”

She had only just added this dessert to her list of specialties, and she wanted Nick to get the first bite of it.

Nick was happy to take her up on that offer, it smelled delicious! And if it tasted even half as good as the tuxedo cake she’d baked for him back in the third challenge, then it was definitely worth eating.

Rose was happy to hear it. With a big blushing smile she cut off another slice of the tarte tatin, and slid it onto his plate. She watched him with an eager expression on her face as he popped it into his mouth, and when she saw him smile she nearly collapsed with joy.

“It’s… oh, wow! It’s delicious!” Nick couldn’t believe it, but Rose may have made something even better than her tuxedo cake had been! That tarte tatin was the perfect blend of sweetness and sourness, with a buttery heft to it that just filled him up instantly. But even though he felt like his hunger was sated with a single bite, his mouth had other ideas. It just couldn’t get enough of that juicy, sweet, caramel-y goodness!

Before Nick even realized it, he’d cleaned off his plate, stopping just shy of licking up the crumbs.

When he realized what he’d done, his face turned crimson and he smiled sheepishly, while Rose just giggled in delight.

“I’m glad you liked it!” She chirped, proud as proud could be. She was quick to fill his plate with another slice. “Here, have some more! There’s enough to go around!”

“Don’t we get any?” Mary asked.

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes. While she’d have liked to continue waiting on Nick hand and foot, she supposed that Mary DID deserve some… and Amelia too, of course.

So with great **** she pulled away from Nick and served the other ladies their portion of the delicious apple pastry, then walked over to Holly’s cage and delivered her share.

She didn’t even take any for herself. She was more than full on the compliments everyone had for her.

“It is quite delicious. Well done.”

“Wow, Rose! This is amazing! I’m so impressed!”

“Gyaah, it’s like Nick’s cumming right down my mouth with every bite!”

Nick himself blushed when he heard that last one, and Rose just giggled. Mary looked a little sheepish at her best friend’s display. Holly wasn’t exactly one for eating with subtlety.

Amelia dabbed at her lips with a napkin after taking another bite. She really was impressed, almost bitterly so. How lucky it was, that Nick could have such a close relationship with such wonderful chefs, whereas she had never been able to fulfill her own husband in that regard…

She quickly shook her head and pushed those feelings of inferiority aside. Now was NOT the time to focus on something like that, not at all!

No… she had other pressing issues that she was curious about.

“You all… you get along so well with one another,” she noted. She also noticed the look of alarm on Rose’s face when she said that, too.

“E-eh?” The blonde stammered and started to play with her fingers. “W-well, I mean… I know I get along with Nick, but… yeah…”

“Nicholas, you told me that time flows differently on this island, correct?” Amelia inquired. She didn’t know the full specifics behind that, but maybe Sylvia would? At any rate, she wanted to get Nick’s impression on things.

“Yeah, we… we don’t really know how long,” Nick admitted. “It’s something like, a week is a day or something, maybe? I’m not sure, really.”

With Dakota in command, who could know?

“And you’ve been here for around… what was it? 50 days or so?” Amelia noted, stroking her chin thoughtfully as she imagined how much must have happened in that time frame.

Nick, Mary, and Rose all looked at each other.

“Something like that, I guess,” Mary nodded. “You’d have to check with Dawn, she’d know for sure. But a little over 50 days definitely sounds right, given how many rounds we’ve had.”

Nick nodded in agreement.

“I was a little later than the rest of them,” Rose pointed out. “I came in at the end of the first round, so for me, it’s probably somewhere around 40 or 50 days, maybe?”

“Ah, yes, I heard something about that,” Amelia nodded, recalling her conversation with her stepson about the auditionees, and how he’d met the other girls. “I must say… I’m surprised.”

“Surprised?” Nick asked. “About what?”

It was uncommon to see his stepmother surprised, and even more uncommon for her to actually admit to that.

Amelia shook her head quickly. “No… it’s nothing so serious,” she assured him. “Just… I did not expect for you to be so… comfortable with one another.”

That caused another wave of confusion to rise up around the table.

“What’s that mean?” Rose asked, a little miffed. “Is it so bad for us to be comfortable?”

Amelia’s eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. “No! Not in the least. That… it wasn’t what I intended…”

She sighed and removed her glasses to massage the bridge of her nose. How could she say this in a way that wouldn’t come across as rude or condescending?

…She didn’t really know. So might as well just go with it, then.

“What I meant was… the level of intimacy between you all… it suggests a long relationship. A very close relationship. And not just between you girls and Nicholas, either, but even among yourselves.”

“Eh!?” Mary turned bright red. “N-no, NO! R-Rose and I, we’ve never been intimate! And not with Holly, either!”

“Hah!” Holly cackled from her cage. “Mary, that’s not what she meant at all!”

“Oh man… that’s too much,” Rose shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes, trying hard not to laugh at the redhead.

Mary blushed, looking absolutely distraught. “I… I didn’t… I just thought…”

Amelia’s cheeks were also a little hot. “…That… is not what I meant,” she said, shaking her head quickly. “I just meant to imply closeness. Not… those other things.”

Mary wanted to sink down into her seat and die.

Luckily- or not- Holly came to the rescue!

“Mary and I are so close because we used to be friends back in college,” she informed Amelia.

Amelia’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh… I see, that would explain it.”

“…As for Rose, well, she doesn’t have any friends so she just makes attachments really easy, ‘cuz she’s **** and lonely.”

“Hey!” Rose glared at the snickering little pixie girl.

“You’re right though,” Nick admitted with a sheepish smile. “I guess we’re all pretty comfortable with our existing dynamic… mainly because it’s kind of been **** on us. I guess when you’re put into a situation like this, there’s not really much you can do but adapt, you know?”

Amelia nodded slowly, seeing where he was coming from. Even then, though…

“Still…” She stroked her chin thoughtfully. “To get married in so short a time…”

Mary turned even redder.

“That… um… we just knew, you know?” Mary looked lovingly over at her husband. “Nick and I, we’ve always been really close… ever since we came to this island, in fact.”

Amelia was surprised to hear that.

But not half as surprised as Nick.

“Wait, what?” He stammered.

“We used to have feelings for each other back in college,” Mary explained to Amelia. “But… I messed up. Big time.”

Holly shrank a little back into her cage, trying to pretend like she had nothing to do with that.

Mary wasn’t upset, though. She was smiling.

“In the end… I guess this island was a second chance for the two of us,” she said, her eyes glazing over as she looked back warmly. “It wasn’t what we intended, but it ended up being what we needed.”

“Interesting.” Amelia leaned forward curiously. “I would like to hear how that happened, if you don’t mind. Whatever you feel comfortable sharing with me. …Within reason, of course.”

Mary was happy to!

Mary’s Story

“Nick here, is chosen as your… well, hmm. I suppose you don’t really know what a harem is, huh? Well, let’s put it like this. Nick here is going to become your new husband my girl, doesn’t that sound lovely?”

Mary swallowed. “H-Husband?”

“That’s right. You were just about to get married off to that fat old man at the general store, weren’t you? Well, now you get to trade up! Quite a bargain, no?”

“W-Well…” Mary gazed adoringly up at Nick, wondering if she could really be this lucky. Was this a miracle from God Himself? To marry the man she loved? Just like that?

“I-I suppose… I could…”

“Oh, wait, also, those other girls will be marrying him too. Sort of a big happy family, you know?”

“N-no!” Mary shook her head firmly. “I won’t do it! Nick is my true love! I refuse to share him with anyone else!”

“…Mary…” Nick held his hand over his heart, touched.

“Hey, wait.” In the present, Nick cut off Mary’s story. “I don’t think that’s how it happened.”

Mary shot him a smoldering look. “W-well… it’s how I felt at the time!” She stammered. “I just… it didn’t quite end up coming out that way.”

“So you’re lying,” Rose bluntly rebuked her.

“It’s not a lie!” Mary screeched. “I just… it’s a bit of an embellishment of what actually happened! Besides, you weren’t even there! Now let me finish!”

“…Into your own private little heaven of breeding sex.”

Mary turned red at the horrid words and stared down into the sand. She could feel her heart race in her chest as she imagined Nick staring at her, lusting after her… desiring to push her down then and there and steal her purity in front of everyone…

She couldn’t look at him! If she did, then she wouldn’t be able to control herself! She’d push him down right there and mount him, and such filthy acts should be reserved for when she was married!

No, no, this wasn’t right! It wasn’t proper! It-

“Mary.”

Mary froze. She raised her head slowly to see Nick standing over her with a warm look in his eye.

“It’s okay, Mary. I don’t mind your transformation. In fact, I think it’s perfect. With that transformation, you and I will be able to fulfill our love just as the lord intended, and make countless babies together. Enough for an entire football team!”

Mary felt her heart dance with delight. He wanted her that way! He really did! He-

“Okay, I definitely didn’t say that,” Nick cut in.

“Aww, little Mary is a little fibber!” Rose snickered.

“In-in my heart, that’s what you were saying!” She wailed. “I-I know it didn’t exactly go down like that, but it should have!”

“…And from there, we’ll get married, and have lots of babies, just as you always wanted!” Nick finished.

“Oh, Nick! You’re so amazing! I’m so sorry for all the things I said and did! Please forgive me! To make it up to you, I promise that if I ever get a transformation that makes my breasts really big and fills them up with milk, I’ll let you drink as much as you like! And I’ll buy fertility enhancers with my BP to ensure we have all the kids we could ever dream of!” Mary promised him, clutching his hands. Just holding him like this made her that much more determined to bear his children.

“Mary, you’re perfect, you really are, but I need you to know something,” Nick said, pulling away from her. “I know you want to marry me, and I want to marry you, too, but… this show is called Harem Hotel. I can’t just have one woman carry my seed.”

“That… that’s fine!” Mary insisted, shaking her head. “You’re absolutely right! It’s your duty to fill every woman here with your love, and make all of them bear your children! And as your beloved wife, I promise, I’ll do whatever I can to ensure that happens!”

“Wait, so you two were already married on the first day?” Rose shook her head. “No, no, none of this is right at all!”

“Rose!” Mary hissed at her. Then she recomposed herself and looked over at Amelia, her face red. “So, um… that’s, sort-of how it happened… at least, that’s how I felt at the time. I just, uh… I didn’t… I couldn’t accept it, is all…”

Amelia stared blankly at her. “…I see. That is… quite a revealing story, Mary.”

“It’s a bunch of fibbing is what it is,” Rose huffed. “And here I thought you were honest, Mary!”

“I-I was being honest! Mostly…” Mary protested weakly. “It’s how it should have happened!”

Nick couldn’t say anything. He just sat there burning with embarrassment at all the words Mary put into the mouth of his counterpart.

Rose sniffed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway Amelia, you should listen to how Nick and I first got on! It’s way more touching, and more importantly? It’s true!”

Nick tensed. That was the last thing he wanted his stepmother to hear about! “Wait, Rose-”

Too late. Rose had already begun her little tale.

Rose’s Story

“Hello, Nick. Nice to finally meet you.”

The woman in front of Nick smiled at him with adoration in her sparkling blue eyes. She posed demurely for him in her conservative blue one-piece swimsuit while toying shyly with the opal necklace hanging from her throat, as a light blush dusted across her cheeks. She raised a finger to her coiffed hair and curled a lock of it as she bit her lip nervously. The steam of the Jacuzzi cast her in a soft ethereal glow, and Nick knew then and there that he’d found the love of his life.

“Okay, you’re not even trying!” Nick groaned. She had lied from literally the first handful of lines.

“Hey! I barely got started!” Rose huffed. “Let me tell it, alright?!”

“Mon dieu…” Nick breathed, taking a step towards the beautiful woman who took his breath away. “Please, gorgeous angel, won’t you tell me your name?”

“So I’m French now?”

“You didn’t interrupt nearly this much when it was Mary telling! Silence!”

“My mother named me Rosemary. But you can call me Rose,” Rose introduced herself. She extended her hand and Nick took it, lightly placing a kiss on her knuckles.

“Charmed, ma petit fille,” he breathed, gazing adoringly up into her eyes. “…Please forgive me… I’m not one to be so bold, it’s just…”

He blushed and brushed his hair aside, smiling sheepishly at her as he straightened up. “…You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Except for my stepmother, of course. She’s lovely and generous, and the sort of considerate woman who would definitely want a daughter-in-law as kind and lovely and ladylike as you, as opposed to a heavy-bosomed farmgirl who doesn’t even own a DVD player.”

Nick buried his face in his hands while Mary just slowly shook her head.

Amelia’s face was completely frozen.

“…What? That’s how it happened!” Rose huffed.

“No! It isn’t at all!” Nick was equal parts exasperated, flustered, and amused. “I’m pretty sure I remember you telling me point-blank that you were a plant. That you were just acting, and none of it was real.”

Rose’s cheeks turned red. “I-I was getting to that part,” she mumbled. “So there we were, in the Jacuzzi…”

“The other women in my harem are lovely… but you, Rose, are loveliest of all,” Nick breathed.

“You’re too kind,” Rose stammered, smiling sweetly at him. “But… I’m just a plant… a worthless weed… you don’t really think I-”

“Rose, if you’re a plant, then you would be the most beautiful flower in the garden,” Nick assured her, taking her hand. “Just looking at you like this, makes me want to pluck you for myself.”

“O-oh… b-but we can’t,” Rose said, shaking her head. “I swore, my first kiss would be for the man I loved…”

Nick smiled. “You’re a wonderful actress, ma compagnon, but even I can see through your performance. You love me, I know you do. But I want to hear you say it.”

Rose winced. “Y… yes,” she finally admitted. “I was just acting… pretending that I didn’t fall for you from the moment we met. But I couldn’t help it… none of this is real! It’s just a dream! It must be!”

“If it’s a dream, then I never want to wake up,” Nick said, taking her in his arms and pressing his lips against hers in a passionate kiss.

Rose sighed and sank into his embrace, feeling him kiss her harder than he ever kissed any redhead before.

“…And that’s basically how it went,” Rose murmured, her expression glassy as she thought back on that day.

Everyone stared at her.

Amelia cleared her throat. “That was… certainly informative, Rose,” she said politely.

Nick sighed and shook his head. “Why? Why?” He kept asking that, both of himself, and of Rose. “Why?”

“W-well, I mean… it’s more or less an honest retelling!” Rose huffed. At any rate, that’s how she chose to think about their first meeting.

“Hah! This is two perfect!” Holly had freed herself from her cage and come over to join the others. “None of that’s even remotely true, by the way.”

Amelia looked ruefully in her direction. “I had a feeling there were some slight… embellishments,” she politely framed her perspective.

Mary and Rose both blushed and looked down at their plates.

“Look, Amelia, I’m not gonna pretend like things started out perfect,” Holly said, shaking her head. “It was a little tough, getting this whole business started. Especially because there was a lot of tension between the girls and Nick at first.”

She glanced apologetically at Nick, who winced.

“…Especially with me,” she admitted.

Holly’s Story

“…As I was saying, you’ve been selected as a contestant on this show. While you’re here, you’ll be competing with these fine ladies for the chance of a position in Nick’s harem!”

“Harem?” She snorted in disbelief. “You’re kidding me.”

“Totally serious.”

“A harem. In THIS day and age? For THAT guy?”

“Yeppers.”

“You’re crazy. Totally crazy.”

“That is also true.”

A harem. She was going to be in a harem. Nick’s harem.

“…YES!” Holly screamed at the top of her lungs. She dashed across the beach and threw herself into Nick’s arms. “Finally! FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY! YES YES YES! Oh, this is perfect! Nick, we’re going to do so much together! I’m going to do it all! No holes are off-limits, no position too dirty… if you want, I’ll even tie the other girls down and let you have your way with them while they-”

“Okay, no, that’s enough, stop it right there!” Nick wasn’t about to let that go on for another moment.

“What?!” Holly scowled. “I was just trying to-”

“Cage.”

Nick pointed at the cage.

“…You’re no fun…” Holly mumbled as she trudged back to her cage in disappointment.

Amelia just looked at him in exasperation.

“Sorry,” Nick mumbled, looking sheepishly at her. “It’s… a really long story how we got to this point.”