My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager

That evening, at the house, after asking Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne to stay in the master bedroom for a while, Dennis and Daisy—who was holding Destiny—set up Dennis’s smartphone on a tripod on the table to start the video call.

After pressing the button, the call was answered instantly without a single ring; the faces of the two moms appeared on the smartphone along with William, who stood a bit further back behind them. Without delay, they looked at Destiny in Daisy’s arms; the baby was squirming around, staring at the smartphone screen with her big, round eyes and adorable face.

"Hi Destiny... oh my... Destiny is so cute! This is Grandma. Grandma’s name is Elenor, okay?" said Elenor, Dennis’s mom, while waving her hand.

"Hello Destiny... this is Grandma too. Grandma’s name is Martha... oh... she’s just too precious," added Martha, Daisy’s mom.

"Giggle," Destiny said, opening her mouth in a laugh, probably because she was seeing a smartphone for the first time and her hands looked like they wanted to reach for it.

"Hello, grandmas... this is Destiny. Nice to meet you," Daisy added while lifting Destiny up and showing her off in front of the smartphone.

The two grandmothers on the screen started crying, but their faces looked cheerful and they didn’t take their eyes off Destiny; then, they began baby-talking to her. Dennis could see William in the back looking away, but it was clear his eyes were a bit red and he kept stealing glances at the screen despite his stoic face. Then Dennis realized that there were several people inside his parents’ house.

"Wait, is the house crowded, Mom, Dad?" Dennis asked.

"Yes... your mother is throwing a party," William answered, short and sweet.

"It’s just a few neighbors," Elenor added with a wide grin, then went back to cooing at Destiny.

"So, when exactly is the City of Ruby scheduled to connect with the City of Emerald?" Dennis asked.

"Hmm... likely next week, from what I’ve heard, but just wait for the official announcement," William answered.

"I see. Well, once you get here, just let me know and I’ll come pick you up," Dennis said.

"I heard you bought a new house, son?" William asked.

"Yeah, that’s right, Dad. And before you ask where the money came from—back when the City of Emerald was refueling in the City of Onyx, we made a lot of money hunting in the Core of Darkness. We bought it in cash without any credit or mortgage, and the title is currently being processed in both mine and Daisy’s names," Dennis answered, cutting straight to the point because he already knew the question was coming.

"Ah... you really know me, don’t you? Already knew what I was going to ask," William replied with a smile.

"Of course, Dad. I’m your son, after all," Dennis replied with a smile.

"I’ve decided I’m going to stay with you and Daisy. I’ll help take care of Destiny so you won’t need to hire a babysitter anymore, okay?" Elenor declared.

"Huh," Dennis and Daisy’s faces instantly went pale. They turned to look at each other and then back at the smartphone, while Martha, Daisy’s mom, looked at Elenor as if she had grown a second head. It seemed William noticed the look on Dennis and Daisy’s faces because he immediately stepped forward toward his wife and spoke up.

"What are you thinking, Elenor? You can’t just live there. Don’t be ridiculous," William said.

"But it’ll be hard for them all alone (she seemed to catch something in William’s expression and her tone shifted instantly as she looked back at the smartphone) well, fine. Can I at least stay there for a week? Our cities will be connected for a month, right? I just want to help out," Elenor said.

"Um... okay, Mom," Daisy said, deciding immediately without any discussion.

Dennis snapped his head around to look at Daisy next to him as if she had grown two heads, then he turned back to look at his mom, who looked delighted on the smartphone screen.

"Okay, great... what do you guys need? Let me know so I can bring it with me later," Elenor replied, already back to her cheerful self, while Martha was still staring at Elenor and William shook his head with a faint smile, his expression hard to read.

"I can come too, right?" Martha asked.

"Of course you can, Mom. Why are you even asking?" Daisy replied.

Immediately, Elenor and Martha started discussing all sorts of things over the phone with Daisy, who was still holding Destiny. Dennis just shook his head; it was obvious that Daisy had forgotten there were actually seven of her, and the other six were currently peeking from the wall behind the stairs at this very moment.

"This is probably going to be a disaster later," Dennis muttered in his heart.

A few moments later, after the video call ended, Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne immediately came downstairs. Daisy turned to look at her twin sisters, and her face instantly went into a panic; she then turned to see Dennis watching her with a faint smile, his arms folded across his chest.

"Why so surprised? It seems like you forgot they existed and just blurted out an answer, huh?" Dennis teased.

"Yeah... oh man... this is bad," Daisy said, starting to freak out.

"Relax, we still have a week. Let’s think it through slowly," Dennis replied, patting Daisy’s head.

"We heard everything too, so don’t worry. We have a plan," Diana said.

"Yep, exactly," Dahlia added, giving a thumbs up and winking with a proud look on her face.

"It won’t even take a week to finish everything," Donna said casually.

"Exactly. Sami showed us how your conversation was going earlier," Deborah added, just as relaxed.

"Oh, drop it. There’s no need to overthink it," Dulcia added, waving her hand dismissively with a smug look.

"Yep... just trust us," Daphne chimed in.

Dennis was clearly skeptical of his seven wives. Even though he loved them dearly, it was obvious they were keeping something from him. He studied their faces one by one—except for Daisy’s.

"Sorry, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but could you tell me what the plan is?" Dennis asked, looking at the six twins in front of him.

Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne glanced at one another, suddenly avoiding Dennis’s gaze. But then, Sami’s voice spoke in all of their heads,

[Go ahead and tell him, ladies. I am certain the Master won’t be angry.]

"Um... alright. Come with me, love," Dahlia invited.

Without delay, they all led Dennis and Daisy—who was still carrying Destiny—down to the basement. Once they arrived, everything looked normal: the carpet spread across the floor, the lounge mattress with the TV and game system in front of it, a bookshelf filled with comics, a mini-bar with a small fridge for drinks, and a heater at the far end of the room.

"And? What’s actually down here?" Dennis asked.

His six wives stepped toward the bookshelf. Diana pulled a specific book, and the shelf immediately slid aside. Dennis was shocked to see a closed wooden door hidden behind it. Donna swung it wide open, and all six of them turned to look at Dennis.

"Please, come in, husband, love, sugar, hon, baby, dear," they said in unison.

Dennis glanced at Daisy and Destiny beside him. Daisy didn’t look surprised at all; she just looked away, avoiding his eyes. Even Destiny was looking elsewhere, her eyes darting all over the place. Before asking any questions, Dennis walked inside. Once he stepped through, his eyes widened because he recognized the room—he had seen it before, but only through a screen. He turned to look at his wives and Destiny.

"You guys built a secret room? The council room that was in your heads before?" Dennis asked.

The six of them nodded. Dennis then shifted his gaze toward Daisy, who was still looking away to avoid his eyes, and toward Destiny—who, the moment her eyes met Dennis’s, immediately rolled them in another direction. It was crystal clear that Daisy had known about the existence of this room, though God only knew when they had started building it.

Dennis turned back to look at the council room that previously only existed inside Daisy’s head; now, it was real. The room was still a work in progress, with some walls yet to be painted, but all the chairs and the table—wherever they had gotten them or if they had made them themselves, likely Deborah’s doing—truly captured the dark atmosphere of the council room he had seen before.

Then Dennis turned to look at Daisy, who was holding Destiny as she stood beside him, still staring off in the opposite direction.

"And I’m guessing you already knew about this?" Dennis asked in a calm voice.

"Um... yeah. Before they started working on it, they asked for my permission first," Daisy answered softly.

"Giggle," Destiny squirmed again, appearing quite happy to be inside the council room.

"Okay... so we have a plan now," Dennis said, eyeing the secret room that had been added to his basement at some point without his knowledge. Seeing Destiny, he decided not to get angry and eventually swallowed his pride—or perhaps, he just accepted it.