My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager

Once they were inside the house, William and Dennis headed down to the basement to get the room ready for them. As they worked, they started talking.

"Son, you don’t need to bother with Chad. He hasn’t changed; he’s still the same as he’s always been. In fact, I hear he’s hanging out with some pretty shady people these days," William said.

"Is that so," Dennis muttered.

"Ever since his father passed away, he’s spiraled out of control. He isn’t just that arrogant little kid who used to bully you anymore," William replied.

"Hmm... as long as he doesn’t mess with my wives, I don’t care to deal with him either, Dad," Dennis replied.

"Yes, I know, but please, just don’t engage with him anymore," William said.

"Got it, Dad. I understand," Dennis replied.

They immediately started setting up the beds for Dennis and his seven wives after clearing the space. Since there were no other large rooms available—and it was impossible for them all to fit in Dennis’s childhood bedroom, which remained exactly as he’d left it—they chose William’s basement. It was neat and clean, with a large, unused room that William and Elenor typically used for storage.

While he was busy cleaning up, a sudden clamor erupted in Dennis’s head; all seven of his wives were speaking to him at once through their mental link.

"Hey... what’s going on?" Dennis asked.

"Who was that guy exactly, baby?" Dulcia asked.

"Yeah... we want to know," Deborah added.

"Not just want to... we have to know," Donna chimed in.

"Can I kill him?" Dahlia asked.

"Whoa... don’t go straight to killing. I’ll investigate him first, okay, husband?" Diana said.

"I feel like he’s more than just some ordinary rich guy... I’m curious because I sensed something wasn’t right," Daphne remarked.

"And I don’t think this is over, honey," Daisy added.

"Sigh... alright, fine. I’ll explain," Dennis said.

Finally, Dennis told them all about Chad and his gang from back when they were kids. Chad was the one who used to bully Dennis relentlessly while trying to get close to Bella, who was always hanging around Dennis at the time. When Bella started dating Brad in middle school, Chad and his gang turned Dennis into their personal errand boy and ATM, since there was no one left to defend him—even if Bella’s "protection" had only been for her own benefit, like getting free meals and playing games for free.

After graduating middle school and moving to Emerald City, Dennis had lost track of Chad until today. He had just heard from William that Chad’s father had passed away; since the father was old-money wealthy, Chad likely received a massive inheritance. According to William, he was now hanging out with the wrong crowd. As Dennis finished his story, he could feel the atmosphere shift among his seven wives, even through their telepathy.

"Hey... why did you guys suddenly go quiet?" Dennis asked.

"I’ve already sent my subordinates to investigate him," Diana answered.

"I’m loading my bullets," Dahlia added.

"I’m starting to dig up the dirt on him online," Donna added.

"I’m prepping a cage for experiments. Even if he dies, I want his body," Deborah added.

"I’m doing push-ups... just in case," Dulcia added.

"Sorry, please don’t talk to me right now. I want to go have a word with his father," Daphne added.

"I’m sharpening my sword too, honey," Daisy added.

"Hey... hey... hey... don’t go doing anything reckless," Dennis said.

[Relax, Master. I will make sure their tracks are covered.]

"And apparently you’re in on this too, Sami," Dennis said.

[Of course. I am also a part of this family.]

"Aaarg... enough, enough... don’t do anything weird. We are at my parents’ house right now; don’t go bringing trouble to them," Dennis said.

"Relax, my husband. When we work, we work clean," Diana said.

"Exactly," Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne answered.

"Don’t try to stop us, honey," Daisy added.

[The ladies are right, Master. Leave it to them.]

Dennis was left speechless, just like all the times before—especially when it came to Destiny’s case. Once his seven wives reached a unanimous decision, there was no stopping them. He could only stay quiet and shake his head. But just as the silence returned to his mind because his wives and Sami had stopped talking, suddenly:

"Ma... Dada... giggle."

"Huh," Dennis, Daisy, Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, Dulcia, and Daphne all reacted with shock inside their shared mental link.

[Huh.]

"You’re surprised too?" Dennis asked Sami.

[Of course.]

"Ma – ma... Da – da... giggle," Destiny babbled.

"Hello Destiny... Papa’s right here," Dennis replied.

"Da – da gyaaaa... giggle," Destiny’s chatter echoed in all of their heads.

Immediately, everyone started talking at once—including Sami—except for Dennis, who was busy thinking, completely stunned.

"Huh... how is this possible? I know she can babble... but through telepathy? She’s a baby... ugh... right... she’s a magical baby," Dennis muttered to himself while shaking his head and covering his eyes with his hand.

Seeing Dennis stop working and stand there in silence, William immediately walked over to him and looked him in the face.

"What’s wrong?" William asked.

"Oh... sorry Dad, it’s nothing. I just heard the sound of Destiny babbling," Dennis answered.

"Ah... that’s just instinct. She’s probably having a good time upstairs and looking for you. Why don’t you head up first?" William replied.

"In a bit, Dad; I’m almost done here. Anyway, what is Mom even doing up there with Daisy and the others?" Dennis asked.

"The usual—inviting the neighbors over and showing off Destiny. She’s been on the phone constantly since before we left this morning, hasn’t she?" William answered.

"Wait, I thought those were work calls?" Dennis asked.

"Work? Not a chance, we’re on vacation. She was calling the neighbors and a few coworkers to come over. That’s why she’s got your seven wives helping her out. She’s planning... a party, I guess... I don’t really know," William answered.

"Huh... that is so like Mom... totally exploiting Destiny," Dennis muttered as he went back to work.

"So... when are you going to give Destiny a little brother or sister?" William asked casually, as if he were just commenting on the clear weather.

Dennis turned to look at his father’s face, which seemed perfectly relaxed, as if he hadn’t just dropped a nuclear bomb on his head.

"Dad, Destiny isn’t even a year old yet. She still has a month to go before she hits the one-year mark. Why are we talking about a sibling?" Dennis asked.

"Well, after your mom mentioned that Daphne was the one who gave birth to Destiny—which makes sense, considering her figure is different from the others—I just got to thinking that there are still six more who could get pregnant... I know they all technically originated from one person, Daisy, but if it was possible for Daphne, why wouldn’t it be possible for Diana, Dahlia, Donna, Deborah, and Dulcia? Even Daisy herself could, right?" William said.

"Ugh... I mean, you’re not wrong, but it’s not exactly that easy to just have a kid, you know," Dennis protested.

"Hmm... seeing how active you all are at home... I have a feeling that in the near future, I’ll have a second grandchild, maybe even a third," William replied casually.

"Enough, Dad... I really don’t want to talk about this," Dennis muttered.

"Hahaha... alright, I’ll just wait. No need to rush," William replied casually.

They went back to working quickly. Dennis occasionally glanced at his father, who looked focused and didn’t look over once. His mind drifted back to when he was a little kid, remembering how much his dad and mom had adored him—so much that he had become fat and round. Even though he was bullied at school, they kept him well-fed and round, and William would occasionally show up at the school to protest, even getting into heated arguments with the parents of the kids who picked on him. Then, he remembered something he had once overheard from his parents in secret back in middle school.

"That’s right... Dad has been sterile since he was young and Mom has a weak womb... they weren’t actually able to have children from the start. It makes sense why they were like that with me back then and now with Destiny, but please don’t ask for more grandkids—I still have too much on my plate before that," Dennis thought to himself.

Shortly after, the sound of many footsteps echoed from upstairs; it seemed the guests were beginning to arrive. Once Dennis and William finished their work, they headed up. Martha had already returned and was helping Elenor prepare the food, while Daisy and the others looked busy arranging the room, assisted by a few neighbors Dennis recognized but wasn’t close with. He also noticed a baby crib in the middle of the living room. It didn’t look like it was store-bought; it looked handmade. Dennis turned to William beside him.

"Wait... you have a baby crib, Dad? It doesn’t look like the ones they sell in stores, and it’s a bit old-fashioned, isn’t it?" Dennis asked.

"Yeah... it is old. When your mom and I first got married and planned to start a family, I actually prepared a crib by building it myself. Then... well, you know. We ended up storing it in the warehouse, and it looks like your mother pulled it out and cleaned it up for Destiny," William answered, a sad smile on his face as he looked at the crib.

Dennis didn’t say another word. He just put his arm around his father and squeezed his shoulder as they stood there together.