Chapter 323: Mommy Villainess Act
The numbers beneath Katherine’s post climbed too quickly for Martin to follow. Thousands of comments were already demanding context, speculating about secret lovers, and asking whether she was teasing a new film. Katherine had attached no photograph, location, or name, leaving millions of people to argue over a sentence that revealed almost nothing.
Two private messages from her publicist sat above the flood of notifications.
[Publicist: Please tell me "best day" means you accepted a new role.]
[Publicist: And please answer before the engagement rumors begin.]
Katherine dismissed both without replying.
"Why post anything?" Martin asked.
"Because it was true." Her gaze lingered on the words for a moment. "I wanted to give them one honest sentence without giving away the people who made it true."
Martin glanced at his hand on her ass. "Is the morning better because you’re lying on me while I hold this?"
"Partly." Katherine considered the question with exaggerated seriousness. "It would be dishonest not to credit the hand."
"Your staff is probably having a crisis."
"They’re generously compensated."
She switched from the public post to a private conversation. Alexandra’s name sat at the top, followed by several messages Katherine had apparently sent before Martin woke.
[Katherine: Good morning, little sister.]
[Katherine: The archive was sent. Cassandra stayed. Martin is asleep between us.]
[Katherine: You should be proud of your planning.]
"That’s all you told her?" Martin asked.
"The rest belongs to Cassandra. Alex needed to know that the archive went out and that Cassandra hadn’t disappeared." Katherine glanced across his chest at the sleeping woman. "She can hear everything else from Cassandra after she wakes."
The reply was a video.
Katherine lowered the volume before playing it. Alexandra appeared with sleep-tousled hair and a glare that made it obvious Katherine’s message had woken her.
"You two horny old hags," Alexandra began. "I leave Martin alone with you for one night, and this is what I wake up to? Cassandra still owes me a conversation about how she nearly got Kumoe killed and then dissolved our guild. She was supposed to explain herself, not help you exhaust him before I even get my real-world date."
Her eyes narrowed at the camera.
"If either of you has made him useless, I’ll make you regret surviving to such an advanced age. Tell Martin I said good morning. Do not tell Cassandra I said anything pleasant."
The video ended.
Katherine bit her lip, but a laugh still escaped. Cassandra stirred against Martin’s chest, making both of them freeze until her breathing settled again.
"She’s genuinely upset," Martin whispered.
Katherine’s smile faded as she looked at the black screen. "Jealous too, but you’re right. The part about Kumoe wasn’t a joke."
Last night had not erased how close Cassandra’s decisions had come to costing Kumoe her life, nor had sharing a bed turned the ruins of Night Espresso into a joke.
"Alex will laugh about everything else, but when Cassandra is in front of her, she’ll expect real answers."
"She should."
Katherine nodded. After a brief silence, she opened the camera and raised the phone above them. "May I make my little sister’s morning worse?"
Martin looked at the preview, which showed only their faces, bare shoulders, and the sheet pulled high across his chest. "Cassandra stays out of the picture, and this goes only to Alexandra."
"Of course."
He closed his eyes, and Katherine’s lips pressed against his cheek. The soft click came before she drew away.
When he looked again, the photograph made him appear peacefully asleep while Katherine kissed him, one bare shoulder visible above the sheets. Cassandra remained outside the frame, and nothing in the image exposed the penthouse.
Katherine sent it privately with a caption.
[Katherine: Mommy villainess act <3]
Alexandra’s answer arrived almost immediately.
[Alexandra: Fuck off. Make sure Cassandra is in the harem!]
[Alexandra: Her choice. Obviously. I mean make sure she doesn’t disappear before we talk.]
Martin read it twice.
His eyes went to Cassandra before he could disguise the reaction. She remained asleep beneath his hand, apparently unaware that Alexandra had just assigned Katherine a new morning responsibility.
Katherine watched him instead of the phone. Her amusement grew as seconds passed.
"You’ve made up your mind."
"About what I want, yes." Martin looked from Cassandra’s peaceful face to Katherine’s knowing smile. "My date with Alex left me wanting another. Waking up with you and Cassandra made me want more of this too."
One hand was still on Katherine’s ass while the other held Cassandra’s breast, and denying the obvious would only entertain her more.
"I want Cassandra to say yes," he admitted. "I want you and Alexandra too, and that thought should probably frighten me more than it does."
Katherine’s satisfied smile softened. "Wanting her is allowed. Deciding for her isn’t."
Martin nodded. "I know. You haven’t said yes either, and last night didn’t change that. I want to hear your answer when you’re ready."
"Good boy. You can enjoy wanting us while Cassandra and I take all the time we need." Katherine brushed her thumb along his jaw. "Alexandra will try to rush us through sheer stubbornness, but we both knew that already."
Martin glanced at the message once more. "She ordered you to put Cassandra in the harem."
"Alex believes every request improves when delivered as a command."
"She might have learned that from Cassandra."
Cassandra drew a slow breath against his left side, and her crimson eyes opened. They settled first on Martin, then on Katherine’s phone, and finally on the hand that still held her breast.
"How long have you been awake?" Martin asked.
"Since Katherine announced to several million strangers that she was having the best morning of her life." Cassandra’s gaze returned to the phone. "Did your public declaration contain anything identifiable?"
"Nothing but words," Katherine assured her. "The photograph went only to Alex, and you aren’t in it."
Cassandra gave a small nod, then lowered her gaze to Martin’s hand again.
"Tell Alexandra that calling me an old hag is a poor opening argument." Cassandra covered Martin’s hand with her own, keeping it exactly where it was. "Fortunately for her, I still haven’t rejected the proposal."
Her gaze shifted to Katherine’s phone. "Then give me that. I’ll arrange the call myself. I promised to stop hiding, and I owe her more than one answer."