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While Mariposa House was fairly large, its equally large upkeep had everyone keen to save money where they could. To maximize the number of rooms available to guests, Astrid and her aunts shared the lone bedroom in the first floor while Pippi and her siblings resided in the attic. And during nights where all guests were out painting the town red, the family would convene in Mariposa House's kitchen-cum-living room; power consumption was likely to be less when they were all together in one place.
For families less close-knit than the Jones', the current setup might have eventually placed a strain in their relationships. But for Pippi and the others, spending time with each other had always been something to look forward to. The challenge was making the house's cozy but somewhat cramped common area work for all eight of them.
Eventually, the whole family had learned to carve each of their own little nook. Pippi's corner was the armchair next to the ancient bookshelf while Vik was usually curled with her latest cross-stitching project in the rocking chair. Rue and Mynt, who both loved to people watch, shared the cushioned seat by the bay window while Astrid and her three great-aunts alternated between the couch and dining table.
The scene might struck other people as being both physically and emotionally claustrophobic, but Pippi wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Her family was everything to her, and not even a short-lived affair with Acheron Simonides would be worth giving her loved ones any trouble.
Her thoughts drifted to the female employee who had been caught in a rather compromising position with the CEO, and Pippi couldn't help flinching at the thought of suffering the same things Ms. Longbourn had.
People these days had turned bullying into an art form, and while a sharply worded memo from Acheron himself protected the lady executive from any outright attack, there were just so many other ways to hurt a person.
Leers that made you feel like you were always just a second away from being raped, whispers that made you feel less than human...and the worst thing about it was how these subtly vicious attacks had eventually affected Ms. Longbourn's family as well. Neighbors had started talking about them behind their backs and invitations from the local parish had dwindled to nothing -
And it was all because their daughter had made the mistake of getting involved with Acheron Simonides.
The last Pippi heard, Ms. Longbourn's parents had moved to another state, far enough to start a new life where no one knew or cared who their daughter had an affair with.
I will never let that happen to us, Pippi swore doggedly to herself.I just can't—-
Mingled gasps from Rue and Mynt interrupted her thoughts and had everyone sitting up in confusion.
"What is it?" Great-Aunt Bernadette asked.
"A police officer just parked his bike outside our house," Mynt reported, her face still glued to the window.
They all looked at each other uneasily, not one of them able to think of any reason someone from law enforcement would need to speak with them.
"He's coming up to our door now," Rue whispered.
Pippi's heart was beating so hard and fast she could barely hear her thoughts. "I'm sure it's nothing." She stood up, her sense of responsibility making her feel she should take charge of the situation. "You guys sit tight. I'll answer the door."
Astrid started to protest, and so did Vik, but Pippi's frown had both women reluctantly settling down. Vague recollections of local crime reports assaulted her mind as she walked towards the door.Wasn't there recently news about a policeman who had gone berserk and started shooting down civilians for no reason?
The thought caused her fingers to shake slightly as she turned the knob, and she barely managed to keep her voice from croaking when she saw how much taller and larger the officer on their front door was. "H-Hello." She found herself staring straight at the name embroidered in big yellow letters over the cop's breast pocket -C. Ostume- and this had her imagination going into overdrive for some reason.
What if he was a Japanese police officer sent to the United States as part of a secret joint operative program targeting a criminal mastermind who happened to be one of the guests checked in at—-
She heard the officer cough,politely,and the sound made her realize that panic had her gaping at the cop for no apparent reason. "S-Sorry." Pippi forced herself to look up, just in time to see the officer remove the dark glasses covering his gaze.
He looked familiar, she thought uneasily. Was that bad or good?
The glasses were tucked into an empty pocket before the officer turned black-as-midnight eyes on Pippi, and her jaw dropped.
Bad!
This was definitely bad!
She rubbed her eyes, but the vision didn't even waver. It really was Acheron, dressed in a police uniform, and God help her, he looked soyummy sexy hotwrong!
He looked wrong!
Absolutely wrong!
"Hello, Pippi."
His voice was alluring as ever, but the sound of it was more than her heart could bear. Suddenly, everything - every darn little thing that had to do with him and her - came rushing back, and before she even realized what was happening, a lone tear was already trailing down her cheek, followed by another and another until it became an endless stream wetting her skin.
No!
