That night, over the flickering glow of a pit fire, with people all around them, Candace and her five husbands sat cross-legged on a large woven blanket.
They watched the dancers swaying and stomping on the sands, listened to native drums and aboriginal music, and shared a lavish meal consisting of spit-roasted pig along with half-a-dozen side dishes of root vegetables and sweet breads.
To wash it all down, there was some sort of dark brown beer that made the guys smack their lips with delight as they clinked mugs over and over again.
At first, everyone was simply grunting at small discussions, their mouths too filled with greasy roast pork to say much.
As their hunger began to be satiated, conversations took on a much more serious tone.
"She did what???" Candace glared at Leo. "How dare she!!!"
"Well…" Leo tried to explain some more, but the more he talked, the angrier Candace looked.
"You tried to help her heal and she dogged you like that? What the hell???"
"By the time I realized what had happened…"
Candace took a long swig of her bitter dark beer and cleared her throat. She had to calm herself. Leonardo was looking nervous, as if he thought he was to blame for any of this.
The truth was, sexual assault was never the victim's fault. Unfortunately, society always looked to blame the victim, which made the crime that much worse.
She turned back to look at him, her eyes full of compassion. Reaching out, she pulled his head onto her shoulder.
"My poor, poor husband…" Candace was muttering into his ear, all the while, patting and rubbing his back with gentleness that made Leo feel as if he was a young child being comforted by a much older woman.
"This is what happens when you try to be nice to people who don't deserve it. They take advantage of you!"
With just that one gesture, Leo immediately knew he was loved and protected. She had clearly shown that whatever had happened to him was just a tragic event that had befallen him and he was blameless for the incident.
Suddenly, hope began welling within him. She was not going to blame him. She was going to make everything alright.
Leonardo was a very tall man and she was a very short woman. It was such an awkward hug that he could barely keep himself from sprawling over her.
Nevertheless, with one hand propped on the ground and the other around her small fragile body, Leo managed to maintain the precarious perch. He would be damned if he allowed a precious hug like this from her go unappreciated.
"Okay. Let me finish this amazing mud pie dessert and then we go find a quiet place so I can talk to Olivia myself."
She stuck a fork into the dark brown chocolate dessert and began shoving it into each man's mouth, irregardless of whether they wanted it or not.
Leo bravely took the bite without saying a word. He was just so grateful to be sitting near her that he would eat real mud if she said that was what he needed to do.
"It's your dessert. Why are you feeding it to us?" Lucas grimaced. He didn't exactly like chocolate much, but how could he refuse a fork that was being shoved at his mouth?
"I only wanted a couple of bites but I didn't want to waste the rest of this amazing sweet thing." Candace laughed. "I can't eat too much of this or I won't be able to dance."
"So you make us finish it for you." Jared's mouth drooped in a comedic display of misery.
"It doesn't taste that bad." Byron smirked as he licked his lips of the chocolate bits still smeared from her fork.
He left off the part about the fact that it didn't taste that good either. He was with Leo. Whatever his woman made him eat, he was going to try his best to like it.
"Then you eat it all." Jason clenched his teeth together, refusing the single bite of mud pie that Candace was smearing all over his lips.
The men laughed at the mess that she made of Jason's mouth. Their eyes softened as she leaned over and kissed the mess off his face.
She truly did love each of them with no bounds and no reservations.
Once they were filled with food, everyone trooped back to the hotel where the twins and Candace were staying.
It was a large tower that rose up high into the Avalian skyline, and their room was on one of the upper floors.
Through the large glass panes, they could see the entire city below, glittering in the night like rare diamonds.
The moons shimmered above the dark sky like three colored lanterns, added festivity to an already sparkling bustling cosmopolitan metropolis.
While the five men showered the dust and grime off their day, Candace skipped the shower and spent some time within her mind space, talking with Slate and Dante.
As they went over the situation between Olivia and Leonardo, her two husbands back in Erenveil began to rally their own special forces to assist her with her various requests.
"You'll need to do this…" Slate informed her.
"And what about…" Dante suggested.
"Good idea. Also…" Slate continued.
"And as the final nail in the coffin, we are going to…" Dante cackled with glee.
"Darling, we are going to need to look at you for a moment." Dante suddenly insisted.
Suddenly, a virtual monitor popped up, split screen, showing both Dante and Slate.
"Sweetheart…" Dante shook his head ruefully. "You look like something the cat dragged in. Where have you been all day?"
Candace grinned cheekily. "We were out all day in the Avalian desert. I was riding on a lompii, and afterwards, we ate spit-roast pig outside while the aborigines danced to ancient drums."
She groaned and rubbed her backside.
"Riding a lompii looks fun but it really hurts your butt!"
"You rode a lompii, huh? Wouldn't a hover pod be much more comfortable?" Slate raised an eyebrow.
Candace blinked. "Jason and Jared said lompiis were the only things that could get us around out there in the desert."
Slate and Dante looked at each other.
"I'm going to kill them." Dante looked fierce. "The fools wanted to ride a lompii and made you ride one with them!"
"Oh you mean hover pods would work out there?"
"OF COURSE!!!" The both of them yelled.
Candace bit her lip. Suddenly, she doubled up laughing.
It would be just like them to make her ride that lompii for the sheer experience of running around in the dessert on an ostrich-looking-camel with two legs and a water hump.
"Go take a shower and get dressed in something splendid. You will need to look like the Empress that you are." Dante insisted.
"Yes. Wear the best outfit that Jared made for you, along with the jewels that Jason made. Go!" Slate brushed a hand.
Candaces grinned and threw them a kiss as she ran for the bathroom. The sooner she cleaned up, the sooner she would be able to face the bitch who tried to harm Leonardo.
Within the hour, Candace and the Princes were once again regrouped in the formal sitting room overlooking the jeweled cityscape.
They were all dressed as if they were visiting dignitaries in Avalia instead of to getting ready for bedtime, as they should have been.
This was an important showdown.
Candace stood at the center of the sitting room, dressed in splendid regal robes of white and jewels of amber gold. On her honey blonde head was a jeweled diadem, her wrists were filled with bangles and fingers glittering with rings.
At her command, the Princes got her in touch with Olivia Faraday who was still in deep space onboard the Alpha Vetiver Hospital.
As soon as Olivia Faraday's pale heart-shaped face came onscreen, Candace launched into her immediately, with no preamble.
"So I hear you've been going around telling everyone that you and Leonardo are married."
Candace crossed her arms over her chest, her head tilting back in regal stance, her eyes narrowed with dangerous intent.
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