My Taboo Harem!

But there were child’s corner that ruined the entire adult illusion.

Dolls sat in a neat row near one wall, their painted eyes staring outward with the blank serenity of tiny witnesses who had seen too much and decided silence was safer. Stuffed animals occupied a low shelf in careful formation, as though awaiting inspection. Bright plastic blocks had been gathered into transparent containers with military precision.

A miniature kitchen stood beside a small pink table, complete with toy plates, cups and what appeared to be a wooden cake that had survived several ceremonial executions.

Everything had been allocated to a specific place with suspicious precision.

Someone in this apartment either possessed terrifying organizational skills or had surrendered to the reality that children multiplied objects when left unsupervised, like a soft, sticky plague that left fingerprints on every surface and demanded tribute in the form of new toys.

The air carried the warm sweetness of food.

Something buttery, baked and perhaps honey too.

They had clearly been preparing lunch before the visit.

The Goddess looked toward the dolls.

A slow smile appeared—the kind of smile that once preceded the quiet destruction of her daughter.

She turned to Elena: "Do you still remember how to play with those?"

Elena stopped walking.

"No."

"You used to love dolls."

"I was a child."

"You had one you carried everywhere."

"I do not remember."

"Oh, you remember."

"I don’t."

"It had black hair and a little purple dress. You called her Lady Elena because apparently even your toys were required to acknowledge your rank."

The woman who had opened the door turned away, but not before Elena caught the soft curve of laughter on her lips.

Elena’s eyes narrowed.

"Mother."

"What? Oh, you also cried for three days when I refused to buy you another one."

"I did not cry for three days."

"Two and a half, then. You became very quiet on the third afternoon."

"That is called accepting disappointment."

"You hid beneath your bed and declared you were no longer my daughter."

Elena closed her eyes.

The woman’s shoulders shook once; she was absolutely listening.

The traitor had even arranged her face into a polite expression while enjoying every second. Elena saved her mother’s betrayal away for future psychological warfare.

The Goddess studied Elena thoughtfully.

"Actually, now that I think about it, that may have been when your rebellious phase began."

"My rebellious phase did not begin over a doll."

"You said I had destroyed your future."

"I was six."

"You were dramatic."

"I was six."

"You packed a bag."

"It contained biscuits and one shoe."

"Yes. Your planning has improved greatly since then."

Elena turned toward the woman: "Please do not listen to her."

The woman’s expression remained professionally innocent: "I wasn’t."

"You are laughing."

"I thought of something else."

"My childhood humiliation?"

"No."

"That answer was too quick."

The Goddess looked delighted.

Dragging Elena along had already begun producing returns, and they had not even reached the alleged purpose of the visit. There was a particular, dark satisfaction in watching her daughter squirm—an almost maternal form of sadism polished to perfection over decades.

"Elena!"

The new voice came from the direction of the master bedroom.

Elena turned.

"Long time no see." Courtney emerged into the living room with a bright smile, her appearance relaxed and far removed from anything resembling employment. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and she wore soft clothes suited for an afternoon indoors rather than whatever formal meeting Elena had been expecting. The fabric clung just enough to remind every adult present that Courtney was still a woman who could make a man forget his own name if she decided to try.

Before Elena could answer, another sound followed.

Small feet.

Light, rapid, skipping footsteps.

A little girl appeared beside the bedroom doorway with a doll hugged tightly to her chest.

She was tiny, dressed in a pale pink outfit with her hair gathered into two bouncing pigtails with each step was more enthusiastic than coordinated, giving the impression that she had negotiated only a temporary truce with gravity.

She looked toward the visitors.

Her eyes landed on the Goddess.

Her entire face brightened.

"Mommy!"

She broke into a run.

The Goddess had barely opened her arms before the girl reached her and wrapped herself around one of her legs.

Elena stared.

The Goddess looked down, visibly enchanted, something ancient and possessive softened in her expression—the same look she wore when regarding things she intended to keep.

The little girl tilted her head back and examined her with enormous, curious eyes.

Then she turned toward Courtney.

"This Mommy, this mommy is so beautiful!"

The room collapsed into laughter, the Goddess laughed, bending down and lifting the girl easily into her arms. The child weighed almost nothing, yet the weight of her small body against the Goddess’s chest carried a strange, unexpected warmth—the pure, unguarded trust of something that had not yet learned how the world actually worked.

Courtney crossed the remaining distance and settled onto the sofa, taking the child when she reached toward her a moment later.

"I’m sorry," Courtney said, still laughing as she pulled the little girl onto her lap. "Lily calls almost every woman Mommy. The younger ones are Auntie; I have tried explaining that this creates confusion, but apparently she considers titles a matter of personal taste."

The Goddess looked offended.

"Almost every woman?"

Courtney nodded.

"And here I thought I had been specially chosen."

Lily played with the doll’s hair, already losing interest in the adult conversation.

The Goddess leaned closer: "I cannot believe you forgot me. It has not been that long since I last saw you."

Lily looked up again and her little brows pulled together; she studied the Goddess with painful concentration, searching her face as though memory might be hiding behind the cheekbones.

Then she shook her head:

"I don’t remember you."

The Goddess pressed one hand against her chest.

"Cruel."

Lily’s eyes narrowed slightly:

"Did you bring me a gift when you visited?"

Elena turned away, hiding a smile. There it was—the purest form of transactional affection, unfiltered by adult hypocrisy.

The Goddess stared at the child.

So that was the standard, faces could be forgotten, names could disappear and an entire relationship could be deleted from the sacred archives.

But gifts?

Gifts received permanent storage.

"No," the Goddess admitted.

Lily’s expression fell with such immediate disappointment that guilt struck faster than any curse.

The Goddess panicked:

"But I gave your mommy money to buy you one."

Lily’s eyes widened then she turned sharply toward Courtney.

"Mommy."

Courtney froze.

"Where is my gift Mommy bought me?"

There were too many mommies in that sentence for any adult defense to survive properly.

Courtney looked around as her gaze travelled across the living room with the unmistakable desperation of someone searching for available evidence; then she pointed toward a large toy near the child’s corner:

"That one."

Lily followed her finger.

A brightly dressed doll sat beside the miniature kitchen.

The child stared at it then she looked back at Courtney and her face became immediately solemn.

"Lie."

Courtney blinked.

"That is Auntie Noor’s gift, Mommy."

The Goddess covered her mouth. Her shoulders trembled with the effort of containing something far darker than simple amusement—the pure, vicious delight of watching another woman fail a child’s judgment.

Elena failed entirely and burst into laughter asCourtney’s eyes moved toward the unnamed woman near the door, silently begging for assistance.

The woman suddenly found the flowering plant beside her fascinating.

Lily hugged her doll closer and looked up at Courtney with the grave disappointment of a tiny judge preparing to issue sentence:

"Lies are bad, Mommy."

Courtney opened her mouth but nothing came out.

The Goddess lowered herself onto the opposite sofa, her shoulders still shaking with contained laughter at the powerlessness as a competent adult was reduced to silence by a creature barely old enough to form complete sentences.

Elena sat beside her and leaned close enough to whisper, "You were right."

The Goddess glanced at her.

"I have already learned something."

"What?"

Elena looked toward Courtney, still trapped beneath Lily’s merciless stare.

"Never embezzle from a child."

The Goddess finally lost whatever remained of her restraint and laughed—a low, rich sound that carried the unmistakable flavor of someone who had just watched a smaller predator tear into softer prey and found the spectacle deeply satisfying.

****

A/N: Lily...