Chapter 66 — Scars, Smokescreens & Silent Promises

(Friday, 26 August 2050)◽15 Minutes Later◽
Breakfast followed the chaos.Ingrid and Psyc sat at the table as if nothing extraordinary had happened—despite the tangled, breathless moment that had preceded it. Plates clinked softly. The air still carried a faint warmth, like the echo of something reckless and intimate.Hedda arrived last, leaning against the doorway with unmistakable amusement in her eyes.
She studied Ingrid for a long moment before speaking.「Be honest. Just how much did you enjoy destroying your father the way you did?」Ingrid didn’t even try to hide her smile. It bloomed across her face, bright and unapologetic.「You should’ve seen his face, Mother. Ah… it was so enjoyable to watch.」Hedda giggled softly.「Yes—well, I could hear it.」Her gaze slid toward Psyc.「And you?」Psyc looked up from his food, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his mouth.「I’m a hater through and through. I was just doing my job.」He paused, eyes glinting.「Though I’ll admit—I do enjoy ruining family bonds like that.」Then, with a chuckle,「I’m definitely going to be a bad influence on your daughters, Aunt Hedda.」Hedda’s smile was calm. Measured. Dangerous.「As long as you keep them happy, I don’t care how much it breaks Emil’s mental state.」Psyc laughed under his breath.「Damn. I knew it. Any woman Mom calls her best friend has a few screws loose.」Hedda’s eyes sharpened—predatory now.「Considering Emil was one of the politicians who agreed to send women to war, understand this: my hatred runs deep.」Psyc raised both hands slightly, amused.「Remind me never to anger your mother, Ingrid.」Ingrid giggled, resting her chin in her palm.「Ingen grunn til det, hun liker deg allerede som svigersønn」(No need, she already likes you as a son-in-law.)
◽3 Hours Later◽
Psyc finally receded.JJ returned.The shift was subtle, but unmistakable—the air itself seemed to settle as his presence took over. JJ found Ingrid on the couch, Astrid standing quietly behind her.Ingrid looked… ready.Never mind that the personality before her wasn’t the same one she had tangled with earlier.Physically, at least.
JJ regarded her calmly.「Ingrid, being calm would suit you better.」She smiled back, predatory and curious.「Oh? And how would you know that?」JJ didn’t flinch.「Simple.」He glanced past her, toward Astrid.「Your sister isn’t actually annoyed right now.」Ingrid blinked.「Ah—right. I forgot. You’re hers. Well… um… who are you again?」JJ sighed.「JJ.」「Ah, yes.」Ingrid turned toward Astrid with a grin.「Good luck, Sister. He seems serious about you—don’t mess it up.」
With that, Ingrid left them alone.Astrid didn’t move.JJ leaned back, nonchalant.That only irritated her more.
「Did you enjoy fucking my sister?」Her question came without hesitation.JJ stared at her, genuinely thrown off.「Who the hell starts a conversation like that?」「Me. I do.」Jealousy flickered briefly in her eyes.
JJ looked at her properly now—six-foot-one, strong, familiar.The woman he would marry in months… or years.
His gaze caught on something new.「That scar on your neck. How did you get it?」Astrid’s jaw tightened.「I killed the illegal immigrant who tried to rape me when I was eighteen.」JJ’s expression softened immediately.「And after that?」【Wait—he’s not disgusted. Not pitying me.…Well, he did sleep with my sister while the whole family was here.】「I fought him off. The police came because of the noise.」Her voice turned cold.「They let him go. He said it was part of his culture—and they accepted it.」JJ’s eyes went flat. Calm. Dangerous.「That’s bullshit. I would’ve shot the cop on the spot.」She snorted quietly.「Trust me. I wanted to. But politics were already stacked against me.」She sat beside him.「What about yours?」JJ tilted his head.「Which one?」「The jagged scar. The one down your neck.」His eyes darkened.「The group that killed my mother did it.」A pause.「A reminder of my biggest failure.」Then—lighter.「Now it’s their biggest nightmare.」「How so?」The question slipped out before she could stop herself.JJ chuckled.「You’d be surprised how many women this scar’s attracted over the years.」Astrid froze—then laughed softly.「Oh. So that’s why you and Ingrid.」「Exactly.」He smiled.「Now you understand why Aunt Hedda and I hate your father so much.」「Damn.」Astrid laughed, leaning into him.「Here I thought you were just here to fuck Ingrid.」JJ wrapped an arm around her.「That was Psyc’s doing. And I thought you weren’t the jealous type.」「I’m not.」Her eyes gleamed possessively.「But I don’t like sharing what’s mine with my sister.」JJ laughed, genuinely amused.「Well, I have a harem. You’ll have to play nice.」「I can behave.」Her smile matched his.JJ’s gaze sharpened.「You know… I appreciate being understood.」He pulled her closer.「Mm. Glad we’re on the same page.」Her eyes turned predatory.「So—my sister. Why her?」JJ stroked his chin.【Yeah. I’m regrowing my beard.】「Simple. Your father’s a politician. But if your mother ran for office, anyone who knew her fears would back her.」His voice lowered.「And as the emperor of militia, I need a legitimate reason to act here someday.」Astrid’s eyes widened—then she giggled.「So I’m the political smokescreen… and Ingrid is the real masterpiece.」JJ nodded.「Exactly. If you move with me legally, they’ll call my presence illegal. But if another Norwegian woman carries my child—especially in a dangerous region—I bypass every law.」She hummed thoughtfully.「And my father? He’ll figure out that sleeping with Ingrid wasn’t just to piss him off.」JJ chuckled darkly.「The last time someone close to me was attacked, I erased a city. When a terrorist and a prime minister tried to threaten me using my daughter, I reminded an entire country who I was.」A pause.「So now…」「Someone close to you will carry your child.」Astrid burst into laughter.「Can I destroy a city with you?」JJ considered her.「Sure. Why not. Strong parents—」「—breed stronger children.」JJ laughed.「I was going to say make, but breeding works too.」