Daniel stopped in front of his house and took a deep breath. "Home sweet home." Looking at the familiar place, he realized he had actually missed it.
Diana walked up behind him. "Well, there are also people inside waiting to hear what you've been doing all these days."
The peaceful expression on Daniel's face vanished instantly.
Wait...
He had been shopping with Mera when Evelyn and Elizabeth called him. He had cut the call short and never called back.
Don't tell me they're still angry about that.
Daniel slowly turned around. "Umm... I just remembered I have some unfinished business. I should probably go finish that first."
He barely managed to take a single step before Diana caught his wrist. "You're not leaving." Ignoring his protests, she dragged him through the front door.
The moment Daniel entered the living room, he saw Tamara sitting on the sofa. His shoulders immediately relaxed.
Good. I ran into the less dangerous one first.
Just then, footsteps echoed from the kitchen. Elizabeth walked out holding a meat cleaver.
Daniel's smile froze. "Umm... Elizabeth. When you're cooking, you really shouldn't walk around holding a meat cleaver like that."
Elizabeth looked at him and smiled. "Well, dear... would you mind explaining what you've been doing this entire week after disappearing without a word?"
Daniel immediately pointed at Diana. "Umm... I was saving the world. If you don't believe me, ask Diana. I really was saving the world."
Elizabeth folded her arms. "Forget about saving the world." Her eyes narrowed. "Tell me, exactly how many women did you meet this time?"
Daniel let out a helpless sigh. They trusted him less and less these days. Then again, he couldn't really blame them — he had brought most of it upon himself.
He raised his right hand. "I swear on my heart, I wasn't messing around with anyone. I really was stopping a war and saving the world."
Evelyn walked over and looked him straight in the eyes. She didn't look convinced.
"My lovely dears... I'm telling the truth."
Just then, Sylvia walked into the living room after hearing the conversation. She glanced between Daniel, Evelyn, and Elizabeth before joining them. The three women stood together, all staring at Daniel with nearly identical expressions.
Before Daniel could say anything else —
The front door swung open.
"Daniel! Where the heck have you been for the last week?"
Harleen Quinzel walked inside wearing her doctor's coat. The moment she stepped into the living room, she froze.
Daniel was standing there surrounded by four women.
Daniel felt his heart sink. ...Fuck. Harleen, you couldn't have picked a worse time to show up.
The expressions on Evelyn, Elizabeth, Sylvia, and even Diana changed almost instantly. Only a few seconds ago, Daniel had insisted he hadn't been meeting other women. Now another one had walked through the front door looking for him.
Harleen looked around the room in confusion. "Umm... who are all these women?" Her eyes moved from Evelyn to Elizabeth, then Sylvia, then Diana, then back to Daniel. "What the hell is going on here?"
Evelyn slowly turned toward Daniel. "Yeah... we'd also like to know."
Daniel rubbed his forehead. "Nothing strange." He pointed toward Harleen. "She's Harleen. A friend of mine."
Elizabeth wasn't satisfied. She looked directly at Daniel. "Only one question. Who made the first move?"
Daniel didn't even need to think about it. "Well, it definitely wasn't me." He spread his hands helplessly. "It sort of just happened. The situation demanded it."
***
The room fell silent.
Elizabeth, Evelyn, Tamara, Sylvia, and Diana slowly turned their attention toward Harleen. Feeling everyone's eyes on her, Harleen looked around in confusion before pointing at herself.
"Me?"
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes."
Harleen glanced at Daniel before answering honestly. "I've known Daniel for a while. He fools around a lot while working as a doctor and does plenty of questionable things, but when it comes to treating patients, he's actually serious."
Diana folded her arms and looked at Daniel. "So you've been following her around playing doctor?"
Daniel looked genuinely offended. "You make it sound like I've been doing something illegal. Saving lives is a noble profession, and I simply work beside her. Besides, who else is more qualified than me?"
Evelyn still wasn't convinced. She turned back to Harleen. "Can you examine him?"
Harleen blinked. "Examine him?"
"Yes." Evelyn nodded with a completely straight face. "I'm beginning to think there's something medically wrong with him."
Harleen stared at Evelyn for a few seconds before slowly looking back at Daniel, then sweeping her gaze across the five women standing around him.
The longer she looked, the more confused she became. She had come here to ask why Daniel had disappeared for an entire week. Instead, she had somehow walked into a house where five women were interrogating the same man.
...How is this even possible? One man surrounded by five women. Since when did modern society start looking like polygamy?
*****
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