Page 199 of Cruel Devotion

“Once the East sees her, the harem will all be bald by the end of the month.”

“Can you imagine?”

I'd thought it was ridiculous but. . .

They all really shaved their damn heads!

And each face was unique, yet they shared a common expression of annoyance as they gazed my way.

Hey! I didn't do anything to you.

At least, Lei definitely didn't discriminate when it came to his bed.

“Lei, you know one woman can't satisfy you!”

The group was a mesmerizing rainbow of humanity's diversity— porcelain-white to deep ebony, olive tones to warm caramel. The variety of shapes and sizes added to the surreal quality of the scene. Some of the women were tall and willowy, while others were shorter and curvier.

And where did they find all of these different Cookie Monster pajamas?

The pajamas they wore were not uniform; some had large, bold prints of Cookie Monster's face, while others were adorned with tiny, scattered images of the beloved character munching on chocolate chip cookies.

“You're mourning Chanel! Think this through! She's not the one!”

One guard appeared particularly flustered as a woman in pajamas with giant Cookie Monster eyes on the front tried to crawl between his legs.

This is really crazy.

Another guard was engaged in a comical dance of sorts, trying to keep a particularly agile woman at bay who seemed to think this was all a game of tag.

“Just let me talk to him real quick! I'm one of his favorites!”

The scene was chaotic yet oddly humorous, as each guard struggled to maintain order amidst a group that clearly had no intention of being easily deterred.

Lei broke the silence first. “Umm. . .”

I slowly turned to him.

“Bolin. Fengge.” Horror covered Lei's face. “Get them out of here.”

“Yes, sir.” Fengge bobbed his head. “We'll have them taken back to their rooms—”

“No.” Lei shook his head. “I want them out of the palace.”

Fengge widened his eyes. “Sir?”

“Get them on my plane and fly them out of the country. Tell them it’s a vacation on me and then work with Chen to come up with aHarem Exit Plan.”

Fengge cleared his throat. “An exit plan?”

“The harem has to end. I don’t want this anymore, and this. . .is clearly turning into a mental health situation and I don't need them anymore.”

“Uh. . .yes sir.” Fengge pulled out his phone. “I'll fly Chen here to discuss.”

“Insanity.” Lei guided me away and whispered in my ear, “I'm sorry. Our date wasn't supposed to be this crazy. We'll be somewhat alone soon.”

“Somewhat alone?”

“You'll see.”

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