It was another night of torture. I wanted to cry, and I almost did.
After they were done, I laid awake all night thinking about the slap, the sisterhood, Wilf… everything.
At dinner, it felt like they were finally loosening up. Terrie talked to me a lot more, but they still refused to drink wine on the patio with me. It felt like even if Nikola and Terrie forgave me, the boys won’t. Especially Sterling and Otto. And after enduring another sleepless  night, I realized it’s better to give up a little bit of pride for your mental health.
Lively boy, life’s a joy, as they say. Men are sensitive, and it’s a girl’s duty to keep her boyfriends happy, after all. They’re sensitive and need to be coddled. I realized I was starting to sound like a bitter married woman. And probably a little sexist. But they won, they’ve successfully made me feel guilty, the entire world has successfully made me feel guilty… And yeah, I probably shouldn’t have yelled like I did. Maybe I should write up rules for using the bracelet and give it to them. Maybe I’ll give a pamphlet along with the bracelet to future sisters.
As the blue glow of morning light came through our window, I got up off my couch and went to my Sterling. He was sleeping peacefully on the bed. I shook his shoulder and whispered, “Hey, wake up.”
“Em hm.” He moaned.
I shook his shoulder again. “Hey, wake up.”
Otto woke up instead. He yawned and asked, “What do you want, Sherrie?”
I frowned and said, “I want to talk to Sterling. Wake up, Sterling.” I shook him again.
“Ah? Huh? What’s going on.” Sterling finally woke up. The bastard looked like he got a wonderful night’s sleep, while I’d barely got a wink.
“Ah, that is…” I looked at Otto. I was hoping Otto wouldn’t be awake to hear it, but now they were waiting for me to speak. I sighed and said, “Help me apologize.” Sterling’s eyes opened wide, and he looked over at Otto. “Do you guys need to be that surprised!” I yelled.
“First, you need to learn to control your volume, Sherrie,” Otto said.
I clenched my fist and took a few deep breaths. “I’m calm.” My eyes twitched.
“Alright,” Sterling sat up, “how about…” He looked out the window and saw that it was still early. “There’s a donut place behind the hotel.”
I had seen the donut place. “Yeah.”
“How about we buy a box of donuts. You can give everyone donuts and say your apology. I’m sure everyone will like that.” Sterling said.
“Now? It’ll be breakfast soon,” I said.
“It won’t hurt. It’ll be a nice gesture.”
I stroked my chin and thought aloud, “Yeah, and they’ll focus more on the box of donuts and less on my apology.” They’ll accept the apology along with the donut and won’t make a big deal out of it.
“Ah, I guess,” Sterling said.
“Okay, let’s go,” I wanted to get this over with.
“Okay, let me get dressed first.”
They both got off the bed with their dicks dangling out.
“Emm.” I let out a moan from my stomach. They were so fucking hot. I knew that they knew that I yearned for them. Otto even smirked knowingly as he put on his underwear.
I put on my clothes too since I was in my underwear.
“Alright, let’s go,” Sterling said and stepped out the door. I followed behind him.
Otto came up beside me and said, “Good job, you’re growing up.”
“Hm.”
“It’s important for a woman to be able to control her emotions.” He smiled. “I’m proud of you.” Then he kissed my cheek.
“Okay.”
He smiled at my lackluster response.

We arrived just as the owner was filling up the display counter with new products.
“Oh, so early.” She said when we walked in.
“Are we too early?” Sterling asked.
“No, no. I’m not done baking everything, but you can look through the menu. If you see something you want and it’s not here.” She pointed at the display case. “let me know. I’ll bake it first.” She said.
“That’s fine. We’ll pick from the ones you already made,” I said. The gesture’s what counts, anyway.
Sterling picked out 20 donuts, and I paid.
Sterling smiled and said, “Thanks, and have a good morning,” as we left the store.
“You too, honey.” The owner said.

***

The closer the clock ticked to breakfast, the more I hated this idea. They’re going to think I’m weak, I thought, and a voice in my head said: you are weak. I frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Sterling asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing.” I am weak; I can’t endure any more of their torture. I had come to this decision after thinking about it for 2 days. Letting things fester in the background is never a good thing. And as the leader, I needed to be the bigger woman. I wanted Terrie to stick around even after her father-in-law was cured. I also didn’t want to be a little tyrant, as Sterling so aptly put it. And I don’t want them to have to walk around me on tippy-toes; that’ll never turn out well. Plus, I can always gain levels to prove my strength. Prove I’m not weak. As a matter of fact, I should consider this as a motivator to  fuck more men.

While I was thinking, Nikola showed up.
“What’s that?” She asked Sterling, pointing at the box sitting in the middle of the table.
“Sherrie has something to say.” He said.
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Sit down,” I said.
“What?”
“I’ll say it after everyone shows up. I’m not going to do it twice.” I said.
“Hm. What is this?” She said and sat down.

Not much later, Terrie and her boys showed up.
I continued to wait, and Sterling nudged me. “Sherrie.”
“Right.” I looked at my team. “Guys, I know you’ve all been kind of upset with me because of the… What happened 3 days ago. I realize- It has come to my attention that I might’ve gone overboard with how I reacted.” Their eyes widened as they began to realize what was  happening. I sighed. “Anyway, I want to say I’m sorry.” It didn’t feel good, but I continued. “I should’ve maybe explained it to you earlier on- about the bracelet and how… you know. Now you guys already know. Anyway, I bought you guys some donuts as… you know. So, have some, and let’s let bygones be bygones? Water under the bridge? What do you say?”
“Sure, master!” Garth was the first to agree.
I smiled. “Thanks, Garth.”
“What kind of donuts did you buy?” Garth asked as he opened the box.
“Ah, we picked a bunch of different ones. I don’t know.”
“Oh, let me see.” Nikola looked inside and grabbed a pink donut. She took a bite and, while chewing, said, “Okay, I’ll forgive you num num since you seem to num num regret it.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Everyone started taking the donuts, and I think Wilf looked at me for the first time since joining our family. He’d always been trying to avoid my eyes till now.
“You,” Nikola said, licking her fingers, “looked pretty stupid yelling  and stuff.” My eyes twitched. “Oh, is there more?” She realized there were donuts leftover even after everyone had taken one. “I’ll try this one.” She picked one with orange sprinkles.
“Right.” I inhaled and exhaled.
“I’m sorry too for not thinking about the danger,” Terrie said. “I should’ve been more careful.”
I smiled. At least she wasn’t an idiot like Nikola. “Yeah, just be careful next time. I shouldn’t have yelled. I should’ve explained it more when I gave it to you.” Then I looked at Benard with a smile and said, “I’m not another Agenta.”
“Agenta?” He was confused.
“She means Agneza.” Sterling smiled.
“Oh, ah.” He blushed and looked away.
“Okay, are we just going to have donuts?” Halit asked with a flat tone. “Aren’t we going to order anything else?” He only ate half a donut and didn’t seem to want to look at me.
“Yeah, sure. Order away.” I said.

They stopped giving me the semi-silent treatment, and we had a boisterous conversation about Benard’s curly hair. It was about whether he should shave it or not. Nikola and Terrie thought he shouldn’t, but Benard wasn’t so sure.
“It’s starting to get thick.” He said.
“It looks cute like that,” Terrie said.
Everyone weighed in on what he should do with his hair.
I suggested, “You should shave it and make a sweater out of it.”
“I’m not a sheep!” He screamed.
His squeal got a laugh out of everyone.
“You kind of are, aren’t you?” I said.
“Meh.” He moaned.

Seeing everyone laughing along reinvigorated me, so I finished my breakfast quickly and got up from the table.
“Alright, guys, I’m heading out,” I said and wiped my mouth.
“Huh? You’re leaving?” Sterling asked.
“Yeah, you guys take your time.” I patted their heads with a smile. “I got to work.”
“Work?”
“Going to have to be a plumber again.” The whole table was confused. Otto stared at me suspiciously.
“Are we not adventurers anymore?” Terrie asked.
I smiled. If I wanted to keep this family together, I needed to work hard. The best defense against thieves, bandits, the church, and  everything else is a high level. I realized Terrie was genuinely confused. I rolled my eyes and said, “Yes, we’re still adventurers. I’m joking. Kind of. You guys don’t need to worry. Just finish the donuts.” Then I looked at Nikola and added, “We’ll talk later.” But she didn’t notice since she was filling her mouth with food.
I shook my head and left the table. I needed to change into my plumber outfit.