Good, I think, smiling and waving to her. Now the boys will be distracted as well.

Georgia gives me a happy nod as she heads into the house, looking for the boys, and I pull my legs up onto the little loveseat as well, beaming at Delia and Emma.

“We’ll have some privacy now,” I say, smiling at them.

“Privacy,” Emma says, looking through the window at the house filled with people, “seems to be a…relative term. In this house.”

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” I laugh, tucking my hair behind my ears and shaking my head. “You get used to it – it feels…I don’t know. Like a sports team, or something. Everyone working together towards the same goal. And most of the Betas go home at night.”

“Most of them?” Emma asks, raising her eyebrow. “We always had guards at mom and dad’s house, but we they were always outside the house.”

“Well, here to,” I say with a shrug. “Though I guess it’s…smaller.”

“I think it’s nice,” Delia says warmly. “I always liked a full house growing up.”

I c**k my head to the side and study the two of them, wondering what all of this house talk was getting to. “Are you guys thinking about moving in together or something?” I blurt suddenly, curious.

Emma blinks at me and then blushes, I think not really used to being asked about her private life so straightforwardly. After a life with Joyce, after all, she’s probably not used to anyone asking about her thoughts or her plans at all.

“Actually,” Delia says, unphased by my question (she knows me, after all) and taking Emma’s hand, “kind of…the opposite.”

“Are you – you’re not – you can’t be breaking up –“ I’m completely confused –

Emma says, sighing and smiling at her girlfriend, “because she wants you to guess.

agree, nodding eagerly, my eyes wide,

shrug and squeezing Delia’s hand. “We’re going to…go away for a

ask, not understanding.

at least. We’re going to go wherever we want, whenever want to. Live in a city or a place

suddenly flooded with mixed emotions.

to miss you so much!” Delia finishes for me, reaching out

agree, squeezing her hand and nodding. “I’m so excited for you! And like

and Delia laugh with me, but they know that I

want you to

think. I’ve just been…it feels like, my whole life, I’ve been living…someone

carefully at

understand, Evelyn. And then, after that? It was…Joyce’s life. Joyce’s

remembering it, and my heart

have felt the same, but in some ways…like, mom was always allowed to leave the house? Dad didn’t stop her from doing that?” Emma is choked now, as she

through me at the life my sister lived, at the life I was supposed to have lived. And I know that it’s not because she was weaker than me – I would have collapsed to it as well. It was only my desperation to keep my children safe that propelled me to become strong

picking up where Emma left of. “Since we started…discovering

starting to smile again. “But now that he’s gone? Now that you’ve given me that freedom, Evelyn?” Emma says, raising her eyes to shake her head

that rises in me. This, I think. This is why Victor and I want to lead. To give more people this kind of

and I flinch a little bit and turn to her. I laugh too, then, realizing that Delia

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