Oakhill Cottage

Twenty-One

Theo
That same event

Max and I watch the door close behind them.

"Don't you think you're being a bit dramatic?" Max asks.

I turn to face him with a frown. "No, not at all. What's dramatic is you." I snarl. "You always cross the line time after time again, even after I ask you to stop."

He huffs. "Are you forgetting the whole reason this house was made in the first place?" He wails. "This is what we do! We punish!"

"Not like that!" I snap with a step forward. "You also seem to forget that we cannot exceed limitations, Max. And you always do. Even with Amber, and some of the other dolls. I cannot tolerate this kind of behavior anymore."

He glares at me. "What are you trying to say? You're kicking me out too?" He chuckles.

I watch him silently with my arms folded.

He huffs. "Wow. Seriously?"

I still don't say a word.

"You think your Mr. Boss man around here now that dad is considering you for ownership, huh?" He creeps toward me slowly.

"It's already done." I inform.

"What?" He frowns as he stops in his tracks.

Dad had reached out to me last week and had me sign the papers already. I informed him on Max's status in the house and he wasn't happy about the report. He made his decision in that moment and signed me on. I was waiting for the right moment to tell him. Somehow I knew it was going to happen this way. I knew he wasn't going to stop. So I waited for him to fuck up again to make the final move. It didn't take very long.

"The paperwork is done. We did it last week. So I have the authority to do this, as much as I don't want to." I admit.

He huffs with a frown. "Then don't do this, man! Fine, I'll stop 'taking it too far' and behave like one of your fucking sluts." He argues.

I shake my head. "It's too late. You already proved to me that you can't be trusted."

"This is fucking bullshit!" He shouts. "You know what? Fine. You wanna kick me out, then fine!" He snaps. "Good luck with the Blue Pistols and don't ask me for any God damn help when they're busting down your fucking door." He storms out. "Fuck this place, man!" He shouts as he exits.

Well, he handled that better than I thought he would. I thought for sure he'd throw in at least one punch.

. . .

Stella

As I pack my bags, something in me feels off, yet so right at the same time. I'm excited to go home, go back to work, back to my old life in Portland.

I hear a gentle knock on the door. It was already open. In the doorway stands Theo.

"You must be excited." He says while striding toward me.

I place my last set of clothes into my pink suitcase with a sigh. "I am. I'm ready to be back home." I zip up the suitcase.

He approaches me, stopping a couple feet away from me. "What will I do without your smart mouth? The other dolls respect me too much to challenge me like the way you do."

"Well, that's because they're scared of you." I huff. "Besides, I'm sure you won't miss me being a pain in your ass."

"As for your ass, ma'am." He nods.

I laugh before attempting to lift my bag off of my bed. It's too heavy to lift for me. I'm going to have to slide it down.

Theo steps forward. "Lemme get that for you." He utters gently and hauls the suitcase off the bed like it weighed nothing. He holds it by the handle down by his side. "Ready?"