The living room was lively, the sounds of laughter and playful banter carrying through the house as everyone sat around the Monopoly board. Y/N, Damien, Aubrey, and the rest were deeply engrossed in their game. Even though Miranda was still sick, she was cuddled up with Y/N, laughing between coughs as they plotted their next move.
Everyone was paired off—Y/N with Miranda, Damien with Candice, Aubrey with Amelia, and Behati with Nate. The competition was fierce, childhood rivalries coming to the surface, but all of that felt distant to Elizabeth as she stood in the kitchen with Luca.
Elizabeth swirled the wine in her glass, taking a sip before speaking. "Behati is Y/N mistress" she said, her voice steady but low, as if she were simply stating the weather.
Luca froze mid-sip, eyes widening. "Wait...what?"
"Y/N pays women... well... Behati to have sex with her." Elizabeth's calm tone seemed to rattle him even more than her words.
Luca set his glass down, a mix of surprise and anger flashing across his face. "And you're...what, fine with that? How are you so calm? She cheated on you, Elizabeth!"
Elizabeth met his gaze, unphased. "It's just sex, Luca. Y/N loves me. This—what she does with Behati or anyone else—it doesn't change that."
Luca's frustration bubbled over, his voice rising despite the hushed atmosphere of their conversation. "It's not just sex! She paid someone to be with her. You're acting like this is normal!"
"To some people, to people like us, it is." Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, as if daring him to challenge her perspective. "Look, Y/N comes home to me, to our family. That's what matters..."
Luca took a step closer, his voice dropping but his intensity increasing. "You don't think this affects your marriage? How can you stand there and treat it like some business deal?"
Elizabeth leaned back against the counter, her eyes cool, composed. "Because it is a business deal. That's exactly what it is. Y/N gets what she needs, and our marriage stays intact. We don't fight over things that I find meaningless and that are important to her. I'm not going to blow up our entire life over something that's easily managed... out of sight out of mind."
Luca glanced toward the living room, where Y/N was laughing at something Miranda said. Despite Miranda's cold, the two were close, maybe too close in Luca's eyes. "And what about her?" he asked, nodding toward the pair. "Is Miranda one of the girls she's hired?"
"No," Elizabeth said without hesitation. "Miranda's not part of that. She's actually the one who made Y/N realize how reckless she was being."
Luca frowned. "So she's not a threat."
Elizabeth shook her head. "No. Miranda's Damien's girlfriend. And she's more of an ally in this than anything else. She's not someone I worry about."
Luca's frustration only seemed to grow. "But why? Why aren't you angry about any of this? You deserve better than someone who has to pay for attention."
Elizabeth sighed, looking into her wine glass thoughtfully. "Y/N loves me. She's not going anywhere. I've thought about this, Luca. What do you want me to do? Scream? Cry? It's not who I am. This isn't something that threatens our family. It's just...an outlet for her."
Luca shook his head, still not understanding. "You're just okay with it?"
Elizabeth gave him a small, almost sad smile. "I know what I have with Y/N. Our life together, our kids, our routines—it's stable. If this is something she needs to do every now and then, I'm not going to destroy everything we've built over it."
Luca's eyes flickered with disbelief. "But you deserve someone who's fully committed to you."
"She is," Elizabeth insisted. "She's committed where it counts. Y/N isn't going to leave me or the kids. What's important to me is that our family stays intact."
Luca let out a frustrated breath, rubbing his temples. "I don't get it. I don't get how you can be so calm."
Elizabeth's smile grew a little sharper, a little more confident. "Because, Luca, this is a negotiation. I've already come to terms with it. And I'm not about to let it ruin what we have."
In the background, the Monopoly game continued, filled with the sound of dice rolling and playful insults being thrown across the board. Y/N leaned into Miranda as they discussed their next move, both of them laughing as Y/N teased Damien about his latest property purchase. Aubrey, as competitive as ever, threw a mocking glance at her longtime friends, daring them to catch up.
However as Luca looked at his sister and Miranda, something in his gut told him that Behati wouldn't be the biggest issues in Elizabeth marriage.
