A noise sounded behind me and a door swung open. I spun around, staring at an older man and woman as they tumbled out of another Euphoria playroom that’d been in session when we first arrived.

Oh, my God!

“Hello, Mr and Mrs Grace. Everything went well, I presume?” Sophie clasped her hands in front of her, smiling at the couple who looked rumpled and well-satisfied.

The couple who didn’t belong together.

The couple who I would never look at the same way again.

“Mum?” My eyes flashed between them. “Dad?”

“Ross?” Sully barked. “Deborah? What the—”

My father turned bright red, slamming to a stop and dropping my mother’s hand. Running his fingers through his hair, he struggled to hold eye contact. “Ellie! What a coincidence!”

I shook my head, struggling for words. “A coincidence? You know we own this place. I told you the last time you stayed with us. You even offered a few suggestions on the guest villas.” I sucked in air. “What the hell are you doing here?” I blinked at my mother who gritted her teeth and kept her head high and mighty, her brown hair interspersed with streaks of silver. “And together, no less. You guys divorced ages ago. Mum, you married whatever his name was in England.”

“Trevor and I broke up four years ago.” She sniffed. “I buried myself in work, and I’ve steadily been burning myself out ever since. I...I called your father a year ago for moral support. And well...”

“We became friends again,” my dad mumbled. “She needed a friend.”

“But she cheated on you.” I moved toward them, hating that we aired family laundry in front of my manager but unable to stop myself. “You were heartbroken, Dad.”

“I made a mistake, Eleanor.” My mother wrung her hands. “I’ve regretted it every day of my life. I apologised to Ross, and I was content with just being friends. I didn’t want to hurt him again, but...I need him, Ellie. He keeps me calm and doesn’t let me use work to bury my problems. I love him.”

I crossed my arms as Sully stayed silent and supportive beside me. “So you guys are getting back together? Or are you using this place as...what? A lusty vacation?”

My dad blushed bright red again, making me wonder what fantasy they’d played in. What fetishes had they shared?

God, don’t think about it!

I shuddered, blocking my mind from the inhibitions that Euphoria brought out in people and the fact that my parents had dabbled in Sully’s creation.

Did they take cinta?

Gah, stop it!

I groaned and forced myself to be an adult. “Look, it’s none of my business. It’s—”

“We’re here because, as much as I still love Deborah and she loves me, I have trust issues. I was fine being her friend, but things...happened between us.” My dad swallowed before taking my mother’s hand. “I mentioned this place to her and all the good work you’ve done helping others reconcile. I told her that if we stood a chance at being together again, then we had to put in the work and see if we could salvage our past.”

“And how’s it working for you?” Sully asked, his eyebrow cocked in interest. “Is our concept working for someone who’s tried it first-hand?”

My mother was the one to soften and answer, “We arrived a week ago. The first therapy session was hard. Being honest with one another was definitely abrasive and opened old wounds for both of us. But...”

“But by the fourth session, the counsellor helped us come to terms with how simple marriage is,” my father said. “If you can forgive and forget; if you’re strong enough to trust again, then the rest is just noise. And when we tried Euphoria for the first time yesterday, well—”

“Ross.” My mother sniffed. “They don’t need to know what we think of Euphoria.”

“No, it’s fairly obvious.” Sully chuckled, glancing at his phone as it buzzed with a new message.

“I think I might leave you guys to catch up,” Sophie said very brightly. “I’ll be in my office, Mr and Mrs Sinclair. Please let me know when you’d like to resume.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Sully cleared his throat. “I’ve seen enough.”

I narrowed my eyes in his direction. “But we haven’t seen the updated villas.”

“Radcliffe just sent me a text. He wants to go over the security. He’s asked if I’ll join him.” He gave me a quick kiss on my cheek. “I’ll leave you guys to have a family reunion. I’ll see you soon.” Striding forward, he kissed my mum politely on her cheek before shaking my dad’s hand. “Pleasure to see you both. I hope this island gives you back your happiness.”

“Thanks, Sully.” My father patted my husband’s arm. “I can say it absolutely has.”

“I’m glad.” Bowing his head, Sully strode from the building, followed by Sophie, leaving me alone with my blushing parents. Seemed his excuse about security with Radcliffe was a highly convenient excuse to run from this uncomfortable situation.

“So...” I shrugged.

“So...” My dad swallowed.

I cracked a smile, rolling my eyes at the absurdity.

My parents.

Getting it on thanks to a VR sex tool that Sully once rented to nasty men and unwilling goddesses.

If only they knew.

“Come.” I held out my arm toward the sunshine spilling inside. “I think we need a drink, don’t you?”

My mother let out a nervous laugh, and my dad strode forward to gather me in a hug. “I missed you, Ellie Pie.”

“Missed you too.”

Slowly, my mother joined in, hugging me and Dad softly, healing our family that’d been broken for so long.

Turned out, Rapture not only had the power to fix marriages but also relationships between children and their parents.

Chapter Fifteen

“SEE THERE?” RADCLIFFE TAPPED at the security monitor, following the shadowy outline of a ship that looked like a container tanker and a mid-century warship had a love child. “That isn’t authorised to sail around these islands.”

“Authorised?” I scowled. “I don’t think the French Polynesian government has embargos on boats, Radcliffe.”

“They do on this one.” He strode to the printer in the corner, wiping away sweat on his brow from sitting for hours in a tiny security office where the air-con struggled to keep cool in the height of the day. Pulling a sheet of paper from the tray, he handed it to me. “See for yourself.”

A text heavy decree with an official government seal stated that the Paradigm Purge, captained by a man only known as Rayvn was hereby banished from entering the Pacific Ocean around Tahiti and its neighbouring islands.

“Is he a trader?” I passed the document back to Radcliffe, waiting for the trusted mercenary to fill me in on why he’d called me down to discuss an imminent security issue.

“No. He’s a pirate.”

I rolled my eyes. “If he’s a thief, then he’s of no concern to us. All our bookings are done online, we don’t keep large sums of cash on Rapture, and being all-inclusive means guests don’t have to bring big holiday funds. There’s nothing to steal, apart from a few pieces of jewellery and unwanted wedding rings, I suppose.”