Aside from that, they had also hung the colorful stones she had given her husbands near the window.

Azul had also displayed his seashell collection inside their new hut.

"What do you think?" Cyrus asked. "Do you think there’s anything I should add?"

Roxanna brushed her fingers over the seashells placed neatly on the shelves attached to the wall. "No, no, I think this place is already perfect."

She turned to Cyrus and smiled brightly. "Thank you for making such a beautiful place."

Cyrus smiled back at her. "It’s not just me, but everyone. But I think we should add more things from each of us or Azul might end up filling this place with all his stuff."

Roxanna let out a small laugh. She then walked into the kitchen and saw that all the spices had been neatly arranged on a simple shelf Cyrus had made.

"Do you want to eat something?" Cyrus walked behind her and stopped right at her back. "I can make something for you."

Roxanna quickly shook her head. "No, it’s alright. I just ate earlier." She smiled at him. "I just want to take a look at your work."

Cyrus leaned against the wall while Roxanna moved around the kitchen. To be honest, instead of really checking the things there, she looked more like someone lost in her thoughts.

"Cyrus?" she suddenly called without turning around.

"Yes?" he replied casually. "Do you need something?"

Roxanna tapped lightly on the empty stove, then let out a breath before asking, "Have you ever felt... jealous?"

Cyrus immediately understood where this was going, since he had been reading Roxanna’s thoughts from the beginning.

Even so, he didn’t jump to conclusions and let her lead the conversation.

"Jealous of you?" Cyrus asked.

Roxanna nodded. "Yes." She finally turned to face him. "I mean... you’re not my only husband."

"It’s the way this world works," Cyrus replied calmly, without sounding defensive or negative. "There are very few females, so we have no choice but—"

"Yes, I know that reason," Roxanna cut him off. "But still, can’t you feel jealous?"

After all, there had been times when her husbands argued with each other just because she gave more attention to one of them.

"Yes. Of course I do," he said honestly. "I’ve felt jealous of you... and of the others. That’s normal."

"Normal?" Roxanna asked, tilting her head. "Really?"

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "I mean... we all have our own ego, and a sense of greed that makes us not want to share. Even though I don’t really mind most of the time... sometimes I still feel jealous."

"Sometimes... I just want you for myself." Cyrus shrugged. "But since I know that will never happen, I choose to accept to share you with others."

He let out a quiet breath. "Yeah... I know it sounds strange. But that’s just how I deal with it."

Roxanna fell silent for a moment. She had never thought Cyrus could feel such strong jealousy, especially since he and Zeir were the ones who rarely argued with the others.

"I’m sorry," she said softly. "For making you feel that way."

Zeir chuckled. "That’s not even your fault," he said. "Like I told you before, in this world, it’s normal for you to have five husbands, so don’t feel bad about it. Besides... do you really want to choose just one of us?"

Roxanna was about to answer, but she quickly closed her mouth again. In the end, she lowered her head and spoke in a quiet voice, almost like she was about to cry.

"I can’t choose..."

"I don’t want to choose only one of you," she added. "But... isn’t that selfish? I have five husbands, while each of you only has one wife."

"Selfish?" he repeated, as if testing the word.

Then Cyrus shook his head. "No," he said softly. "It would only be selfish if you forced us to stay. But you didn’t. We chose you. So in other words... we already knew the consequences."

After all, Roxanna had given them the choice to leave from the very beginning. That was why none of them would blame her for having more than one husband.

He stepped a little closer, his gaze steady but gentle. "We’re not here because we have no choice," Cyrus continued. "We’re here because we want to be."

"And that’s why you also have the right to be upset if one of us ever wants another wife," Cyrus said gently. "After all, you didn’t agree to that. And what we agreed on before doesn’t apply to the new scenario."

Oh.

Roxanna had never looked at it that way before. All this time, she thought their situation was unfair.But now that Cyrus said it like that, she finally realized that this marriage was built on everyone’s consent.

"Is this about Azul?" Cyrus asked gently.

Roxanna hesitated, then nodded. "Is it... that obvious?"

Cyrus chuckled. "Yes." He added, "But are you sure you’re only jealous of your husband, or is the problem actually with Aelin?"

Roxanna fell quiet.

He was actually right. Every time Aelin got close to one of her husbands, that uneasy feeling came back, and it wasn’t just once.

At this point, maybe the problem wasn’t just their husbands.

"Honestly... I don’t think this is about Aelin," Roxanna admitted.

She leaned back against the refrigerator, her head lowered.

"Back then, I was betrayed by someone I trusted," she said softly. "Of course, Aelin is different. She’s better than that person. But still..." Her fingers tightened slightly. "...that fear hasn’t gone away."

She slowly lifted her head and looked at Cyrus. "I really hate this feeling," she said. "I don’t want my past to ruin what I have now, especially my friendship with Aelin."

Cyrus didn’t answer right away.

He watched her quietly, his gaze calm, giving her time to breathe. "Then don’t fight it by yourself," he said at last.

Roxanna blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You’re trying to push it down and act like it’s not there," Cyrus said. "But feelings don’t work like that, at least as far as I know."