Ezra slipped through the apartment door, the city's buzz fading into a soft hum.
He was still thinking about Sage, their exchange of words right before she drove away, stayed in his mind. The look of disappointment on her face when he refused to was what made him feel slightly bad.
The house glowed with ambient tech lights, cozy, functional, and entirely unremarkable. There wasn't a single luxurious feature to be found. In comparison to Sage's opulent family estates, it was modest at best.
He lived in a place like this, and she expected him to meet her family? On the surface, it looked like a simple invitation, but in context, it felt more like a test.
Given his status as a man, the lowest rung in this society, the odds weren't exactly in his favor.
Ezra headed into the living room where Ysmeine waited, his caretaker and mother-like figure ever since that day Athea, the woman supposedly his 'mother' in this body, swapped him out like some unwanted package.
Because her royal family didn't like men. It was rumoured that the royal family that Athea came from, was very ...traditional in the worst way possible, pureblood matriarchs who saw men as decorative at best, disposable at worst.
Rumor had it they pruned the family tree of any unwanted males like gardeners on a caffeine high.
Ezra let out a sigh through his mouth, grumbling inwardly to no one but himself: Freaking, men-phobics… hmm, that can't be the right word. What's that word they used back in my old life for the man-hating but dick-loving chicks? Misandrist? Whatever—the point is, there's a phobia in there somewhere. They're scared of men like I'm some ticking biological time bomb wrapped in a cute face. Cute-ish. Whatever.
He still remembered that moment when his conscience transmigrated into this body, crystal clear, and since then? Never saw Athea again.
Honestly, he wasn't even sure if she gave a damn.
Ysmeine lounged on a curved chair, eyes closed, a silver device at her temple pinging with an audio feed.
She was elegance incarnate, flawless skin, sharp eyes, and a kind of ageless balance that made her look thirty at most, despite being well into her forties.
Of course, in this world, that was practically prime. Eighty was the new twenty, unlike Ezra's old life.
Ysmeine's dark hair cascaded in glossy waves, framing a face with full, plum-tinted lips and smoky Green eyes that could ruin someone with a glance.
Her silk tight dress clung to her curvaceous figure, lush hips, a narrow waist, and a generous bust that strained the fabric just enough. She had a wicked seduction, like a goddess playing house.
Ysmeine's eyes snapped open at the sound of Ezra walking in, pinning him with a gaze.
"I'm home," Ezra announced himself.
Her faint smile was radiant as she sat up. "Zaeryn, darling, you're home." She tilted her head, looking behind him as if searching for someone. "You're alone? No Sage? I heard her vehicle, I thought she would come in."
Ezra kicked off his shoes, shrugging. "She didn't have the time to come in; she had to prepare for family dinner." He scratched his neck, frowning. "She's pissed, though. Keeps pushing me to meet her high-and-mighty family, but her mom's got it out for males."
Ysmeine let out a low laugh, her Green eyes dancing with mischief. "She's mad at you, huh? Oh, Zaeryn... you really did pick a fiery one."
She tossed the device aside and leaned forward, her robe slipping just enough to flash a teasing glimpse of cleavage. "Why don't you sit down next to me?" she said, voice smooth as silk. "I want to hear everything, your morning, your afternoon... don't skip a detail."
Ezra smiled. "Sure, but I need to hit the shower first. After that, I'm all yours."
"Fine," Ysmeine said casually.
He turned to head toward his room, but her voice stopped him.
"Wait! Aren't you forgetting something?"
She gave him a mock-disappointed look, one brow raised. "How could you forget me? No kiss for your caretaker? Or is Sage stealing all your charm these days?"
She patted the chair beside her, the gesture slow and deliberate, her voice a playful purr soaked in challenge.
Ezra's grin widened, his boredom dissolving under her hot gaze "Steal me from you? Ysmeine, you're a whole damn league, I don't think any." He sauntered over, aiming for a cheek peck, but she tilted her face, her lips grazing his, sending a jolt through him.
"Playing dirty again," he chuckled, dropping onto the couch, heart racing. This wasn't the first time, Ysmeine had always loved kissing him on the lips.
And no, there was nothing weird about that in this world. Especially not now. And those kisses had been getting… noticeably more intense. Ezra liked it. Maybe a little too much.
"Always," Ysmeine purred, stretching, her curves shifting under the silk, eyes locked on his. "Sage better watch out, I'm not sharing you easily." Her wink was warm yet wicked, pulling him into her orbit.
"Back soon," Ezra said, disappearing into his bedroom.
The room was… very clean. The bed was made with military precision, the floor was spotless, and even his laundry was folded into perfect little squares like it had been prepped for a retail display.
Of course, none of that was Ezra's doing. His sister, Aeris, had a thing for order, borderline obsession, really. She cleaned his room and did his laundry everyday, she was the best sister he could ask for.
The walls were a plain off-white, recently wiped down, with only the faintest scuff marks hinting at Ezra's habit of launching boots when he got bored.
His desk held two neatly aligned monitors, their screens spotless, the cables carefully coiled.
Even the snack wrappers were gone— no trace of the midnight munchie massacre he'd committed just two days ago.
It was his room, technically. But without Aeris, it'd probably look like the aftermath of a mild explosion.
He stripped and stepped into the shower, hot water through his body.
Toweling off, he threw on a loose shirt and pants, returning to the living room.
Ysmeine sat in the same spot as before, but her eyes were glued to a tablet, face pale, almost terrified. A faint news hum leaked…."…male-targeting…" but that was all Ezra could hear, and he didn't think much of it.
Of course the snippet of the sentence he'd heard, male targeting was a little weird, but when was his kind not being talked about on the news? Ever since this world found a way to reproduce without the other gender, it felt like the radicals wanted to wipe out all the men.
"Hey, Ysmeine, you okay?" Ezra asked, frowning. He'd never seen her rattled like she was right now.
What was going on?