While Carol, Ana, Ophelia, and Natasha were helping Laura, Cortana was watching them with a thoughtful expression.

She hadn't thought they would actually do this, giving their tacit approval for Laura to get closer to Damian.

Saying they did it out of pity would sound bad, but it wasn't too far from the truth, especially for Ophelia, who was the closest to Laura.

She saw how Laura dedicated herself entirely to her work, had no family, and her only friends were the Spartans.

None of them were unaware of Laura's infatuation with Damian when they lived together in New York.

Ophelia hated seeing Laura wasting her life like that, so she discussed it with Carol a while ago.

Even so, the opportunity had never arisen, so when Carol heard from Damian that he had invited Laura to dinner, the idea immediately came to her.

Cortana liked Laura, but in this situation, she immediately thought of Wanda.

Seeing her master relaxing so calmly, a mischievous glint appeared on her face as she suddenly appeared in Sokovia.

Cortana appeared in Wanda's office and saw her going through some documents on a computer.

She seemed quite focused and hadn't noticed her.

"Hello," said Cortana, passing through Wanda's screen in her ethereal form.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Wanda in surprise as she abruptly stood up.

Recognizing Cortana, she sighed before sitting down without energy.

"You almost gave me a heart attack," said Wanda, resting one side of her face in her hand as she looked at Cortana in her ethereal form.

Cortana just laughed, remembering Wanda's frightened expression, making sure to save it for future occasions.

"I came to see you about a little matter that I'm sure interests you," said Cortana, smiling at Wanda.

"What's up? And why do you look like a ghost?" asked Wanda, looking at Cortana's appearance.

"Actually, my body was destroyed in the fight against the Celestials, but don't worry, it didn't affect me at all. In fact, I've seen benefits from it," said Cortana, smiling as she saw Wanda looking a bit worried.

"Anyway, what I came to tell you is that you have a rival. Do you know Laura?" said Cortana, looking at Wanda.

"One of the Spartan commanders?" said Wanda after thinking for a moment.

"That's right. Well, she's been in love with Damian for quite a few years. She lived with the whole family in New York for a while," said Cortana.

Wanda slightly furrowed her brow before returning to normal.

"For some reason, Carol arranged a date between her and Damian tonight, so you have a rival," said Cortana, watching Wanda's expression.

"I see, but why are you telling me this?" said Wanda, looking at Cortana.

"Maybe you could make a surprise visit to Madripoor," said Cortana, giving her a suggestive smile.

"I wouldn't do that. Since I started loving Damian, I decided I couldn't be jealous, or my life would be hell."

"I'll just wait patiently for my turn," said Wanda.

Hearing her response, Cortana looked at her in surprise before giving a soft laugh.

"That's true. If you want something with Damian, jealousy is something you shouldn't have. I guess you're more prepared than I am. I still can't help but feel a bit jealous just when I see him smiling at Carol or some of the others," said Cortana, smiling ironically.

"It's okay, it's normal," said Wanda, smiling at her while trying to take her hand. Of course, she couldn't touch anything.

"If you act all mature, it makes me seem like a child," said Cortana, complaining.

"You still act like a child," said Wanda, shaking her head with a smile.

"I won't inform you of anything again," said Cortana, sticking out her tongue before disappearing.

Wanda just chuckled softly as she listened to her. After Cortana disappeared, Wanda became a bit more serious, thinking about the matter between Laura and Damian.

Although everything she had told Cortana was serious, maybe she was being too passive about it.

Wanda looked at the door for a moment before opening an incognito webpage.

She quickly started looking on a certain website for dresses that Circe had recommended to her, which she had not accepted at first because some of them could be a bit revealing.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

But maybe it wouldn't hurt to have some just in case... yes, just in case.

....

At Laura's place.

The group of five women were in the living room with Laura looking at herself in the mirror.

"You look good," said Carol, looking at her while nodding.

Laura looked at herself in the mirror before turning to the side to see herself.

Her black hair was styled in a slightly short bob, much more comfortable when wearing a helmet.

She wore a one-piece dress that accentuated her curves and reached a bit above her knees with two small slits on each side.

On her feet, she had low black sandals; the last thing she wanted was to look taller. She was already a few centimeters taller than Damian; wearing heels would look a bit strange.

"I'm ready," said Laura, sighing.

Everything that was happening was still very crazy to her.

She thought she would go and have dinner with Damian and his family as she used to do in the past, but now she was about to do something completely different.

A date, just her and Damian, she had to admit she felt very nervous.

"Don't worry, he'll be just as surprised. He doesn't expect it at all," said Carol, patting Laura's back.

"Unless he got curious about what we were doing and scanned our position," said Natasha.

"I think he must be busy enough with Nate. I wonder what they've been doing all this time," said Ophelia, chuckling softly.

"Anyway, it's getting late, so let's go back," said Carol. She still had to take care of the girls and Jen, who surely wouldn't be happy to hear about this.

"Hm, let's go," said Ana, standing up.

The whole group got ready before leaving the building and getting into the car.

Carol quickly drove home while Ophelia used the system to check Damian's position.

"He's already home," said Ophelia as she saw an image of Damian. Suddenly in the image, Damian turned his head and looked directly at her.

"Damn, he detected me," said Ophelia, her heart almost skipping a beat at that look.

Immediately Ana, Carol, Natasha, and Ophelia felt a soft wave pass through them.

"He saw us. I guess the surprise failed," said Natasha.

"He still doesn't suspect anything. Let's just have a normal dinner," said Laura, touching her hair worriedly.

The car suddenly fell silent as Carol drove, the palace already visible around the corner.

Suddenly, Ana looked at Laura before speaking.

"So that's what we'll do, a normal dinner, but you need to know that if you don't dare to take a step forward, you might never get anything," Ana said, looking at Laura with a cold expression.

Ana was fine with creating an opportunity, but if Laura didn't even try, she wouldn't help her further.

Carol parked the car at the palace before everyone got out. As they walked inside, they saw Damian coming toward them, carrying Nate.

Nate, upon seeing his mother, made several sounds while stretching out his arms.

"Baby, did you miss mommy?" Natasha said, smiling broadly and instantly appearing next to Damian before taking Nate in her arms.

Nate moved his limbs while letting out a small laugh upon seeing his mother talking to him.

"Wow, you came very dressed up, though you look very beautiful," Damian said, looking first at Laura. He always found her bob haircut charming, even though he loved the long hair of his wives.

"I guess it's time for dinner, isn't it?" Damian said, smiling at the women.

"Hmm, mom is with the girls; I'll go tell them," Ana said, nodding.

Laura saw this and immediately felt her heart race.

"Wait," Laura said before she could realize.

"You invited me to dinner; how about you take me out to eat something?" Laura said, looking at Damian with a slight blush on her face.

Damian looked surprised at Laura's appearance; she looked truly charming at that moment.

"I guess I never said what kind of invitation it was," Damian said, smiling.

"Hmm, you can't break your word, don't come back too late," Ana, who was next to Damian, said, kissing him on the cheek before leaving.

"Everything went exactly as I planned," Carol said suddenly as she entered with a satisfied smile.

Ophelia just scoffed while pulling Natasha inside and teasing Nate at the same time.

"Give me a second," Damian said, looking at Laura before disappearing. When he reappeared, he was dressed more appropriately for a date and matched Laura's outfit.

"Shall we?" Damian said, offering his arm.

"Let's go," Laura said, nodding a bit shyly as she took Damian's arm.

"I haven't seen that shy side of you in a long time; I must say it's quite pleasant," Damian said, laughing as he looked at her.

"I'm a commander now, not like when I played bodyguard in New York," Laura said, looking at Damian with a complaint.

She really only ran small errands while in New York; it seemed more like she was a playmate for the princesses than anything else.

Still, they were moments she truly enjoyed.

"I invited you to dinner, but how about you guide our date? Show me some interesting places in Madripoor," Damian said, looking at her with a smile.

"Sure, I'll show you how us mortals live," Laura said, laughing as she started walking, pulling Damian by the arm.

Damian just smiled as they both walked down the street.

"We're going to attract a lot of attention; I suppose the guys will tease me," Laura said, noticing several incredulous looks.

It wasn't usual for the king to walk down the street, especially not with a woman who wasn't one of the queens.

"If you want, I can change my appearance," Damian said, looking at her.

"It would be useful, but no, it's fine like this, no need to hide anything," Laura said, giving him a smile.

"As you wish," Damian said, smiling at her.

"Come, I'll show you a restaurant I like to go to, it's run by an old acquaintance," Laura said as they walked, guided by her.

Laura stopped by a ferry stop, and they waited a few minutes before it arrived and they both got on.

The ferry driver nearly dropped his jaw upon seeing the king boarding, as did many of the passengers.

Most people stood up, wanting to give their seats to Damian, but Laura quickly calmed them down and told them to act normally.

Damian just walked past the seats with Laura, smiling calmly at the somewhat hysterical people.

They finally found seats where it was just the two of them.

"Have you never been on one of these?" Laura asked in the now silent ferry.

"No, I only saw them when they were designed," Damian said honestly.

"They are very well maintained; I'm glad they are appreciated enough," Damian said, smiling as he saw that although they showed signs of use, they were not vandalized or in poor condition.

The ferry moved quickly for about 10 minutes before Laura stood up.

"Here we are," Laura said, looking at Damian.

Damian nodded and started to get off with Laura.

Before getting off, suddenly, a person stood up and thanked him.

This seemed to trigger a chain reaction as most people on the ferry stood up, thanking him.

Most were middle-aged or elderly.

Looking at these people, Damian felt a sincerity that touched him.

Damian got off the ferry a bit dazed.

"Have you never been thanked before?" Laura said, looking at him.

"Maybe for you, it was a whim or something not worth mentioning, but for the people of this island, you really changed their lives," Laura said, smiling at him.

"Of course, that includes me; my life would have been very different if you hadn't come," Laura said, laughing slightly.

"Then during dinner, tell me how it would have been," Damian said, seeming interested.

Laura smiled at his interest as she nodded.

After getting off the ferry, they walked for a few minutes until they reached a picturesque restaurant.

"Come on," Laura said, entering first while still holding Damian's arm.