Money well spent

"Cheer up, Tom. In the end, you showed up. You came to your ex-wife’s wedding, after all. You're not married anymore. She looks happy, and the guy seems like he'll be a good father to the kids. And you... well, with that new body, you can't really be around them anymore," Brian said with a resigned sigh.

Tom — or what was left of him in that new form — lowered his gaze. His long lashes nearly brushed his cheeks as the evening breeze played with the hem of his short black dress. He whispered:

"Man... it all came crashing down just now. The testimony, the mafia, the threats. My family marked for death. Witness protection faking my death and, as a bonus, turning me into this. Just to throw off the international branch of the organization. But turning me into a woman? Damn... they could've just changed my face or something. Something simpler. I might’ve had a shot at going back to her... to the kids. Now it’s all gone. She’s getting married. He gets the family, the house, even the money I skimmed off the organization. All of it."

Otto, leaning casually against a stone column in the garden, chuckled softly and said, "Well... I was a good friend of hers. If you’re up for it, we can keep playing this story — you’re my foreign girlfriend, new in town, starting a new life. This way, you still get to be around. The kids love me — and now they’ll love the ‘cool aunt’ too. Better to have some kind of connection than none at all, right?"

Tom thought about it. It made sense. Twisted, maybe, but it was something. A way to not disappear completely from his children's lives.

Otto, on the other hand, tried to hide his grin as he looked her up and down — that perfect figure sculpted with surgical precision. He thought to himself: "How much taxpayer money went into making you this stunning, Tom? Honestly... worth every cent. And now, you're my gorgeous girlfriend. What a promising fresh start."