Dante leaned back slightly on his palms, looking at his sons with eyes soft and a warm expression.
"I an that..."
Another pause, another drag of silence, thick enough to make Alina’s breath hitch.
"I love her."
The room fell absolutely still.
Lucien’s mouth opened.
Sable’s eyes went round as stars.
And Alina’s entire body tingled all the way to the tips of her fingers, her whole being turning warm as if soone had quietly wrapped her in sunlight. He loves her? Not a crush... not simple liking... not re admiration. Love.
Her brain almost burst into tiny fireworks, and she had to bite her lip to keep her face from exploding like a tomato.
She nervously looked at Lucien and Sable.
Lucien was the first to speak, his expression completely blank, as if Dante had just announced the results of a weather report, not a life-changing confession.
"So?" Lucien asked calmly. "We love her too."
Alina nearly choked on air.
anwhile Sable scrunched his brows, looking as if he was trying very hard to solve a complicated puzzle, then suddenly gasped.
"So Boo is right?" he asked, eyes bright and round. "He said sothing is going between you and Teacher. He said he caught you two sneaking around many tis. So it’s true."
Alina froze.
Dante froze.
Lucien blinked slowly, as if a delayed explosion had finally gone off in his head.
"Boo said what?" Lucien whispered in disbelief.
"We never sneaked around," Alina yelped, her ears burning red.
Sable nodded seriously. "Boo tells us during lunch. He say ’teacher and principal sothing sothing’ and he wiggle his eyebrows like this."
Sable attempted an eyebrow wiggle, failed miserably, and ended up squinting like a confused squirrel.
"And he said it was adult thing so we cannot understand," Sable continued proudly.
Lucien slapped his palm to his forehead. "I knew it. Boo has been doing investigations again."
Alina covered her face with both hands. "Oh my god... that little gossip king... why is he gossiping about ?"
Sable raised his hand as if answering in class. "Teacher, he also gossips about everyone. He say it’s his hobby."
Dante pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, shadows twitching behind him in annoyance. "I should seal that ghost’s mouth for a week. Lucky for him, he was on holiday."
Lucien nodded solemnly. "Yes Dad."
And Alina couldn’t help it, she burst into helpless laughter, her cheeks burning red, her heart lting at the sight of her boyfriend and her two little babies plotting revenge against a little gossip ghost.
"So Teacher... you’re going to mate with Dad?" Sable whispered, and Lucien’s shoulders twitched, an emotion between surprise and sothing deeper flickering in his gaze.
Alina swallowed hard, her throat tight. Mate ant marrying, right? It should be.
"Yes..." Alina whispered softly, almost shyly.
Sable’s breath hitched. His lashes fluttered. And slowly, the little boy who always tried so hard to be brave... broke.
"So..." he whispered again. "We can call you mumma?"
Alina’s heart twisted painfully. Sable’s small hands clenched around his doll, as if afraid she might say no and disappear. Tears shimred in his eyes, turning them into quivering stars.
"You’re our teacher... and mom now... right?"
His voice cracked, and the first tear slipped down his cheek.
"Oh my baby..." Alina breathed, her voice breaking as she opened her arms. "Co here."
Sable rushed to her like a little storm, throwing himself into her hug. She wrapped him tightly, her hand cradling the back of his soft head as he sobbed into her shoulder. She kissed his wet cheek again and again, each kiss a promise. He clung to her as if he had been waiting his whole life to feel wanted like this.
Lucien, anwhile, sat frozen, his eyes huge, dark, and trembling in disbelief. His breath ca unevenly, as if soone had gently nudged open a locked door in his heart.
"Dad..." Lucien whispered, unable to look away from Alina holding his brother. "Is it true?"
Dante’s expression softened, shadows swirling behind him in a gentle wave.
"Yes," he said quietly. "It’s true."
Lucien’s lips parted in shock. His eyes filled in an instant, not with loud tears but with quiet, aching emotion. He pressed his small hand to his mouth, trying to hide the way it trembled.
Alina lifted her head, her own eyes shining as she looked at him.
"Lucien..." she whispered gently, opening one arm in invitation while Sable curled against her chest. "Co here, sweetheart."
Lucien hesitated only a second before his feet moved on their own, carrying him into her embrace. His head rested against her shoulder on the opposite side, his small fingers curling into the fabric of her clothes as if afraid she might vanish.
Alina held both of them, her two precious babies, pressed against her heart as if she could protect them from every wound they carried, past or future.
Sable sniffled. Lucien trembled quietly.
Alina’s breath trembled when she heard it, soft, hesitant, and full of the emotions he usually kept locked away.
"Mom...?"
Lucien’s voice was so small it barely reached her ears, but it struck her heart with the force of a thousand feelings at once. She felt everything inside her lt, spill, overflow. Her eyes stung as she looked at him, this little boy who tried so hard to act grown-up every single day, only to reveal how fragile he truly was in the smallest monts.
She didn’t even realize she was smiling through tears until she whispered, "Yes, baby?"
They slowly pulled back from the hug, and she gently guided them to sit on each side of her lap, one arm wrapped around Sable’s small body, the other around Lucien’s shoulders. Both boys leaned into her as if they were pieces of her heart that had finally found where they belonged.
She lifted her hand and cupped Lucien’s cheek, her thumb brushing his warm skin. His usually composed little face had crumbled into sothing soft and heartbreakingly adorable. His nose was red, his lashes were wet, and even his lips trembled a little.
He really was still a baby... her baby.
"You will stay with , right?" Lucien whispered, so vulnerable it made her chest tighten. His eyes searched her face with the fear of soone who had lost too much too early, afraid to lose again.
Alina felt her voice wobble. "Of course," she said softly, almost lovingly. "I’m here. I’m not going anywhere."
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