Because standing right outside her room were two very tiny, very offended babies, their backs perfectly straight, their arms crossed, and their eyes shining with tragic disappointnt.
Sable stood in front with his little doll squeezed tightly against his chest. Lucien stood beside him like a serious old judge, his tiny mouth pressed in a line, eyebrows knitted so tightly he looked ready to lecture an entire kingdom.
Alina blinked.
Dante blinked behind her.
Neither baby blinked.
"You didn’t sleep with us..." Sable said in a sad, trembling voice as he lifted his big watery eyes to her. "...but you slept with Dad?"
Lucien nodded sharply, his tiny chin lifting with dramatic betrayal. "We woke up and our bed was empty. I thought you would sleep with us, but it was very..." he said sternly. "Empty. And cold."
Sable sniffed. "Very cold."
Alina’s heart lted into warm syrup. "Oh sweetheart, no, it’s not what you think—"
But Sable shook his head firmly, his bottom lip wobbling. "Dad stole you."
Lucien folded his arms tighter, glaring straight at Dante. "Yes. And we didn’t like it."
Dante stared back, completely blindsided by the accusation. "I—what—"
"No stealing Mom," Sable declared bravely, hugging Alina’s legs like she might disappear again.
Alina touched their heads gently, smiling softly. "Okay, okay... I’ll sleep with you both tonight, alright?"
Their expressions brightened like soone lit tiny suns inside them.
"Promise?" Sable whispered.
"Promise," Alina whispered back.
Lucien tugged her hand solemnly. "And Dad sleeps alone today."
Dante’s face went blank. "Huh—"
"Yes," Lucien said, nodding firmly. "You need to wait your turn."
Alina almost burst into laughter as she covered her mouth, watching Dante get defeated by two tiny, possessive babies. Sable pressed his face to her stomach like a little koala, and Lucien wrapped his arms around her waist too, clearly claiming her with all the confidence in the world.
"Let’s go and have breakfast, right?" Alina said with a soft smile, brushing her hands gently over their tiny heads. The babies nodded so quickly their hair wobbled, and each one grabbed her hand—Sable on her left, Lucien on her right—pressing close to her sides like she belonged to them alone. Together they walked down the corridor, two small shadows clinging to her legs, leaving Dante standing at the doorway completely speechless.
For a mont he just stared at their retreating backs, his woman in the middle, glowing with warmth, and his two sons proudly escorting her like miniature bodyguards. A slow wave of jealousy rolled through him. He never received affection like that from those babies. Even after raising them and protecting them like his own life depended on it, he never got that much hugging or hand-holding or excited "Dad!" squeals. But the mont Alina ca into their life, they stuck to her like honey.
At the sa ti, he wanted to laugh at himself. Because a second later his mind went sowhere entirely different. He wanted to steal Alina away from them.
Ungrateful little brats. After getting a mom, they forgot he existed.
And what made it worse–Alina didn’t even look back. Not once. Not even to check if he was following them or if he had been swallowed by his own shadows. She just walked with them, holding their hands like she was their treasure and he was an extra background character in his own ho.
He sighed heavily. Maybe... maybe he needed a little daughter. A tiny demon princess who would cling to him the way these two clung to Alina. Soone who would say "Dad" with stars in her eyes, soone who would pick his lap over anyone else. Soone soft, cute, and absolutely weak to him.
He was still imagining her when Alina’s voice suddenly floated through the hallway.
"Are you going to stand there?"
Her tone held a mixture of confusion and amusent, and Dante snapped out of his dramatic fantasies so fast he almost lost balance. His head jerked up and the sight of her smiling at him—warm, gentle, calling him like he mattered—made all his complaints evaporate instantly.
"Yes, yes, I’m coming," he said quickly, walking toward them with new confidence as if he hadn’t just been sulking like a jealous demon.
Deep inside, his heart ward.
She didn’t forget him after all. And just like that, every bit of jealousy lted away.
Downstairs, witch Ana was already waiting, standing stiffly near the dining dining table with her big cloak wrapped around her shoulders. She had clearly been there for a long ti, her expression held that tight, silent suffering of soone who wanted to complain loudly but knew very well she could not open her mouth in front of her sponsor unless she wished to be turned into a teapot. Her eyes flicked toward Dante, and whatever irritation she had instantly vanished behind a painfully polite smile.
Alina stepped forward warmly. "Hi... I’m Alina," she said, offering her hand.
Ana clasped it with both of hers, bowing a little. "Ana. I’m a registered mid-tier witch, domain-approved." Her voice was polite in that please-don’t-fire- tone, and Alina smiled back kindly. Ana looked around forty, with streaks of silver in her brown hair, and she had the soft, tired eyes of soone who had seen too many magical custors.
"I brought the Dark Iris Potion for Lucien," Ana announced, straightening her posture dutifully.
Dante nodded once, giving her silent permission to continue.
"And I also brought the Horn Invisibility Spray for them too," she added quickly. She then crouched down with a fond look, unable to hide her softness toward Lucien. "Little one, co here for a mont."
Lucien walked toward her obediently, clutching the edge of Alina’s dress for a second before letting go. He lay down on the couch exactly as she instructed, his small hands folded on his stomach, trusting the process completely.
Alina’s heart squeezed with worry as Ana uncorked a dark bottle. The sll that ca out was strange, like cold ink mixed with mint.
"This won’t hurt," Ana assured gently. "Just listen to , sweetheart. Keep your eyes open."
Lucien nodded, looking up at her bravely.
AN:
Dear reader, if you have a tiny bit of ti, please check out my new story:- Fatty Wife: Replacent Groom Is a Ruthless Gentleman. I’ll be so happy if you give it a try!
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