Ascension Of The Villain

After the legendary pillow-fort expedition ended, the kids started watching a movie.

Vyan sat in the middle, flanked by both of them. Elian, on one side, offered interesting commentary every three minutes, and Amelia, on the other, gripped her precious stuffed elephant, just happy to watch a flare of colors. On the other side, Natasha was working on some college paper of hers on the dining table with her, what was it, laptop.

They ended up watching a somewhat nice animated movie about talking animals. The main character was a determined bunny cop with a sassy fox partner, who was perhaps a sly criminal.

Vyan had no idea what was happening for most of it, but Elian was loving it, and Amy kept clapping every time the orange fox appeared.

By the time the sun dipped behind the skyline and the living room glowed with a soft orange hue, Vyan was more relaxed without a care in the world than… he couldn't even remember how long. Perhaps since the time he became the Grand Duke. Or maybe, ever since he got kicked out of House Estelle.

He had been hustling ever since. Never catching a break. Always chasing and chasing. Wanting to catch up to all the things he should have learned in the last fifteen years, just within a single year.

Even on dates with Iyana, he couldn't do so without a care in the world. He always had to be on alert.

His responsibilities were something he couldn't run away from. He didn't even want to. He liked feeling needed, as cringeworthy as it sounded. He wanted to take care of the legacy his parents had left behind.

But this was a nice pace of change.

This reminded him of how he wanted to go on a getaway with Iyana once everything was over. With no tension. No worries of revenge hanging over his head. Not even a single thread of concern for anything but her.

Oh, how he missed her…

Even with the kids keeping him occupied, her void wouldn't ever be fulfilled.

He glanced at the screen where end credits were rolling down, and then at the kids who had dozed off by then.

Just then, the front door clicked open.

Adrian stepped in, tie loosened and shirt sleeves rolled to the elbows.

"Hello, Mr. Evans," Natasha greeted, standing up with a courteous smile.

"Hi, Ms. Browns," Adrian greeted back tiredly but politely. "Sorry it took me so long to get back. I know you had plans tonight."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Natasha waved off with a smile. "My plan tonight was to work on my paper and mail it to my professor, but I was able to work on it right here, thanks to Vyan. He had the kids occupied, so I could work peacefully."

Adrian glanced over at the dimmed living room where the TV screen was glowing with movie credits rolling down and saw a mop of black hair in the middle of the couch. "That's a relief, then."

"Since you're home, should I get going now?"

"Yeah, sure, please. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Alright. Have a good evening, Mr. Evans." Natasha quickly packed up her things and left, not before checking up on the kids one last time.

Adrian walked over to the living room and remarked, "Well, this is unexpected."

Vyan turned toward him lazily, one arm resting over the back of the couch. "You're home earlier. I thought Emma would be the one to come home first."

"Em is passionate about her job. She loves solving cases. Plus, her hours aren't exactly fixed." He gently brushed his fingers against Elian's hair, looking a little melancholic. There was something deeper in his eyes that Vyan couldn't pinpoint. "She can't always be home early."

Feeling Adrian's touch, Elian stirred and opened his eyes. Seeing his father, he instantly straightened up.

"Daddy! Welcome homeeee," he chirped, throwing his arms around Adrian's waist.

Adrian chuckled and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of his head. "How was your day, champ?"

"It was great! Vyan played with us the whole day. We did lots of fun stuff. It was really awesome. Our pillow fortress was theeee best!"

"Damn, too bad I couldn't see it." He ruffled Elian's hair.

"We clicked a photo with Nat's phone. She'll send it to you, don't worry," Elian assured. "What about you, Daddy? How was your day?"

"It was good. But I missed you."

"Really? I missed you too! Did you win your case?"

"Of course, I did. Does your daddy ever lose?"

"Nope, never. Nobody can ever beat my daddy. He's literally the best of the best!"

"Okay, okay, that's too much," Adrian laughed, then narrowed his eyes. "Do you want something from me, mister?"

"Well, if you're offering yourself, I won't deny." He grinned. "Maybe Daddy would like to get me a nice pair of red sneakers?"

Vyan snorted at that.

Adrian arched an eyebrow playfully. "Mhmm, but if I recall correctly, Mr. Elian Evans already has plenty of sneakers—white, black, blue, green, even yellow."

Elian pouted. "But he doesn't have red onessss." He looked over his shoulder at Vyan, asking for help with his puppy eyes.

Instead of helping him, Vyan stuck out a tongue at him and teased, "Wouldn't he still outgrow them soon, Adrian?"

"Exactly," Adrian agreed.

As Elian muttered, "You betrayed me," Vyan found it oddly entertaining. However, Elian didn't give up, despite being cornered. "We'll just get a size bigger! I just saw them in the ad. They were so pretty."

"I'm sure they were. But we'll still discuss this with your mom, okay?"

"Okay…" he mumbled, still clinging to his dad.

Adrian looked at Vyan and said, "I'm going to freshen up. We'll head out to meet that person we talked about when Emma comes home and we've all had our dinner."

Vyan nodded.

So they all have dinner together, huh.

It seemed like Vyan had been worried for nothing. He had worried that perhaps Elian might feel lonely without his parents, like Vyan used to feel in childhood. But that didn't seem to be the case. It appeared as though Adrian and Emma prioritized quality over quantity—that the little amount of time they got together at the end of the day was well-spent, so that their children never felt neglected.

Adrian came over to the other side of the couch, checking up on Amy, who was still asleep through her brother's loud shenanigans. "I'm gonna put her in the crib." With that, he scooped Amy up in his arms and headed upstairs.

Elian happily waved at his dad and sister, then gazed at Vyan, who seemed to be in deep thought.

"What are you thinking about, betrayer Daddy's twin?"

"Nothing. Just about what a great but slightly sneaky kid you are and how good your parents are at managing everything."

Elian's expression dulled a little at that. "You think so?"

"And you don't?"