章 15: Chapter 15
Damien Angelini was a man who looked to be in his late twenties, but the truth was that he was 41 years old. He stood nearly 7 feet tall, and his stocky muscular physique, coupled with his handsome yet hardened face, could easily intimidate the best of the men. And that was without taking into account the oppressive demeanor with which he carried himself. However, right now, he was wearing a very gentle smile with tears in his eyes as he looked at the young girl standing in front of him.
"Kiara, this is your maternal uncle, Damien, Major General, and third in Command of Netherian Dragon Corps. And Uncle Damien, this is Kiara Angelini, a middle-school Ace Student, your Niece, and now your daughter." He chuckled as he introduced her.
"Brother!" Kiara pouted in a complaint about mentioning that she was an 'Ace Studuent'. She was a little embarrassed as she felt that it was something insignificant to be mentioned, and she knew that Keith was deliberately pulling her leg. "Hello, Uncle." She then turned to look at Damien and smiled brightly.
From the moment she saw him, she felt a familial connection that made her feel at ease in his intimidating presence. And she was not faking that bright smile. She really was happy to meet him.
Damien's smile widened after her greeting, and he stepped forward to gently pat her head.
"It's better to address me as your father from now on." He was not a man of words and was never really good at expressing his emotions through words, so he did not bother saying anything else to her.
"Okay, Father!" She giggled and nodded her head readily. For some reason, she did not find it strange at all to address him as her Father. It naturally rolled off her tongue. And looking at him as her Father made her feel safer.
"Good!" Damien was pleased and laughed heartily. "Come, I will introduce you to your mother and your little brother."
"Are you not going to see Greatfather?" She curiously looked him in the eyes and asked, which made him tense up. "He's waiting for you."
Damien frowned at her words and then closed his eyes, trying to calm down his turbulent heart.
Yes, he had come here for her, willing to take his responsibilities, but that did not mean that he had let go of all the grudges in his heart.
He knew that it was unfair to hold his Grandfather responsible for everything that happened, but he just could not help his feelings. He always felt that if Darius had intervened in the matters back then, the tragedy could have been avoided. And so, it was more of disappointment than anger that he felt towards his Family's old man.
"Please, Father." Kiara pleadingly called out to him. "Greatfather is very old now. Let's not pain his old heart anymore. He told me that he terribly misses you."
"Alright. I will listen to you." Damien just couldn't bring himself to refuse her. It was the first thing she had asked of him, how could he refuse her? Inside his heart, he was nervously chuckling as he found her personality just the same as that of her late mother.
Damien just hoped that she did not inherit the menacing side of his sister's personality, or else, they were all in a lot of trouble. But some part of his heart was really hoping to see such a side of her.
Keith smiled when he saw his little sister being clever as ever, and appreciatively patted her head.
"Uncle, you can take your time with Greatfather. I will introduce Kiara to Aunt Danielle and little Ben."
Damien nodded to his words, and then looked at the two siblings again. He was immensely relieved in his heart to see that the two got along really well. At first, he had his reservations against Keith's plan to marry her, and he had already vowed to make an enemy out of him if he found Kiara against the idea. But now it seemed that his worries were unnecessary. It was clear by the way she looked at him that she loved him dearly.
After Damien walked past them and entered the study to meet his Grandfather, Keith grabbed Kiara's hand and led her to the lounge where Danielle and Benjamin Angelini were sitting.
Seeing the two of them walk in, a little chubby boy, around the age of six happily ran over to them.
"Keith!" He happily called out and curiously looked at Kiara, intrigued by her beauty and eyes that were the same as his. "Who's this beautiful girl?"
"She's your older sister, Ben." Keith ruffled his head.
"Really?!"
The sudden gleam in the little boy's eyes melted Kiara's heart and she crouched down to gently pull on his chubby cheeks.
"Yes. I am your older sister, Ben. And we will be living together from now on."
"Wow." Ben did not mind that his cheeks were pulled. He was quite used to people pulling on them, and Kiara was being very gentle, so he had no complaints. "Mama! See! I have an older sister too now! Can I go play with her?!" He expectantly looked at his mother, who had just come over.
"Not now, Ben. You first have to meet your Greatfather." Danielle gently said, and after Ben obediently nodded his head, she patted him before looking at Kiara curiously.
The two of them curiously looked into each other's eyes. Just like her and Damien, Danielle too possessed those same blue eyes, but her hair was not the shade of dark brown like her son and husband but was black, a shade duller than hers, but close enough.
Danielle seemed to have sensed what was going on in Kiara's mind and she smiled brightly.
"I am an Angelini too. And I belong to the Cameron City Angelini Family."
There were several Angelini Branch-Families that were settled in different cities of Netheria and Italy, and Danielle belonged to Cameron City, which was a metropolitan city in the neighboring province of Melodia.
Kiara understandably nodded her head, and then brightly smiled at her.
"You are beautiful!" She honestly said.
Danielle possessed a very warm and motherly aura about her. She was of an average height, but her figure was simply perfect. Round, but wide-hips, slim waist, ample Blossom, long neck, and coupled with her Angelini features, she possessed an innocent heart-shaped face that was quite beautiful to look at and admire.
"Thank you!" Danielle was pleased with her words. "But I must say that my beauty is nothing when compared to you. It's simply enviable that you are even more beautiful than Alicia!" She teasingly pouted, which made Ben and Keith chuckle at her words.
She knew that she was beautiful, but compared to Kiara, she felt that she was rather pale. It was just the same feeling she felt when she was around Alicia, who was Kiara's real mother. And since women were creatures of envy, and she was not cleansed of this sin, she could not help but envy her a little, and voiced her thoughts honestly.
"Thank you, Mother!" She knew her charm and was used to having eyes filled with envy staring at her, but Danielle's words made her feel warm in her heart as they were honest but devoid of any ill feelings.
Hearing Kiara call her 'Mother', Danielle sighed in her heart and stepped forward to hug her, and planted a kiss on her head.
"Your mother and I were best of friends, and I promise you that I will always take care of you as if you are my own child." She gently spoke to her. "Never shy away from me, and if you have any troubles, do speak to me. I will be your mother, and I will be your friend so that my dear daughter can talk about her feelings freely with me."
Listening to her words, Kiara's eyes couldn't help but turn misty. She obediently nodded her head, finding it hard to find words to reply to her, and subconsciously tightened her arms around her, which made Danielle happy at being accepted by her.
Perhaps, it was because of their blood relationship that Kiara felt much closer to Damien and Danielle in a few minutes than she did to her adopted parents who had raised her all her life. And this familial blood connection came with a sense of security that made her feel protected.
She had been quite nervous about everything, but it was all turning out to be a happy affair that she appreciated from the bottom of her heart.
Keith stayed on the side smiling as he looked at the two of them chatting happily. They could easily pass as mother and daughter, and he was relieved to see that Danielle looked at Kiara as her own child.
As the memories of what the future would have been like had he kept Kiara's existence a secret emerged in his mind, he could not help but shake his head in disappointment at himself in those memories. Just because he was too cautious about her safety and fearful of his mother, he had deprived her of the happiness that she deserved.
This is how things were meant to be, and Kiara deserved to be surrounded by her blood family.
Keith felt like a burden that had been weighing on his heart was lifted, but at the same time, he was a little apprehensive of his mother's wrath that he would have to face and prevail through.
"Keith!" Ben happily grabbed his hand when he found his mother busy talking with Kiara. "Come, let's play chess. I will beat you this time!"
"Okay." He chuckled and allowed the little boy to lead him over to the seats in the corner where a chessboard was placed.
They had a game earlier in the morning when he met them, and Keith later helped Ben beat Damien in a match, which made the little boy his fan.
Needless to say, the little boy stood no chance against a Villain like him, who was unwilling to let him win.
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