LEUKAS

With the conversation between Lanthe and I pending, both of us weren’t in much of a talking mood so I listened to Atlas and Jason discuss some politics while Lanthe tried to feed the baby who had woken up a little while after Jason and I headed back to the set dinner table.

The tension on the table was palpable especially after Atlas and Jadon’s conversation ended and Atlas glared at me, obviously blaming me for the tension. I ignored him. After a terse but scrumptious dinner that was noticeably without Aleks and the kids or Harpah for that matter, Lanthe, who had noticeably calmed down after everyone had settled down for the meal, summoned me for our talk and only an hour later, I left the house and headed to Aleks's guest house as per Lanthe’s instruction.

Surprisingly, Harpah opened the door of the guesthouse before I even knocked and I blinked a bit confused at the sight of her hair flowing behind her as she practically flew out of the house and towards the mansion, an annoyed looking Adrian being dragged through their interlocked hands. I was happy to see the cautious smile and small wave that Adrian threw at me before he was dragged away by my little sister.

The scene threw me a little bit because I had already planned my actions from the moment I heard all of Lanthe's demands and that particular scene hadn't been taken into account. I had relied on Aleks opening the door so that I could tell her all of the lies Lanthe had demanded I spout, maybe kiss my daughter and my son goodnight before leaving to blow off some off the tension that had reappeared after my conversation with Lanthe. The unpredictability of my life was starting to really get to me.

Upon their hasty and mysterious exit, Adrian and Harpah hadn't shut the door so I just let myself in and followed a tinkling laughter I had come to recognize to be my daughters' to the open kitchen. I stood silently by the door as I took in the scene of Aleks standing behind the counter, a pink apron with multiple rainbows covering her front.

She looked different somehow, but I didn't know how exactly. Her long mass of white hair was tied into a messy ponytail, a splattering of pink stuff I reckoned to be icing sugar contrasting its striking lightness. Her cheeks where flushed pink as she whisked a bowl filled with a dough mixture, her arm muscles flexing in a way that was strangely attractive. Besides her was an adorably serious-faced Elena who wore a cute blue elf apron and oven gloves, and carefully carried over a batch of muffins towards her mother, who relieved her of them with a smile and placed them on the surprisingly clear counter.

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“Thanks baby.” She said, her voice filled with fondness.Elena practically beamed at her mother before climbing in to a chair so that she could watch her mother work.

“Mommy, Harpah told me that they have horse riding lessons at her school. Do you think I can ask daddy to take me to see the horses? I really love horses and I would like to someway learn how to ride them.” She said, sending a thrill all over my body at her referral. That I had become a part of her existence that she realized she could approach to fulfill her needs. I was her daddy.

Aleks smiled at our daughter again.

“Really? Hmmm, I’m sure you can ask your dad tomorrow if he's not busy. I didn't know you were interested in horses though.” She commented before covering up the mixture and handing the spoon to Elena who immediately took it to the sink after a small lick. She immediately clambered onto her chair as her mother removed another finished tray of muffins from the other oven.

“You’re interested in it though and I want to be interested in everything you are interested in. I want to be just like you when I grow up.” Elena declared.

Aleks chuckled. “I don't know about that, but how did you know I was interested in horses? I don't remember telling you that.”

“You didn't. But I remember when Uncle Lander took us to that ranch for your birthday. You were so happy that day, and anything that makes you happy will also make me incredibly happy.” Despite my best efforts, I found myself frowning over her statement. Lander.

Lander had known what would make Aleks happy and had given it to her when I hadn't had the slightest idea that Aleks liked horses. I wondered what else he'd done to make Aleks happy and my already bad mood plummeted further.

I stared at the wistful look on Aleks's messy but still incredibly gorgeous face, and like she could finally feel my stare, her body froze and I saw her practically transform before my eyes. I realized then what had been different.

Before she'd noticed my presence, there was a softness and openness to Aleks that I had never thought to associate with her and so had never noticed their absence. When it had been just her and my daughter, before she'd seen me, her walls had been down and it had been gorgeous to see.

She'd looked at Elena with her emotions clear in her eyes, emotions of love, gentleness, care and kindness. The change in her was shocking. Because the Aleks I had thought I knew had just been façade that she put on to distance herself from the world. The incredibly flirty smiles she had thrown my way all those years ago weren’t her real smiles. And I hadn't known her perfect blue eyes could get softer than I had seen them. I realized then that I had never truly known Aleks and I was torn between hating her for making me believe that she was this whole other person and fucking her until I was the only thing that could control her reactions.