“Are you in any pain?” Ysenia questions, furrowing her brows. She’s just like our mother, well, her nurturing side that is.
“Sometimes, but not all the time. I’m one of the lucky ones, baby. I’m okay. I promise. Things are becoming more difficult to do, but I am okay.”
My mother whips her head to look at me with tears in her eyes. Some slip from the corners and coat her cheeks. “We asked you here, and your sister because we both wanted to tell you the truth. But, Bianca, this will affect you because we’ve . . . we’ve decided that because of your father’s health we’re going to pass down the throne sooner than we thought.”
“I’m afraid retirement in my sixties isn’t in the cards for us any longer.” He speaks up, looking at me with those forest green eyes, pulling a corner of his lips up slightly. God, he’s always trying to make light of tough situations.
“You need to be ready for this, for the role you’re going to inherit.” My mother speaks up, staring intently into my eyes. She’s always been so serious, so demanding.
I nod my head, knowing what my duty will be. “I’ll be ready. I promise.”
She accepts my reply and stands, brushing her hands over her deep violet dress. “Alright, well, I have some things I need to attend to. Ysenia, would you give me a hand?”
“Sure,” my sister replies, standing and following our mother while they exit the study, shutting the door firmly behind them.
Now it’s just the two of us and he brushes his hand over his beard. “How are you feeling, knowing all of this?”
“Shocked. Terrified. Scared. Unprepared. I could go on and on you know.” I mutter, trying to smile, though I’ve never been a good person when it comes to hiding feelings.
He rises from his seat and uses his cane to help his balance as he makes his way over to my chair. “Don’t make an old man bend down, come here, Puff.”
That name. I haven’t heard him call me by it since I was but a small child, maybe ten or so.
I do as he asks and wrap my arms around him, burrowing my face into his chest as I did when I was a little girl. Tears slip past my eyelashes, soon coating his shirt. I knew this day would come where he’d prepare me for my future with the Clans, but I never anticipated it would be a direct result of his health. “I love you so much, Dad.” I cry into his chest, holding onto him with as much strength as I can muster up. My arms are wrapped so tightly around him, it’s as if my own life depends on it.
“I love you so fucking much, Puff. More than I could ever put into words.”
I hold onto him, knowing I want a bit more time with him tonight. I’ll have one of the guards take Daniella home and will go meet her in a few hours, then I’ll come back tomorrow morning. We have so much to go over. I don’t want to miss anything important, but most of all, I don’t want to fail. When the time comes, I want him to be glad he trusted me with the Clans.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Stefan
Most would prefer to use movers to move into their new homes, and while I accepted some help, I felt this was a family ordeal that we all needed to take part in. We could’ve easily had some staff unbox our things and put them away . . . however, this is our home, the home that we’re all building together.
I’m sitting in the library which is off to the left of the front door. It has a bay window that overlooks the quaint street we now live on. Which is an oddity in general, considering we live in the city that never sleeps.
The front door bursts open out of nowhere and Bianca passes by me in the blink of an eye. One of her father’s hired guards comes in behind her, shutting the front door to our home. I don’t know his name, though I’ve seen his face many times, so I know he’s trustworthy. “Is everything okay?” Daniella asks me from the corner of the library as she sits in a deep blue armchair with gold accents. She actually helped me pick these out for Bianca’s sanctuary. Well, her and Bianca’s. The two women who mean the most to me have a love of reading, whether it’s a children’s adventure novel or poetry from the eighteenth century.
I nod, sure I’m not lying to my daughter. “Yeah. Bianca must’ve had a rough day at work. That’s all.”
Daniella draws her brows together and glances out the window while she speaks. “Are you sure? I mean . . . nothing happened, right?”
Focusing in on her, I take a deep breath before I respond. Years have past and yet I know what she’s fearful of. “If it did, we would already know. Nothing bad happened baby. I promise.”
Her eyes flicker back to me for a second before she clasps the necklace around her neck. The pearl is a family heirloom from Presley. One her great-grandmother had given her when she was a baby, and something I made sure ended up in Daniella’s hands. Presley had worn it the day she died, but I knew she would’ve wanted our daughter to have it.
“Daddy . . . I don’t . . . I don’t think I could handle it if something happened to you.” Daniella admits, rubbing her hand against her chest. She’s nervous, hell maybe even scared.
I rise from where I sat a moment ago and break the distance between Daniella and I. Kneeling down, I cusp her face in my hand and look into the eyes she inherited from me. Looking over her features, from her round cheeks,
