Helanie:
After Emmet called me and asked for help, I wasn’t left with much choice but to return to that place to help him out.
The mansion didn’t scare me anymore, except for the presence of Kaye. He had changed—almost like someone I couldn’t recognize. Or maybe that was how he was before he warmed up to me.
"I’ll come pick you up, say—8 p.m.?" Lamar dropped me off at the gate, not ready to come inside.
"Sure, thank you!" I gave him a gentle hug before taking a deep breath and walking into the mansion. Now that Charlotte was going to marry Maximus, I could only imagine her attitude had gotten worse.
Holding my side bag’s strap tightly, I stepped into the mansion to find Emmet leaning against the wall, waiting for me.
Thankfully, he was very alert to everything around him. He knew that since he had asked me to come, he needed to be at the door to make sure nobody else spotted me before him.
"Thank you for showing up," he sighed in relief, looking like a mess with his hair all over his face and shoulders.
"You okay?" I laughed a little, noticing how he rolled his eyes.
"Brother Emmet—come find us," I heard a childlike voice from inside and instantly realized why he was in such a bad mood.
"They’re giving you a hard time?" I asked, and he nodded, pouting so cutely that my heart skipped a beat.
"Where is everybody else?" I inquired, and he rolled his eyes again.
"They went to some event in another pack," he said, clearly uninterested. "I feel like they did it on purpose. Like, ’Leave these five-year-olds with me so I can suffer,’" he scoffed tiredly.
"Well, I’m here now." I gave him a fake but full bow to present myself, and in return, he sighed in relief.
"Let me introduce you to the things we call children these days," he said seriously as he led me inside.
"They’ve always been called children, Professor Emmet," I corrected him, but he just shrugged.
Once we were in the living room, I realized why he was so exhausted. The kids had made a castle out of pillows, thrown decorations around, and were holding water guns.
"Now, do I look like someone who would be playing with these things?" he pointed at them, and I smiled.
"It’s okay. Water guns are cool," I said, and once again, he shook his head.
"I’m talking about the ones holding the water guns," he said with pure exhaustion in his voice.
"Kids," he clapped his hands to get their attention.
They were two little, adorable kids with green eyes and black hair. Their cute matching outfits made me smile widely.
"She’s your stepsister, so go bother her now," he gestured toward me, standing so tall among us like a giant.
"And Helanie—this is Demi, and he is Davon," that was all he said before he quickly slipped away, making me wonder if he really wasn’t a kid person.
But now I was alone with the hyperactive children. Or so I thought. It wasn’t at all what I had expected.
The minute Emmet left, the kids put their toys down and started to clean up the mess they had made.
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