"Daddy!!" shouted Aurora suddenly, popping her head out from behind Alba..
Sybil, who was about to step forward angrily and shout at Alba, stopped abruptly. She saw the surprise in Alba's eyes and her heart plummeted.
Kyle Smith was here?
It couldn't be, could it?
She resisted the urge to tidy her hair and smoothen her clothes; while feeling rather flustered.
When did he arrive?
Did he see her gaffe earlier?
Right now, she was glad that Alba had stopped her from doing something she would regret.
She was still annoyed at Alba for going against her, but for now, at least, she felt relief. She had been so angry at the two kids that she had forgotten how overly protective Kyle Smith was with his children.
His devotion to his family was legendary, after all.
That much was evident from the wedding ceremony that had been held and broadcasted to the entire country. Though it wasn't really a wedding ceremony as he had been married for quite some time. It's just that they never had a wedding ceremony when they got married the last time, so he had used this opportunity to have a grand ceremony to renew their wedding vows.
It was thus done just before the new school year began. Held on a private island, guests from all walks of life attended - from normal people to celebrities like Keanu Reeves; it was a fairy tale wedding of the century.
Sybil was a huge fan and knowing that Kyle's children were enrolling at Retsu Primary School while she was teaching here was a dream come true.
Unfortunately, she wasn't in charge of the class but at least, she did teach a subject. It just meant the likelihood of seeing Kyle was less.
But he was here now.
Aurora dashed out and ran over, and Sybil finally had calmed herself down to turn around to see.
"Daddy! Daddy!!" she shouted then stopped right beside him.
Kyle placed a hand over her head, stroking it, and then crouched down so that he was at the same height as Aurora. She grabbed him by the shoulder and said excitedly, "Daddy! Daddy! We want to adopt Max and Iori."
Kyle put on a surprised face, even though he already knew it.
"Who is Max and Iori?" he asked, pretending not to know.
"Come, come," Aurora said, grabbing his arm and pulling.
Kyle stood up and allowed Aurora to pull him along. As he passed the two teachers, he gave them his Million-Dollar Watt smile, one that was done to dazzle anyone who saw it.
Alex, seeing this, just rolled his eyes.
His father was being shameless again.
It was ridiculous enough that he was here, but he was also dressed like … like … well, not like a CEO! Shouldn't they be in suits? Or some stiff collared shirt and tie?
Uncle Sam was the one that was always appropriately dressed but his father? Why did his father have to look like he was going out on a date?
With that ridiculous hair that never seemed out of place.
And just why was his shirt so tight?!
Not to mention his pants, too!
Alex couldn't understand his father at all. No wonder his mother always had to keep the women at bay. Though his father may not entertain any women who flung themselves at him, he definitely encouraged them just by dressing up that way.
Naturally, Kyle saw the slight disdain in Alex's eyes as he came closer and simply gave a slow smile - just to aggravate him further. Right now was the best time to press his buttons, for Alex had to get his permission to adopt the dog, right?
His usual retorts would have to be swallowed and Kyle enjoyed the thought very much.
"Mr. Smith," Sybil called out as he came closer, effectively blocking Alba from making the first move, "What a surprise. Why are you here?"
Alba stepped back, letting Sybil take the lead since she had already started.
Kyle's smile didn't diminish and instead, it became softer as he held Aurora's hand and looked at her, "I was in the area, so I thought I'd just pop by to see how they're doing. I hope I'm not intruding or anything?"
"Oh, no, no," Sybil said quickly, "Not at all."
Kyle then turned to Alba and asked politely, "Aurora said something about adopting a pet?"
Sybil's mouth was open to answer when Kyle continued, "Teacher Alba, I apologize for the inconvenience, but I hope you know you can call me anytime if they ask for anything."
Sybil shut her mouth, pressing her lips to close together as she saw Kyle was not talking to her at all. As shameless as she was, she was not *that* ignorant as to continue talking when it was obvious Kyle was ignoring her after the initial greeting.
Still, she didn't move from the spot.
On the one hand, it was a good thing as he did not say anything about her faux pas* earlier, and she managed to convince herself that Kyle either had not seen it, or was not bothered by it.
She doubted that Kyle had not seen it, so it can only mean that he tacitly approved of her methods.
His next words, however, dispelled that notion completely.
"After all, the last thing I would want is to have someone think my children need to be physically reprimanded just to make them toe the line," Kyle continued.
For some reason, Sybil started getting the chills just hearing Kyle say that. He wasn't shouting or anything, but yet, she could somehow feel the hidden threat in that seemingly soft voice.
"Yes, Mr Smith, I agree," Alba replied, looking at Kyle apologetically.
Although she had not been the one that had reached out to the kids, she had been too slow to stop Sybil. That was her regret and she felt guilty about it.
"Yes, I could see that," Kyle said with a smile.
A genuine one this time, that was soft and appreciative, as he continued, "I thank you for that. They may be mischievous at times …"
"Oh no, Mr Smith," Alba interrupted, "They are very good kids, really. I can see how attached Alex is with Max, so his reaction is understandable."
Kyle nodded and said softly, this time his gaze was directed at Alex, "Understandable, but not acceptable."
Alex stiffened but did not dare refute.
Kyle suddenly clapped his hands together and said, "Well, let's see about this adoption, shall we?"
Alex stared at his father in surprise, his eyes wide.
"But you're the one who has to take care of him," Kyle told him, "So the first thing you have to do, is adopt him yourself."
Aurora grabbed Kyle's hand and started swinging it, looking at him.
"Daaaaddy…" she called out, deliberately stretching the call to act more coquettishly, "What about Iori?"
Kyle looked at Kiki and asked, "How is Iori?"
"Weak," Kiki admitted.
"Well, we'll adopt her too and take care of her," Kyle said.
"That's not normal procedure," Kiki told them then said, "The Shelter would not allow it."
Kyle's smile was languid as he replied, "Oh, but I'm not normal. I'm sure the Shelter would make an exception."
✿ Author posts on WN and neovel ✿
Thus, half an hour later, two happy kids were holding their respective wolfdog puppies in their arms. Due to the circumstances, the twins were allowed to cut the visit short and go back first.
Alex refused to leave Max and there was no way Max could be allowed to follow them around as they visited other parts of the shelter.
Aurora sighed but she didn't regret it. She didn't have to go back as Iori was 'hospitalised' and had not bonded with any of them yet, but she wouldn't be able to enjoy the trip while thinking about the wolfdog.
She had fallen in love with the adorable puppy the moment she laid eyes on it.
It was so vulnerable and cute.
"Daddy, can we come here again next time?" she asked her father, as she held Iori gently. Iori was asleep as she was heavily medicated.
"Sure, sweetheart," Kyle replied.
"Oh! My lunch!!" Aurora said with regret, "Daddy, hold Iori please."
Kyle took the sleeping puppy and Aurora quickly dashed out with her bag.
By this time, the others were already heading to the open area to have their lunch. Aurora quickly found the others and handed Ziad her backpack, saying, "Here. I'm going back first so you might as well have our lunch."
Ziad took the bag, saying, "Okay, but you should take your bag and drink back. I can't carry your bag and mine later."
"Oh, that's true," Aurora said.
She waited while Ziad took out the two lunchboxes and she told him excitedly, "They're all bite-size, so it's easy to share."
Ziad nodded.
He wasn't worried about whether the food was 'halal' or not, for it would naturally be so if Aurora offered it to him. The entire Elite Five family knew of the restrictions they had in the type of food they could eat, so they would never be careless in that aspect.
After putting it down, he returned the bag and said, "Thank you."
Shirley reached out and opened one and went "Ooooo!! Wow!! ….. What is it?"
Fleur laughed and took out a small triangular-shaped item and said, "It's a minigiri."
"Huh?"
"Actually, I made that term up. This is a mini onigiri, that is, a small rice ball. It would have some fillings inside."
Aurora smiled and left, while Fleur continued to explain what the rest of the food in the lunchboxes were. She hurried back, already missing Iori.