REBORN My Second Life I Became The Villianess (Nyxara) novel Chapter 138

I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes going wide. The massive dining room was decorated with dark red streamers and golden lights. Standing around the long mahogany table was the entire family, my dad, Uncle Pascal, Grandmother, Elena, Ella, Bianca, and even Carlton, who had driven back to join them. In the center of the table sat a massive three-tier cake covered in dark chocolate frosting, topped with nineteen flickering candles.

"What... what is this?" I stuttered, caught off guard.

"Your nineteenth birthday passed a week ago while we were dealing with Russo," Dad said, walking over with a rare, huge grin on his face and wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "You thought we forgot? The Valteris don't forget a princess's birthday." Vincenzo said with a smile.

"We had to wait until the dust cleared to throw a proper party," Ella cheered, waving a glass of sparkling cider in the air. "Now make a wish and blow out the candles!" she said.

I looked around the room, at my dad's proud face, at Jax standing near the back with a respectful smile, at grandmother nodding approvingly, and at Dario, who was standing right behind me, his hand resting warm and solid on the small of my back.

"I don't need to make a wish," I said softly, looking at the family gathered around me. "I've already got everything I ever wanted."

I stepped up to the table, took a deep breath, and blew out all nineteen candles at once, as the room broke into cheers and laughter. The darkness of the past was gone. Our future was just beginning.

The morning after the birthday party, the estate felt quieter than usual, like everyone was sleeping off the late night. I sat at the breakfast island in the main kitchen, wrapped in a long dark cardigan, cradling a mug of warm herbal tea. The sun was just peeking over the treeline. I was three sips in when heavy, rapid footsteps clattered down the grand hallway.

Dad rounded the corner carrying two massive duffel bags, a hard-shell tactical briefcase tucked under his arm, and a look on his face like he was deploying to a war zone. Behind him walked two of his personal guys, carrying three more heavy trunks.

I set my mug down, staring at him. "Dad? What are you doing?"

He dropped the duffel bags onto the floor with a loud thud that shook the island. He didn't even look tired. His sharp eyes locked onto me, immediately doing a full scan from my head down to my slippers to check for any sign of discomfort.

"I'm moving in," Dad announced flatly, like he was telling me the weather. "The east wing guest suite on this floor. The one with direct line-of-sight to your bedroom stairs."

I blinked, processing the scene. "You're... moving in? Dad, you have your own house and a corporation to run in the south."

"That was before my daughter got pregnant with a Valteri heir," Dad said, taking a step closer and placing a warm, heavy hand on my shoulder. "You think I'm staying in the south hundred of miles away while you're carrying my grandchild? Absolutely not. Dario is a good fighter, Jax is a good coordinator, but neither of them is your father. I'm taking personal charge of the inner perimeter." Dad said.

Before I could even formulate a proper response, the kitchen door swung open and Dario walked in. He had a grey hoodie on, his hair slightly messier than usual, holding a tablet displaying morning security logs. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking at the mountain of luggage piled near the island, then up at my dad.

"Pedro," Dario said, raising an eyebrow. "Are we being raided, or are you opening a hotel?"

"I'm living here now, Valteri," Dad replied, unbothered, pulling a chair out and sitting down. "I've already re-assigned two of my top marksmen to the south roof line. Your current rotation leaves a four-second gap during guard shifts. Unacceptable." Dad said.

Dario stood there for a second, his jaw clenching slightly as his own possessive, protective instincts clashed with my dad's paranoid mafia authority. For a moment, I thought they were going to get into a full-blown standoff right over the coffee pot.

Instead, Dario took a slow breath, closed his eyes briefly, then walked over to the counter, and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Fine. But my team keeps the primary access codes for the master suite. You stay in the east wing."

"Agreed," Dad said deadpan. "Now, where are the eggs? My daughter needs protein."

I buried my face in my hands, letting out a quiet huff. "I'm five minutes pregnant, Dad. The baby is the size of a poppy seed."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify