REBORN My Second Life I Became The Villianess (Nyxara) novel Chapter 142

Epilogue

Two years goes by faster than you think when nobody is trying to scheme against you.

I was sitting on the wide wooden porch outside our back doors, holding a mug of cold iced coffee and watching Aria chase a yellow rubber duck across the green lawn. She was two years old now, all bouncy dark curls and unstoppable energy, wearing a bright pink shirt and little white sneakers that were already covered in grass stains.

A few feet away, Dario was sitting on the grass cross-legged, looking ridiculous in his usual sharp black button-down shirt and dress shoes while holding a tiny plastic tea cup. He had a pink tiara balanced on top of his hair, a gift from Aria’s morning tea party and he was playing along with seriousness. He leant that a very long time ago to never turn down a tea party, so did everyone in this house.

"More tea, Daddy," Aria demanded, holding out an empty plastic pitcher with a gap-toothed grin.

Dario took the pitcher, his broad shoulders shifting as he filled her tiny cup, keeping his eyes locked on her with that fierce devotion that never went away. "Thank you, princess. Excellent brew," he replied in his deep, serious voice.

I couldn't help laughing, leaning my head back against the pillar. If you told the nineteen-year-old version of me from my past life, the one trying to survive Nysa’s and Caroline’s traps, that in another life I'd be watching a terrifying CEO wearing a plastic tiara on a sunny lawn, I would have laughed in your face.

But here we were, the past and our past life was ancient history, our life was quiet, normal, and ours. Dad and Uncle Pascal had headed back South yesterday. It's not like they could permanently stay here, but they spent a majority of their time here with us. The house was away in an uproar. At least once a week, Dario would get into an argument with either Grandmother or Grandfather about the stuff they bought for Aria.

Elena, Vincenzo and Ella were no exception either. Sometimes Carlton would buy ridiculous stuff for her. All in all the family was now calm and everyone was happy which i was surprised was what I preferred.

It’s pretty surreal looking at how everyone fits into our daily life now. If you told me a few years ago that this big, chaotic mix of people would be living under one roof, laughing over morning coffee and fighting over who gets to hold a toddler, I’d have thought you were insane.

The Valteri house is always full. Dario’s grandparents practically built their entire daily routine around Aria. His grandmother makes her little warm treats every morning, and his grandfather, who used to be all about strict business and cold power, literally spends his afternoons on the rug letting her stick colorful toy barrettes into his gray hair. Elena, Bianca and Ella are constantly spoiling her, buying her ridiculous little outfits, while Bianca acts like her personal bodyguard whenever they’re out on the lawn. They treat her like she’s the center of the universe.

Then there’s my side of the family. My dad, Pedro, and uncle Pascal handle their operations down south, so they travel back and forth a lot. They’ll spend a couple of weeks taking care of business down there, locking things down and keeping everything tight, but the second they fly back here, all that hard edge just completely melts. My dad walks through the front door, drops his bags, and goes straight to picking up his granddaughter, swinging her up on his shoulder like she weighs nothing at all. He and Uncle Pascal spend hours out on the back porch with her, just watching her run around the yard and making sure she has whatever she wants.

Even Carlton is a huge part of her life now. He still lives at his own place and runs his business , but he drops by at least three times a week. He comes over in his sharp suits, sits on the couch with a cup of tea, and reads children's books to Aria in that calm, smooth voice of his. Watching this powerful billionaire act so soft around my daughter is probably my favorite thing in the world.

Looking around the room during dinner, seeing the family all wrapped around this little girl, I know we built something real.

I stood up from the chair and walked down the steps onto the grass, stepping right up to Dario. He reached out, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close against his side, resting his chin on the top of my head.

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