Twenty

NOVARIA’S POV

It was sometime past four in the evening when I woke up.

The rain had stopped hours ago, but the mansion still carried that cold, gloomy feeling that always came after a storm.

 My body felt heavy from sleep, and my head still ached faintly from crying earlier.

As I rubbed my eyes tiredly, voices drifted upstairs from downstairs.

At first, I thought it was one of the usual business discussions the Muskegons always had with their men. But then the voices grew louder… sharper.

One voice in particular stood out.

A woman.

Curiosity slowly pushed away my sleepiness.

I slipped off the bed and quietly padded toward the hallway, my bare feet brushing against the cold marble floor. The closer I got to the staircase, the clearer the voices became.

I stopped beside the wall and carefully peeked downstairs.

My eyes widened.

A blonde-haired woman stood in the middle of the living room, glaring at Sylvester with pure fury burning in her eyes.

She was stunning.

Long golden hair cascaded over her shoulders in perfect waves, and the tight black designer dress she wore hugged every curve of her body flawlessly. Expensive white heels clicked angrily against the marble floor each time she moved. Even from upstairs, I could tell she looked like the type of woman who belonged beside wealthy, powerful men.

Behind her stood Alucard and Bruno–Sylvesters guards, both unusually tense.

And then there was Sylvester.

He looked exhausted. His jaw was clenched tightly, his sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, exposing the tattoos decorating his skin. The veins in his hands were visible from how hard he was restraining himself.

“No, you listen to me, Sylvester!” the woman snapped, pointing a finger at him. “You can’t just break up with me and pretend I never existed!”

Sylvester exhaled sharply through his nose, already looking fed up.

“Melissa,” he said coldly, “I do not want to repeat myself. We ended things over a month ago. Whatever this is…” he gestured between them “it’s over. Leave.”

Melissa laughed bitterly.

“Oh, so that’s it? You throw me away like I meant nothing to you?” Her voice echoed through the mansion.

I blinked slowly, unintentionally getting more invested in the argument. I knew I shouldn’t have been listening, but it was impossible not to.

So this was Sylvester’s ex.

The thought alone made something uncomfortable twist in my chest.

The tension downstairs became unbearable, and my headache slowly became worse. I decided it would be smarter to quietly return to my room before anyone noticed me.

But the moment I stepped away from the wall, Melissa’s eyes landed on me.

My heart nearly stopped. Her expression changed instantly.

Slowly, a mocking smile spread across her lips.

Sylvester turned around immediately, following her gaze, and the second his eyes met mine, his entire body stiffened.

Melissa let out a dry, sarcastic laugh.

“Ohhh…” she dragged out. “So this is why you dumped me.”

I froze.

She pointed directly at me.

“You replaced me with another whore?”

The word hit me like ice water. My body immediately went rigid.

I felt ashamed instantly, even though I had done nothing wrong.

“Melissa,” Sylvester growled dangerously, “watch your fucking mouth.”

But she ignored him completely.

Before I could even react, she stormed upstairs toward me..

Everything happened too fast. A painful grip suddenly tangled into my hair. I gasped loudly as she yanked me forward.

“Melissa. !” Sylvester barked.

But she dragged me down the stairs so roughly my legs almost gave out beneath me.

Pain shot through my scalp.

I squealed helplessly, trying to loosen her grip, but she only tightened it harder before finally shoving me away near the living room.

Tears instantly burned my eyes. I stared at her in complete shock.

Was this really the woman Sylvester once dated?

“Look at her!” Melissa spat angrily. “This pathetic little thing is who you replaced me with?”.

“Get her out of my sight, Alucard,” Sylvester thundered. “NOW.”

The sheer rage in his voice made everyone flinch. But for some reason… I was angry too.

Very angry.

My scalp still hurt from how hard she had pulled my hair. I stared directly at her despite the nervousness clawing at my chest.

“I’m letting this go today only because you once had something with Sylvester,” I said shakily. “But if you ever touch me again, I won’t be this nice.”

The room fell silent.

Even I couldn’t believe those words had come out of my mouth.

Melissa looked stunned for half a second before her face twisted with rage.

“How dare you…”

She raised her hand. But before it could reach me, a large hand suddenly grabbed her wrist midair.

Everyone turned sharply.

Kelvin.

He stood behind me, towering over Melissa with a terrifying expression I had never seen before. His usually gentle eyes were cold. Deadly.

“Lay a hand on her again,” he said quietly, “and I’ll kill you.”

Melissa’s face immediately drained of color.

For the first time since arriving, she looked genuinely afraid.

Kelvin shoved her arm away roughly, forcing her backward.

Sylvester released a slow breath, though his expression remained murderous.

Before anyone could move, I stepped forward.

And slapped her.

The sharp sound echoed through the room.

Melissa stared at me in disbelief, one hand against her cheek.

I rubbed my sore scalp and glared at her.

“That,” I muttered, “was for my hair.”

Even Bruno looked shocked.

Alucard quickly grabbed Melissa before she could retaliate, and together they escorted her toward the door while she continued screaming insults.

The second the door slammed shut, silence filled the mansion.

I suddenly became painfully aware of what I had just done. Embarrassment flooded me instantly.

I looked up nervously at Kelvin, expecting him to scold me. Instead, he laughed softly and ruffled my hair.

“Someone’s grumpy today,” he teased..

I huffed quietly.

“She pulled my hair first,” I muttered.

Kelvin smiled again before finally walking away toward his office, clearly amused.

Then I heard footsteps approaching me.

Sylvester.

The moment I looked at him, my confidence disappeared. I lowered my eyes immediately and started fidgeting with my fingers.

He stopped directly in front of me. For a second, neither of us spoke. Then he gently touched my shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly.

I looked up slowly. There was genuine regret in his eyes. Not anger. Not frustration. Just regret.

He crouched slightly to my level and carefully brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“I was angry earlier,” he admitted quietly. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I’m sorry, baby.”

The sincerity in his voice instantly melted the lingering sadness inside me.

I nodded softly before stepping forward and wrapping my arms around him. His body relaxed immediately as he hugged me back tightly against his chest.

I rested my head against him, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

“It’s okay, Daddy,” I whispered.

I felt him freeze slightly at the nickname before his arms tightened around me even more.

“Can we just cuddle for a while?” I asked quietly.

A small smile appeared on his lips..

“Of course, princess.”

Without hesitation, he lifted me effortlessly into his arms and carried me toward the couch.

Like always. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.

He sat down with me curled against his chest while I picked a random movie to play on the television. Truthfully, I barely paid attention to whatever was showing. I was too focused on the warmth of his arms around me. Too focused on the comforting feeling of finally being close to him again. And as he absentmindedly stroked my hair while the movie played softly in the background, I realized something that made my chest ache quietly.

I really hated being apart from him.

Even though I was just waking up from a nap, he was still making me feel sleepy, but before that, I decided to have a little conversation with him.