All Chapters of Second Chance Christmas : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

58 Chapters

Birthday Eve

JuliaI groaned at the sound of my alarm clock, burying my head into my pillow to muffle the incessant ringing. After what felt like an agonising two minutes, I sat up on my bed, reaching for the alarm clock on my nightstand and turning it off.Exhaled a slow breath, running my fingers through my bedhead. It was 8 am already by the display on the LED clock, and I scrambled out of bed at the realisation.The next few hours were used to get the twins ready for the day and make breakfast after. I'd already gotten a text from Farid that morning about the time his chauffeur would arrive to pick us up. Although he still insisted on keeping where we were going a secret because he apparently had a surprise planned for us.It was quiet on the breakfast table save for the sound of cutleries scraping against the ceramic dishes.“Why isn't Daddy here yet?” Olivia asked, pushing aside a piece of broccoli on her plate, and I sighed softly; they still had no idea about the fact that Ryan wasn't comi

Fatherly Instincts

RyanI walked out of the guest bedroom as early as 5 a.m., walking into Damon's kitchen to brew myself a cup of coffee. I grabbed the mug and walked towards the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the view of the city and the rising sun.As I sipped on the coffee, my mind wandered to the twins and Julia. It was Christmas Eve, and I knew I should be spending time with my family, but I couldn't, not when everything I'd worked hard for was falling apart at its seams and I had a chance to set it right.I turned around at the sound of a door opening down the hallway, and Damon walked into the living room a minute later. His eyes seemed bloodshot, almost like he hadn't slept a wink, probably too paranoid that Maya was going to try and escape. I don't blame him, though.“You look like shit,” I muttered, and he sniggered, “Thanks, so do you,” he murmured in response, slipping into the kitchen probably to get himself a cup of coffee.Damon walked out sometime later with an identical mug in hi

Hidden Truths

Ryan“W—what? H—how?" I stuttered, my questions tumbling out in a jumbled mess as I stared transfixed at the child who could pass up a Lucien's twin if that were actually possible.The similarities were uncanny, but I'd spend an ample amount of time with Lucien to spot the difference between the two.“Do you believe me now?” she asked, raising a perfectly arched brow, daring me to challenge her, but I was still in shock, staring at the boy who was staring back with a confused frown.“You can go play,” Kathryn murmured to him, and he grinned enthusiastically.“Come on, Lucky!” he giggled in excitement, taking off with the small dog in tow, its tail wagging excitedly.“Be careful!” she yelled after him, but if he heard her warning, he'd made no indication of it.“What the hell is this, Kathryn?” I seethed, already fed up with her constant schemes, and she met my gaze nonchalantly, her small smile almost too smug about being right all along, but I'd be damned if I believed a word she had

DNA and Deception

RyanKathryn rose to her feet when she saw us approaching. Adrien was by her side, and he seemed to be in a bubble of his own, petting the dog and giggling. I could tell that he loved that dog.“This is the child?” Lewis asked, and I nodded. Alright, I'm going to need you both to come with me,” he said, gesturing down the hallway as he walked ahead while I motioned for Kathryn to wait there while we went.She nodded and turned to Adrien, running her fingers through his hair to get his attention; that's when he looked up at me with my gaze briefly before looking back at Kathryn with a frown.“You have to go with him,” she said to him, and his frown deepened.“But why are we here, Mama?” he asked, and Kathryn sighed, murmuring a slow response, ”Don't ask too many questions; be a good boy and go with him.” His lips began to wobble as tears filled his eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, evidently fed up with dealing with the boy.“Don't cry, buddy; your mother will stil

A Day of Mixed Emotions

JuliaThere was an awkward stretch of silence after Lucien spoke. My eyes drifted to him, already seated and looking out the window like he hadn't just said the most outlandish thing ever.Farid cleared his throat, dousing the flames of the awkward atmosphere. My gaze snapped to his, and I mustered a friendly smile, choosing not to comment on what my son had just said.“Come, come, have a seat; we're about to take off,” he said, pointing to the seat beside Lucien's, and I nodded, taking Olivia's hand and helping her onto it before securing her seatbelt and doing the same for Lucien.I slipped into the seat opposite the twins', which was separated by a table of some sort that had some magazines on it. Farid slipped into the seat adjacent to ours without another word.'Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome on board G23471 for our flight to New Jersey. My name is Captain Feller, and I'll be your pilot today.My eyes grew wide from the captain's announcement blaring through the speak

unraveling truths

JuliaThe flight back to Manhattan was awkward, but I was glad it was short, and as though he knew I was no longer comfortable in his presence, he had his chauffeur drop us home.“Thanks for today, Farid,” I murmured, mustering a faint smile, and he nodded.“It was my pleasure, Habibti,” he responded with an indecipherable expression on his face. I turned and slipped into the car, where the twins were already seated without another word.When the driver pulled into the driveway of our home, I scoffed when I saw Ryan's car parked in the driveway. Without a word, I thanked the driver, who bowed softly in response and took the kids in with me.The aroma of freshly homemade food clouded my senses the moment I walked in. I paused by the doorway while the kids ran in excitedly to see their father.I dropped my keys into the bowl by the entrance and took slow steps into the house. The sweet aroma was coming from the kitchen, and I followed it without a second thought.I walked in slowly to s

Dinner with Disaster

JuliaMy bedroom door was pushed open rather roughly, and I snapped out of my trance, my gaze zeroing in on Olivia and Lucien, who stood by the door, staring wide-eyed from me to Ryan, whose back had gone pin straight as he sat up."What's taking so long, Mommy?" Olivia grumbled, tilting her head to the side, and I chuckled nervously, rising from my seated position and walking towards them at the threshold."I'm here now; your daddy and I were just talking," I shrugged, but I could feel Lucien's gaze penetrating the side of my head, which I chose to ignore completely."Sure you were," Lucien muttered underneath his breath, but I heard it, a mischievous grin painting his lips."Can we go open the presents now?" Olivia asked, snatching hold of my hand and looking up at me with puppy dog eyes."Presents?" I echoed, my brows furrowing in confusion at her question."Yes, Santa came early, actually, because it's the twins sixth birthday tomorrow," Ryan explained, rising from his seated posi

Electric Touch

JuliaI slipped out of bed in the early hours of the morning of Christmas, rummaging through my closet in search of the wrapped presents I'd stashed there weeks back for the twins' birthday.Knowing how nosy and keen the little devils could be, I hid them just in case they decided to go through my things, which they did more often than not. I still wasn't sure what it was they were always going looking for yet.I carried a few boxes in hand, tiptoeing down across the hallway and biting down on my lips so hard I almost broke skin.My steps were light and concise until I passed by the twins bedroom. Reaching the top of the stairs, I breathed a sigh of relief and continued down. When I walked into the living room, I paused at the sight of Ryan munching on the cookies we'd left out for Santa and making a shoe print with what looked like flour.“You're up early,” I chirped, and he whipped his head back to look at me, blinking in surprise at my presence.“I could say the same for you,” he m

Sparkling Moments

JuliaThe light pitter patter of footfalls drew my attention away from Ryan's, and I smiled knowing the twins were already up.“Go on, I'll clean this up,” he muttered, shooing me out of the kitchen while he proceeded to clean up the mess on the floor.I walked into the living room just in time to see Lucien ripping through one of the many wrapped presents, and I chuckled.“Mommy, look, Santa ate all the cookies,” Olivia squealed in excitement, tugging at the sleeve of my pyjamas. I crouched down to her level, grinning as my gaze followed the empty dish that still held some crumbs of cookies.“Oooh, that means he must have loved the cookies we made,” I murmured in agreement, and she nodded, but her lips turned down into a small frown.“I don't think Santa liked the milk very much,” she muttered in disappointment, pointing at the untouched glass of milk, and I sucked my teeth, glancing briefly towards the entrance of the kitchen where I knew Ryan was.Ryan was lactose intolerant, but t

Merry Christmas, Indeed

RyanChristmas with my family was better than I could have ever imagined. The look on the twins faces as they unwrapped gifts after gifts gave me more satisfaction than any other thing, but what crowned it all was Julia.I was transfixed by her and hadn't even meant to tease her, but the sight of the redness crawling up her cheek made me want to actually tease her just to see her reaction.There was a comfortable silence between us as Olivia's favourite melody, a soft piano piece, played in the background while I helped set the table and she stood across from me, placing the bowls of dishes on the dinner table.I frowned in concern when I noticed her movements that seemed jittery from nervousness. She'd flip her wrist several times in a row, seemingly staring at the time and then rearranging the cutleries over and over again.Looking at the time, I realised that Julia's parents would probably soon arrive for dinner. She tried reaching for the fork she'd arranged neatly not even a seco

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