CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Luther didn't have a place to stay, so Melanie had offered him a room for the time being. Instead of a hotel, he could as well live at the residence for a few days.

Seeing him talk with the pups from afar and, little by little, getting along, she hadn't had the heart to take them away. They were related, after all. She just hoped her son and Lara wouldn't be unhappy to hear about it in the morning.

She needed a few minutes to realise it was the first time the pups met someone from their mother's family. Even their biological grandparents didn't know - didn't want to know - about them. For them, family meant Lara and, lately, Nate and his family.

They could scent their relationship with that new person, but it was so new that the twins were as calm as not to wreak havoc.

«So, you two love ice cream just as much as I do,» he was saying. «It must mean we're destined to be friends.»

«Which one do you like more, grandpa Luther?» Scarlet asked. «I like chocolate and strawberry. And also cream and that one with cookies. And... Oof,» she sighed. She couldn't remember what other one she liked.

«I love those too,» Luther agreed. «And you, Jaden?»

«I like them all,» he said simply.

He would have a different taste every time. He was almost done trying them all, and he would soon have enough information to decide which one was his favourite. But, until then, he wouldn't make any decision.

Luther nodded, taking the little boy's words seriously. Somehow, the twins reminded him of Robert more and more every second they spent together. How could they take so much from their grandfather and nothing from their grandmother? What kind of bad luck was that?

He patted Jaden's head and winced when the boy beamed. Why were they happy to meet him? He was just a stranger!

«Do they do this with everyone?» he inquired, turning to Melanie.

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Melanie shook her head. The pups she knew were shy and wary, never approaching anyone they didn't deem interesting.

They had first ensured their grandmother wasn't interested in their mommy before accepting her. The same had happened with Samantha.

Yet, with Luther, there was no inquiry. No suspicions.

Was it because of the blood link?

«What do you think about having a snack?» she said, but they ignored her. All three of them.

There was something weird going on. She just hoped it wouldn't get out of her control. She should have sent Luther away for the night when Nate asked to keep the pups.

«I see,» Luther said, turning to her. «This little girl is so calm. I can see her grow up into a fine lady, right? And the boy will be as smart as his father.»

She sighed. She could agree about Jaden, but Scarlet... calm? It was difficult to imagine. However, the little girl was very, very reserved. Was she shy?

Or was it all a way to mimic her mother?

Were they acting so well-behaved just because that man slightly reminded them of their mommy?

«What are you going to do?» she asked him, out of the blue. «Will you take revenge?»

She had to protect her family if that was the case. Even against Luther, her husband's best friend. She couldn't allow him to use Lara and the pups for his purposes.

«Revenge?» he chuckled. «No, no revenge.»

She sighed, relieved he was at least hiding it. It wasn't enough to believe him, but he wouldn't dare do anything to the twins while she was watching if he didn't want her to know of his intentions.

«I'll just take back what is rightfully mine,» he finished. «Everything.»

And, behind that everything, there was so much that he couldn't describe it. He didn't just lose his home, his company. He also had to watch his best years pass by. He lost twenty years, and he was already an old grandpa, now that he could walk free and do stuff.

No one could give him back what he lost, he knew it. But he was planning on getting some kind of compensation. And justice.

«Why do I have to suffer alone, lose everything and waste my years while they are happier than ever?» he said out loud.

He didn't want to hide anything from Melanie. He didn't want to, and he couldn't. She was one of his weak spots, had always been. Hearing about Robert's death was one of his worst pains in prison.

But then, several years later, he was out and free to woo his wife. He didn't have to hold back because of his friend, and he was sure that Robert, from the other side, wasn't going to haunt him.

He had been quite possessive in life, Luther recalled, but death must change people.

He didn't have much more to live, after all. He was old. It was late to build a family or start anew with his business ideas. But he was perfectly in time to spend those last years with the person he had secretly loved forever.

So, he sighed, he was already so busy. He had to court a woman, get back his company... And there were two adorable children in his family he knew nothing of!

It changed quite a bit the situation he was imagining. Had Lara taken the chance when Nathaniel Woods was suffering because of his father's death? How could those two end up together?

And the kids! So damn cute! And they had proper tastes when it came to ice cream. With those big eyes reminding him of his niece, he couldn't imagine a world where he would hurt them.

But children tend to forget, he recalled. He had been close to Lara as well, back in the days. He had loved her so much since she was born, yet she had forgotten him. She had never visited, and she continued her life as if he had never existed. She was just like her mother, ready to forget about someone as soon as they weren't useful anymore.

He just hoped the Woods wouldn't fall prey to those women's evil nature.