Her Return, His Regret

Miles Kingsley froze.

He turned to look at the source of the voice and his eyes widened when he saw a small adorable figure running towards him.

"Grandpa!" The little girl wrapped her arms around Miles' legs and looked up. "You're Daddy's Daddy, right? You look alike and you look like Ethan too."

Miles' heart skipped a beat. He looked down at the little girl and then looked up at the woman who was approaching while holding the hand of a little boy who looked so much like Ryan. "This..."

Miles was bereft of any words.

He turned to look at Ryan, a questioning look on his face.

"What's going on, son? Are these your children?" Miles asked.

Ryan nodded and replied, "Yes, Dad. This is Ella and this is Ethan. Not only is Larisa alive, but she also gave me two beautiful children."

Miles glanced at the two children, his eyes watering with tears. He said, "So, I'm a grandfather... and I'm the last person to know that my son has children?"

"Miles, it's not really easy to tell you anything when you have a viper whispering in your ears," Charles remarked, his eyebrows furrowing.

Miles looked at his father and snapped, "Father, you've always been unwelcoming towards Celeste. She's a good woman. You would see that if you only gave her a chance... knowing you guys didn't tell me about my grandchildren just because of my wife makes me feel so sad..."

He turned to look at Ryan and uttered, "I'm your father, Ryan."

"Yes, you are, Dad... but-" Ryan wanted to ask Miles if he had really been acting like a father all these years.

However, he held himself back because of the kids. He sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Dad. I should have told you when I found out about them."

Miles glanced at Charles and gave him an accusatory look. "Father, you should have told me. I don't like how you three have isolated yourselves from me just because I married someone you don't like. But you have to accept Celeste because she's been nothing but nice to everyone. She doesn't deserve this kind of treatment."

He looked down at the little girl hugging his legs and smiled before carrying her in his arms. "Hey you... I'm your grandpa!"

Ella giggled and replied, "Yes, I have two grandpas and one big grandpa. Our family is so big!"

Ethan came closer and said politely, "Hello, Grandpa, nice to meet you."

Miles smiled, his heart feeling full when he looked at Ethan. Indeed, the boy had inherited the Kingsleys' facial genes.

"Hello, young man! Nice to meet you!" Miles smiled and stretched his hand.

Ethan smiled and rushed towards Miles before the latter hugged him too.

"Grandpa, are you angry at Daddy? He didn't mean to hide us. It was a surprise!" Ella proclaimed and Miles chuckled.

"I guess it's a good surprise. I'm so happy to know that I have two grandchildren! Let's go in-"

"Wait!" Diane suddenly squealed. "That's not fair, old man. I haven't met the twins yet... how can you hug them alone without giving me a chance?"Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

Miles looked at his daughter and his heart clenched. How long had it been since Diane called him that?

He didn't know when it happened, but it seemed their perfect family had fallen apart over the years.

"You can have your turn... but they will be with me when we go inside," Miles replied.

Diane excitedly came closer and introduced herself to the twins. "Hi there, little ones. My name is Diane and I'm your favorite aunty!"

"Hi, Aunty Diane!" The kids said in unison and Diane's heart melted.

She took Ella from her father before squeezing her in a hug.

"Oh, I couldn't wait to meet you, my cupcakes. I'll spoil you rotten!" Diane exclaimed. After hugging Ella, she put her down before carrying Ethan in her arms who seemed to protest. "Aunty, I'm a big boy. You don't have to carry me."

"Nonsense, you can never be too big for your aunty," Diane replied before squeezing Ethan in a warm hug.

When they were done with the greetings and introductions, the family went into the mansion.

"Where's Celeste and Isabella?" Ryan asked, noticing that they were not around. No wonder no one was passing annoying comments since they arrived.

"I have no idea... they said they were meeting a relative in town and they would take long to return," Miles replied and Ryan arched an eyebrow.

"And you don't have a problem with that? Why didn't that relative come to the mansion? It's not like you've stopped Celeste from bringing her relatives here," he asked.

"Well," Miles frowned. "Perhaps they wanted to have privacy. They would have stayed home if they had known that they would meet the newest additions to our family." Silence fell upon the place as they settled in the living room.

Miles sat with the twins on a big couch. He looked at them before saying, "I can't believe I'm a grandfather. Ryan, your mother would have been so happy if she were still alive. You should take the kids to see her."

Ryan lowered his eyes as sadness crept into him. Indeed, his mother would have been the proudest had she still been alive.

"Where's grandma?" Ella asked, her eyes looking around.

Ryan smiled and replied, "She's in heaven but I'll take you to see her where she's resting so that she meets you and Ethan."

The family continued to chat about this and that while Miles entertained himself with the kids.

Lora approached Ryan and whispered, "I didn't expect your father to be so welcoming... he always seemed so aloof in the past."

"That's because that witch is not

around... when she's near, there's this heaviness that surrounds Dad and he becomes unapproachable. today is One of the rare moments where you get to see him smile at us. When Celeste is around, he always finds faults with us," Ryan responded, anger flaring through him at the thought of his

stepmother.

"Perhaps all you need is alone time with him... talk to him and tell him what's in your heart and mind. You should fix your relationship before it's too late," Lora suggested.

Ryan glanced at Miles who was

happily playing with the kids and a

small smile graced his lips. He

always wanted to get along with his

father but how? Celeste was always around to make sure they were always at odds.

Sighing, he replied, "You're right. He's my father... I have to work on our relationship. I don't want to regret losing another loved one again."