The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 173: Brother on duty

After waiting for what felt like forever, it was finally the day of Sophie’s christening.

Avery hadn’t slept much the night before, too excited for her mind to settle down. She went to the nursery to check on Sophie and clean her up, but Angel was already there.

"Hey, brother-on-duty?" She teased.

Angel’s focus was on the tiny dresses he had spread out on the rocking chair and couch, which he was looking at with rapt attention.

He turned briefly to greet his mother and returned to what he was doing.

She peeked at the baby and seeing that she was still asleep, went over to hug Angel. "Why are you up so early, baby?"

He wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled away fast, saying, "Mom, I’m not a baby anymore. I’m a big brother."

She didn’t see the rush of emotions coming and couldn’t stop it in time. Her son was as tyrannical as ever, but he was also growing too fast. She was caught in between wanting him to be little forever so she would pamper him for longer and wanting him to grow up.

For now, she decided to savor the moment. It was already bad enough that he spent a chunk of his day in school and she only got to spend mornings and nights with him. She tousled his hair. "Alright, Angel. You do know you can still be a brother even if I call you ’Baby’, right?"

He nodded.

"Are you picking out a dress for Sophie’s christening?" She asked the obvious.

The boy returned to his clothes’ selection and finally chose a white dress, deep purple stockings, and a bow of the same color. The bow was cute but Sophie wouldn’t have it on. She was still quite young and didn’t have much hair on her head, so a bow would look out of place.

Angel seemed to think of this too. He ran out of the room and returned with a pair of scissors and glue—he was allowed to use them under an adult’s supervision. He cut out the band holding the bow and glued the bow to the bodice of the purple dress. When he was done, he flaunted the finished product to his mother.

Avery, who had been watching curiously, smiled. "We have a fashion designer in the family. I don’t have to worry about not being in style."

Not that she had ever had to worry about that. At first, Angel only ever experimented with a few colors and styles, but now his taste was advancing the older he grew.

He scoffed at her remark and returned to the crib to watch his sister sleep. Soon, Aubrey who had just woken up ran into the nursery in her pajamas and joined Angel She hated to interrupt them.

"You two need to get ready soon. We have barely two hours to get to the venue."

While that sounded like a lot of time, the children usually took long dressing up and having their breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast... "Wait until you’ve had your breakfast to dress up, alright?"

"Yes, mom." They nodded and rushed out.

She smiled as they left. She didn’t know when Aubrey started calling her ’Mom’. It must have come so naturally that she didn’t even realize it, but it warmed her heart every time. At some point, Angel did the same and the ’mommy phase’ was long gone.

A while later, everyone went downstairs and was ready to go—except the kids.

Avery was just about to ask the nanny about them when she noticed them at the top of the staircase, Aubrey in a long, white dress and a purple bow in her hair. With her purple mesh gloves, she looked like a little princess.

Beside her, Angel was in a black suit with a purple tie and pocket square. So this was the signature look for the day, she thought.

When they got close to her, she smiled. "Too bad I don’t have anything purple to match the theme."

Angel tilted his head. "You and Dad are in blue."

"That’s true."

____

At the cathedral, Avery nervously glanced at the door every few minutes, prompting Damon to tap her shoulder.

"What are you waiting for?" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Nothing." She lied. "Hey, did Gabe tell you anything today?"

"He wouldn’t miss his niece’s christening for the world." He reminded her, knowing exactly what she was nervous about. "You’re waiting for Mina, aren’t you?"

She didn’t deny it.

But while they were on the topic, she asked, "What do you think? Should I try to help them make up?"

Before he could respond, Sophie stirred in her mother’s arms and cried. He instinctively reached for her. As soon as he held her, she stopped crying and settled back down to sleep. Avery rolled her eyes. "Daddy’s princess."

That was one of the most favorite things, he couldn’t deny it. He was grinning ear to ear when he resumed their previous topic while rocking the fussy baby.

"My opinion is quite biased, to be honest. Getting you back is the best thing that has ever happened. Because I became a father." He leaned in and lowered her voice. "And if you’re up for it, I would like to knock you up again soon."

She swatted him off. "Sophie isn’t even half a year old." Besides, "When did this turn into sex?"

"I didn’t say a word about sex." He denied it, but his grin told her it was exactly what he was thinking about. Besides, what else could he be talking about when it came to baby-making?

Ignoring him, she thought about what he had said about meeting Angel and becoming a happy father. That was the thing. The situation was more similar than he knew—she had not told him about Mina and Gabe’s son, deciding it was not up to her to tell anyone.

He was right. Gabe would probably be the happiest man in the world when he learned he was a father.

She was still thinking about it when she finally saw the woman she had not seen in what felt like forever. She rushed over to her and pulled Mina into a hug.

The women hugged for a long time, neither saying a word. They didn’t need to say anything, they both understood what the other felt. It had been way too long.

Avery wanted to ask if she was back to stay but figured it was too soon to shake that tree. She would let Mina talk about it on her own.

But again, Mina hadn’t brought her son. She hoped that was not an indication of anything.

Mina was the first to speak. "Where’s that lovely little girl?" in a lower voice, she added, "Are cousins allowed to marry in Olphire? Oh wait. Technically, they are not biological cousins, right?"

Avery playfully slapped her shoulder. "Don’t you dare."

Mina laughed.

"She’s over there." Avery thumbed in Damon’s direction. "I’m going to greet the guests, be right back."

Mina walked over to Damon, curious to finally meet the princess who had stolen everyone’s heart. It was only when she reached the spot Avery had pointed out that she realized he had handed the little princess to someone else, who was now rocking her with his back facing her.

"Hello, do you mind if I hold..." she was halfway through speaking when her brain finally caught up with her eyes. She wished she could bolt out of there but he had already turned and was looking at her like he’d seen a ghost.

"Gabe?"

He swallowed, not believing who he was seeing before him. "Whilelmina Romano."