Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Dessert

Gregoris closed the door to his office with such care that it appeared the room might explode if he handled it incorrectly.

The monitors were still running behind him, crawling through data, peeling back encryption layers, and sending a live transfer to Damian. The work would keep grinding through the night whether Gregoris watched it or not. Ether-powered systems didn’t need sleep, and neither did empires.

But Gregoris did something rare anyway.

He stopped.

He stepped into the corridor outside his office, and the mansion immediately felt like a different world.

Gregoris took two steps, and the house rewarded him with the one sound he actually wanted.

A laugh. Small, bright, unrestrained.

Natalie.

Four years old and already dangerous because she had inherited Rafael’s gift for turning emotion into leverage and Gregoris’s complete lack of shame about enforcing boundaries like law.

“Daddy!” Natalie called, the word echoing softly down the corridor as the ether acoustics caught it and smoothed it into music.

She appeared at the far end of the hallway like a tiny missile, bare feet whispering over heated stone, hair half-tamed and cheeks flushed with energy. The mansion’s lights adjusted as she moved – ether sensors tracking her, dimming slightly behind her, brightening ahead like the house itself was making room for her chaos.

Rafael followed at a more reasonable speed, sleeves rolled, expression amused in that way that always suggested he’d lost a negotiation and decided to enjoy it.

“Natalie, slow down,” Rafael called, laughter in his voice. “Your father is not a wall. You can’t just…”

Natalie did not slow down.

Gregoris braced automatically, arms ready before his expression changed. His body was faster than his face, always had been.

Natalie launched herself.

Gregoris caught her in one smooth motion and lifted her easily, settling her on his hip like she weighed nothing. Like he hadn’t spent the last hour staring at data and threats and politics. Like this was the only impact worth preparing for.

Natalie wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed with complete confidence.

Gregoris’ hand splayed across her back, firm and secure, the grip of someone who would not let go of what he was protecting.

His expression remained, technically, neutral.

His eyes gave him away.

“You ran,” he said, voice flat.

Natalie nodded enthusiastically against his shoulder. “Yes.”

“That was reckless,” Gregoris said.

Natalie pulled back just enough to look at him, unbothered. “I missed you.”

Gregoris stared at her for a beat, like the answer required a language he didn’t speak fluently.

Then he adjusted her higher on his hip and said, “Acceptable.”

Natalie beamed, victorious.

Rafael reached them and leaned lightly against the wall, watching the scene like it was his favorite kind of luxury. He smelled faintly of expensive citrus soap and something warm from the kitchen – Rafael’s definition of domesticity always included good taste and staff who adored him.

“You see?” Rafael said brightly. “She’s improving. Last time she tackled you, she headbutted your collarbone.”

Natalie’s eyes widened with delight. “That was an accident!”

Gregoris looked at Rafael. “It was a calculated assault.”

Rafael’s grin widened. “It was love.”

Gregoris’s gaze slid back to Natalie. “Did you eat?”

Natalie blinked, then nodded vigorously. “Yes.”

Rafael cleared his throat, still smiling. “She ate. She also attempted to negotiate dessert as a constitutional right.”

Natalie lifted her chin. “It should be.”

Gregoris made a thoughtful sound, as if weighing legislation. “We’ll review the proposal.”

Natalie gasped. “Really?”

Gregoris’s mouth tightened, almost a smile. “No.”

Natalie laughed anyway, because she loved the ritual of being denied by a man who never denied her the things that mattered.

Rafael stepped closer, and the amusement in his face softened into something warmer as his gaze swept over Gregoris – taking in the tension he carried, the tiredness he refused to admit, and the way his shoulders were still holding the shape of battle even in his own corridor.

“How bad was it?” Rafael asked quietly.

Gregoris didn’t answer immediately.

Natalie answered for him, solemn as a judge. “Bad.”

Then she patted Gregoris’s cheek with small, serious fingers, as if she were blessing a wounded soldier back to life. “Daddy needs snacks.”

Gregoris blinked once.

Rafael’s smile softened, dangerous in its own way; the kind of gentleness that could transform into absolute authority in two seconds flat. “She’s right,” he said. “You need food.”

“I don’t…” Gregoris started.

Natalie tightened her arms around his neck, cutting him off with the simple tyranny of certainty. “Yes, you do,” she declared, then added with ruthless generosity, “and you can share the dessert if you don’t need it.”

Gregoris went very still.

Rafael made a quiet, pleased sound, like he’d just witnessed an heir deliver a flawless political speech. “That,” he said, voice warm with pride, “was brilliant.”

Natalie’s eyes widened, delighted at the praise. “I’m helpful.”

“You’re terrifying,” Gregoris muttered.

Natalie beamed. “Thank you.”

Gregoris adjusted her higher on his hip, as if repositioning her might also reposition the entire negotiation. It didn’t.

Rafael walked alongside them, hands loosely clasped behind his back, looking far too entertained by this for a man who should have been helping.

“You realize,” Gregoris said flatly, “you’re encouraging her.”

Rafael’s smile stayed bright. “I’m raising her correctly.”

“She’s four.”

“She’s four and already understands leverage,” Rafael replied serenely. “That’s called education.”

Gregoris’s eyes narrowed. “It’s called extortion.”

Natalie leaned closer to Gregoris’s ear, stage-whispering like she was sharing state secrets. “Dessert is important.”

Gregoris stared forward, expression unchanged. “I am aware.”

Rafael’s tone went softer. “Come on,” he said. “Just eat. The staff made your favorite.”

Gregoris finally gave him a long, flat look that was vaguely accusatory. “You bribed them.”

Rafael’s grin widened. “I commissioned them.”

Natalie gasped, delighted. “Commissioned!”

Gregoris sighed as if the word alone cost him energy. “Fine.”

Natalie’s arms tightened in triumph. “Good.”

Gregoris glanced at her. “This does not mean you get extra dessert.”

Natalie’s eyes went round and innocent. “I didn’t ask for extra. I asked for sharing.”

Rafael laughed softly. Gregoris’s jaw ticked.

“You are both the same,” Gregoris muttered.

Rafael leaned in just slightly, his voice bright. “You married me. This is on you.”

Gregoris didn’t respond, but he kept walking toward the living room, Natalie secure in his arms, Rafael at his side, the mansion’s ether lights warming around them as if the house itself approved of the outcome:

Gregoris would eat.

Natalie would get dessert.

And Rafael would continue weaponizing domesticity like it was diplomacy.

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