Everything passes, but nothing has
Ian talked to Adam every day by video call after he got home from school. At first, they were alone, so that Ian could call Adam his father without confusing his brothers' minds. Ian agreed that when they were old enough to understand, they would tell him their secret.
After a few months of this routine, Anna began to take part in their conversations. Adam could see her as a friend, although he couldn't forget that she was the love of his life. The two became friends over time.
Sometimes he called Naya. The night they spent together wasn't enough, and even after she got married, he continued to frequent her bed, only stopping when she announced her pregnancy.
When the child was born, Adam went to visit her in the hope that it was his son, but the girl had all Naya's features and the shape of her face was identical to her father's. He left disappointed. He left disappointed.
Of course, Naya didn't have to get married. He gave her the oil company and she was a millionaire, but she accepted her husband to honor her father. The man was from her tribe, and Adam never felt bad about manipulating the werewolf's wishes to get him out of the house when he wanted to lie with Naya. He still couldn't forgive Anna for stopping him from getting married. But he wouldn't be happy with Naya, because every time he looked at her, he would remember Anna's passionate and possessive gaze. It was for the best.
Ian began to spend the vacations every year with his father in the United States, and Adam also visited them in Ireland occasionally.
He and Maxwell treated each other with impassive cordiality in front of the children, leaving their friendship and unbreakable love for the secret. Adam always stayed at the family mansion.
When the children found out that Adam was Ian's father, they began to call him Papa Adam and loved to join in the conversations between him and Ian.
On these occasions, Anna's father and Adam's mothers also stayed there, so that they could be closer to their children, and they felt complete that way. Anna's father had two more children with Jenna, and they often came to visit Anna and her grandchildren. He treated everyone equally. And at Anna's request, he withdrew from the business, putting someone else in charge until Ian was old enough to lead it.
Tayme came to spend the vacations at home, too, but every year she seemed more and more anxious to go back to school, and at the age of thirteen, she no longer wanted to spend the vacations with her family. Instead, she secretly went to the United States to stay with Ian at Adam's house.
She decided that when Ian took over the business from his uncle and grandfather, she would tell him everything she knew. Everything she had seen in her childhood. Because she was sure that her mother just wasn't aware that Camille was still her father's and grandfather's mistress, because she didn't try to find out.
And so Tayme felt closer to Adam than to Maxwell. And she considered Ian to be her best friend and brother. The brother she knew was capable of keeping her secret and helping her in complicated situations.
And then there was Adam. He was her uncle, but she loved him as if he were her father, and he seemed to have the same feelings for her. He gave her a room in his mansion and let her furnish it in her own way.
Of course, she changed the decorations every year, because as she grew older, her tastes changed. When she turned fifteen, she was forced to return home. Her parents wanted her to have a ball fit for a princess, so her brothers were dressed in tuxedos and she danced with all of them.
Tayme felt less apprehensive when she saw that Adam had been invited. And although she didn't believe he could, it was a happy and perfect day. There were three cakes on the cake table. One of them, pink, in the middle, between two blue cakes.
Ryan appeared, and she knew she had to ignore what she had felt for him since childhood. Neither Adam nor her parents would ever accept a romance between them. But it was hard to ignore when he approached her and asked to dance with her.
She thought about refusing, but decided that it would be her fifteenth birthday present. And that day, Ryan began to be more present in her life. Her birthday seemed to come alive, and she forgot all her problems and dilemmas. That day was made for celebrating. That's what she thought. Until she saw her mother's eyes meet her uncle's. Tayme knew. They still loved each other. Their love didn't end with the wedding between her mother and father. It just paused. Tayme stopped dancing.
"Why the worried look, Tayme. You've only just turned fifteen. You're still too young to worry about anything."
Tayme looked at Ryan.
"Do you think I'm shallow and empty, like girls my age?"
"I would never describe you like that."
"Tell me how you imagine me, please?"
"You've always been the smart daughter. Your brothers... I never stopped to watch them."
"But you stopped to watch me."
He smiled reassuringly.
"Yes. I did."
"Why?"
"Because when you were only three, you asked me to preserve my youthful appearance. You said you would marry me."
"And you accepted the proposal?"
He smiled, but didn't answer.
"You should be braver, Ryan. I'm not going to wait for you forever." She said and walked away.
Ian approached her.
"I thought he'd kiss you."
"He's a coward."
Ian looked lovingly at his sister.
"Is he afraid of you or my parents? You're not old enough to be kissed, Tayme. Ryan's not a coward, he's clever. He's waiting for you to grow up."
Tayme punched Ian in the shoulder.
"I'm almost your size... When I wear 12-centimeter heels." She added uneasily and they both laughed.
"I bought you a present..."
"Where is it?"
Ian took a key out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"You didn't buy the..."
"...Ford F-Series."
Tayme hugged Ian.
"Have I told you that I love you?"
"Not today."
Tayme wanted to go out and drive her car, but her father wouldn't let her.
Everyone in the family wanted to take photos with the triplets. And his mother, always showing all the joy she felt when she was home, and his father, sadness that she was away. But she consoled him, saying that she was happy that way and loved him too much. It wasn't a lie. She loved her father. But she would never forgive him for punishing her for the crime he had committed.
In the shadows, Dester looked with hatred at the happy families, and joining the witches, he planned an attack that would destroy the whole family forever. He spat into the jug of wine on a nearby table and left the same way he came in. Without anyone noticing.
And so the years went by...