CHAPTER 484: FOUND THE ENTIRE WORLD

Dominick returned from the private airport after seeing off Gabriel and Casaio in the private jet. He went straight to find Amelie and found her in the large corridor where she stood by the open gallery, showing Noah the serene beauty of the night sky.

Noah was held securely in her arms, his tiny finger pointing at the crescent moon as he gurgled happily, mesmerized by the light.

Dominick paused, a genuine smile softening the lines of worry on his face as he watched the peaceful sight. He approached slowly, stopping a careful distance from them. Ashna, the attendant, dipped her head in a swift bow, while Amelie turned.

"Brother Nick, you returned," Amelie said, the breeze gently ruffling the edge of her long skirt.

"Yes. And Gabriel explicitly asked me to tell you this: Do not go anywhere alone, even when you are within the palace walls."

Amelie chuckled softly, her eyes holding a touch of distant sadness even as she kept a firm, protective hold on Noah. "That’s so typical of him," she murmured, finding comfort in the routine nature of his worry.

"I heard about Juniper’s family," Amelie said as she referenced the difficult subject. "Her brothers used her account to fund the Betas. Are you still interrogating them?"

"Yes, I am," Dominick confirmed, his jaw muscle twitching tightly with poorly concealed anger. "I can’t believe this was happening right around me. I never once truly saw any of their real faces." The admission was laced with professional failure and deep personal frustration.

Amelie shifted Noah slightly in her arms. "Brother Nick, about June, are you truly hoping to end things?" she asked, her tone gentle but probing. "I know she made some very terrible mistakes, but as Gabriel told me that she was an orphan, I believe something terrible must have happened for her to act like this."

"Should I carry Noah for some time since we are having this serious talk?" Dominick offered, slightly extending his arms. He saw Noah’s huge, sparkling eyes were fixed on him, seemingly fascinated by the conversation.

"Yes, why not?" Amelie agreed easily, carefully transferring the warm weight of the baby. Noah settled effortlessly into his second uncle’s arms, immediately comfortable.

"I’m your Uncle Nick, Noah," Dominick said, his face softening completely into a genuine smile for the pup. The young one simply gave him a wide, toothless smile in return before his tiny hand shot out and grabbed one of the ornate golden buttons on Dominick’s tunic, holding it fast.

"Give us some privacy," Dominick instructed Ashna. The attendant immediately bowed and quietly slipped away, leaving the gallery.

"Amelie, you’re too kind," Dominick said, watching her carefully. "I suppose Gabriel must be telling you this all the time."

"Ah, yes," Amelie murmured, her gaze distant, reflecting on her past wounds. "I forgave my family and sister. But it wasn’t easy. Because I have Noah and Gabriel, I felt I shouldn’t keep that anger in my heart." She paused, her voice tinged with regret. "Flora is still bearing her share of pain," she asserted, a clear reminder that peace hadn’t come without cost.

"You shouldn’t forgive people easily, Amelie," Dominick advised, the word forgiveness seeming like a dangerous luxury to him. As he spoke, he gently began to caress the small back of Noah.

"I am not asking you to forgive Juniper, Brother Nick," Amelie clarified, her voice softening with understanding. "Definitely, she did the worst possible things."

Dominick shook his head slowly, his gaze drifting from Noah’s sleeping face to the dark night sky. "It’s over between me and her. I don’t intend to mend my relationship with her, no matter what her past was.I loved her with all my heart. But she didn’t have trust in me, not even a bit."

He shifted the baby slightly, the motion seeming to ground his anger. "It’s not like we met just in one month and got married. We were together in a relationship for years before finally marrying each other. But Juniper chose to hide the fact that she was an orphan, taken in by the Vittileo family. Out of everyone, she should have trusted her mate. But she betrayed me, Amelie."

His expression darkened, the real core of his pain emerging. "And worse, she took pleasure in others’ pain. I saw it well with my own eyes, and I felt it." He held Amelie’s gaze. He explained the irreversible reason why Juniper and he could never be together again.

"I understand, Brother Nick," Amelie said softly, her gaze filled with empathy. "I pray to the Moon Goddess that you heal fast and find peace in your heart."

"Thank you," Dominick replied, his voice barely above a whisper. He looked down at the child resting safely in his arms, the moment lending him a rare vulnerability. "I... I never said this to Gabriel before, but I always laughed at his situation. As you know, my relationship with him wasn’t that good in the past. It only turned a lot better just after your arrival in his life."

He sighed. "I never truly understood his pain of not being able to find his mate. I think I finally do now." Amelie’s brows furrowed together, feeling the depth of his belated pain and regret.

"And I’m happy for Gabriel. Truly happy," he confessed. "He found you, Amelie. You brought him a comfort that none ever could. You didn’t hide the truth from him about your pregnancy, about having Noah with another man. Gabriel was always so cautious about even associating with women. Now, I know why. And with you, he found the entire world he was missing."

"Brother Nick," Amelie interrupted, biting her bottom lip, needing to clarify the truth. "I initially lied to him. I mean, I didn’t tell him right away that I was pregnant. But shortly after he brought me to San Ravendale, I told him." She asserted the facts, then spoke from the heart. "Gabriel healed me and he completed me."

Dominick hummed when Noah’s voice grabbed their attention.

"Pa!"

"Yes, we are talking about your father," Dominick told the boy in his arms.