Kiss Me Not

Gavin looked at his wristwatch as he walked with Brione and his father Lucas at the greeting entrance of the palace to welcome them.

"Relax, darling," Brione whispered as she gently squeezed her husband\'s hand that she was holding tightly.

Lucas heard it, so he asked, "You\'re nervous, son?"

Gavin laughed and said, "Of course not, dad. I\'m just a bit overwhelmed. I\'ve been waiting to introduce you to Brione\'s family, and finally, it\'s going to happen."

Gavin lied. He kept his father away from all the exact details of the operation, especially the truth about his father, Damiel. He and Brione thought it would be best not to tell him yet till they busted Duncan\'s headquarters, his people, and Duncan himself by tomorrow.

Lucas smiled and said, "I\'m honestly the one nervous son. Ah, it\'s my first time meeting the in-laws and, of course, the man whom I owe so much for taking care of you like his real son. I want to thank Damiel, and finally, I got the opportunity to do it now…"

"Yeah, he did take good care of me like a real son," Gavin said with a smile.

Brione sighed. Her husband was smiling, but inside, he was too broken in finding the truth about uncle Damiel.

Soon the security team announced the arrival of Brione\'s family and uncle Damiel. Brione and Luo immediately hugged each other as soon as Noah and the rest entered the palace.

"You don\'t have to wait for us like this," Noah bashfully commented.

Gavin smiled and said, "of course we do since we are all excited for your arrival."

Gavin approached Damiel and gave him his usual hug as he whispered, "welcome, father."

"Thank you, son," Daniel said with a smile. Everyone was quietly observing Damiel, knowing the truth about him, except for Lucas, who was smiling widely, with a welcoming and warm aura to everyone.

Brione herself could not still fathom how Damiel could do that. And they would find out about it only tomorrow once Gavin confronted him.

Gavin pulled Damiel and introduced him first to his father, Lucas.

"It\'s nice to finally know the man I\'m indebted with for taking good care of my son. You do not know how grateful I am to you, Damiel. You raised Gavin so well…" Lucas commented as he extended his hand for a handshake.

"Your Majesty, it\'s an honor to be here and meet you in person as well," Damiel commented and turned to Gavin as he continued, "I am truly proud of how well Gavin grew up. He is such a nice son…"

"Oh, please. You all do not need to be formal to me in family gatherings like this. Please call me Lucas."

Damiel nodded.

Gavin then looked at Brione, signaling his wife to introduce her family to his father, Lucas. Brione pulled her brother and said, "Father, meet my big brother. He is the best brother in the world."

Noah chuckled and introduced himself, "Noah Yu, Your Majesty. And this beautiful woman who is very excited to meet you is my wife, Luo."

"Oh, please call me uncle… We are one big family now. So let\'s not use formalities such as that." Lucas commented as he hugged Noah and Luo warmly.

"Welcome to the family. Treat the palace as your second home. I am very pleased to meet you all finally. The special people in my son\'s life. Brione tells me things so much about you guys that I feel like I know you all already before meeting you." Lucas said.

"Let\'s have them settled in their rooms first, father. I am sure they wanted to rest a bit from the trip. Later we can all have some teas before the sun sets," Gavin suggested, and Lucas nodded in agreement.

Gavin assisted his father Damiel to his room while Brione guided her brother and Luo to their room.

"Do you like the room? I chose the best room with the best view from Gavin\'s wing," Brione asked Luo, who excitedly walked to the balcony.

"OMG! Such a beautiful landscape of the palace\'s vast garden! Ah, I wonder if a day is enough to take a tour in this huge palace, sis!" Luo mumbled.

Brione chuckled and said, "A day is not enough. Ah, next time, you must bring Calvin with you guys!"

"Of course we will. It\'s just that your sister-in-law and I thought that we would do that once we ensured the safety here. I mean when there\'s no more threat in the royal family. So I hope the operation tomorrow will be a great success and wipe all the threats lingering for years, particularly to your father-in-law. It\'s a personal vendetta Brione and Duncan are willing to do everything, even sacrifice innocent people to torture your father-in-law mentally."

"Yeah, I know, and my family and I could be a target as well. Don\'t worry brother, Gavin will put an end to it tomorrow." Brione interrupted.

Then he added, "I\'m honestly still worried about Gavin. It has a great impact on him. He was totally devastated, and I knew that he had a tough decision in finalizing the plan since it involves uncle Damiel that he truly loves as a father. His memories are back, so things are really hard for him right now. But he will do what is right...:"

"Everything will be fine soon, Brione. It will all pass, and right now, all we need to do is pray that tomorrow everything goes as planned." Noah commented as he gently tapped his sister\'s shoulder.

Brione looked at Luo with a broad smile and said, "And of course, none of this would be possible if not for my witty, smart, and sharp thinker sister-in-law. Thank you so much, sis, for solving this case fast. Gavin and I owe everything to you and brother Noah. We will be forever indebted to you."

Luo smiled and said, "Ah, don\'t thank me yet! Let\'s see first what would be the outcome tomorrow then if it\'s a success… The King and Queen of this country should generously grant my request!"

Noah laughed, seeing how his wife\'s eyes sparkled.. Brione laughed as well and said, "of course. Any of your wishes will be our command! Like a genie in a bottle except with just three wishes since yours will be unlimited!"