The Tyrant's Pet

"Don't make the same mistake..."

"Aries..."

"Don't make the same mistake as we did..."

"Aries..."

Aries's brows furrowed as she moaned, opening her eyes ever so slowly. From her blurry vision, she caught something silver. She blinked weakly, and the face hovering over her slowly grew clearer.

"Huh?" The space between her brows creased, staring back at the adorable doll looking at her up close. Mesmerized by the little girl's charm, she raised a hand and poked the girl's chubby cheek. To her surprise, she felt something squishy as the girl's cheek bounced slightly.

"Darling, I'm here." Aries flinched when she heard Abel's voice to her side. She turned her head, only to see Abel lying on his side with his temple propping on his knuckles.

Aries blinked multiple times while staring at Abel, and then her pupils dilated as she turned to the little girl on her other side. Her mouth fell open upon realizing she was being sandwiched between a little girl and Abel; both of them looking at her in silence.

"Grandmama," called the little girl, making Aries's breath hitch.

"I told you to call her Gorgeous," came out Abel's nonchalant voice, casting the little girl a sidelong glance. "Now, off you go. Shoo."

"What...?" Aries's lips quivered, confused at the situation she woke up to. What happened while she was sleeping?

"Are you going to do morning exercise?" the little girl asked to Abel, and the latter nodded.

"Yes. Unless you want to watch, I don't mind teaching you a thing or two —" His mouth fell open when a hand struck his chest, arching a brow at Aries.

"What, watch?" Aries gasped, propping her elbow to sit up. She looked at the little girl sitting beside her, studying her ash-colored hair with a streak of hazel on its turfs. Her eyes were crimson just like Abel's, but when Aries stared longer, she noticed the olive tint undertone. Aries then looked at Abel and realized the little girl and Abel didn't bear any sign they were planning to explain the situation.

"What did I miss while I'm sleeping?" she asked, only for her face to contort when the little girl answered.

"Grandmama, you were sleeping for decades and missed my papa."

"Pardon?" Aries gasped and turned to Abel for help. The latter shrugged nonchalantly.

"Welcome back to the real world, darling." Abel frowned when her hand landed on his shoulder once again, but this time, her slap was much stronger than the last.

"Stop messing with me, Abel." Aries ground her teeth and glanced at the little girl with conflict. Her heart softened at the adorable charm of the little girl. "So cute..."

"Darling, if you think I taught her how to bluff, you are gravely wrong." His expression died, watching his wife marvel at the girl's deadly charms instead of focusing on him. He kept his promise to return even before she woke up, but his wife wasn't showering him with affection as expected.

"I didn't say you taught her, but don't condone it or go along with it just to push the blame on the child later on." Aries kept her eyes on the little girl and smiled warmly. However, before she could grow chummy with the child, her brows creased once again, and set her eyes back to Abel.

"Again, what is going on...?" Aries inquired, but then, her eyes dilated in horror. "You didn't abduct someone else's child because of that 'family man' subject we had yesterday, right?"

"I am gravely hurt by this accusation. It seemed my wife truly see me in such a terrible light."

"But, who — I mean, how?" She raised her brows, setting her baffled eyes on the little girl. The latter's lips stretched broader until her eyes were squinting.

"She's my visitor." Aries turned her attention to Abel upon his remarks. "She's the one who attempted to rename Haimirich to Chocolate."

"What...?" Her brows knitted even more, remembering her discussion with Abel yesterday. Her eyes popped open in panic, only to heave a sigh of relief when Abel added.

​ "She's not Marsella."

"Gosh... I thought she was your sister." Aries patted her chest and chuckled, remembering Abel mentioning that his sister ran away from home when she was an infant and then came back as a toddler.

When she recovered, Aries let out a deep exhale and gazed at the little girl. Her lips curled up warmly.

"So, what is your name?" she asked politely, raising her brows while waiting patiently for the little girl's response. However, the latter simply blinked and didn't answer her question.

"I'm hungry."

"Oh." Aries nodded, turning to Abel. The latter tilted his head to the side, looking all puzzled.

"She's hungry!" she whisper-yelled, in disbelief at how could he be so uncaring of this adorable child?

"Darling, she already had a feast before we came in here," Abel explained, and then shifted his eyes to the girl. "Can't you see she needs to diet? She's too heavy."

"She's a child..." Aries trailed off when small hands held her wrist. Her brows rose in surprise when the little girl opened her mouth, about to take a bite on her wrist. However, before the little girl could bite her, Abel pressed his index on the girl's forehead to stop her.

"Hey, do you want to die?" his voice hit a level of low. His eyes were dull, but they were enough to send a chill down Aries's spine. The little girl looked back at him and blinked.

"Wait... what..." Aries chuckled awkwardly, lowering her head, only to freeze on the spot. Unlike most children, who would cry at the situation, the little girl didn't bear the slightest fear. Not just that, but what actually surprised Aries was those little canines of the little girl.

The little girl let Aries's hand go and frowned. She then looked up at Aries, sporting the cutest puppy eyes. Aries held her breath at the level of cuteness right before her, almost getting angry at Abel for saying such harsh words to a child like her.

"Sorry, I forgot to ask for permission. That's not very polite," said the little girl. "Can Sunny take a bite?"

"..."