Chapter 272: Even if It's Hard to Accept

"Okay, enough of that. I'm curious to know who this cutie is," Maira smiled at Lenore as she asked.

"Mom," Luan said, "She's your granddaughter."

"Granddaugther?!?"

"Luan." Catharina walked over. Standing in front of Luan, she took him by the collar. "What the fuck are you saying? What do you mean a daughter? And another thing, she's clearly older than you… Wait…" She seemed to have understood. She jumped back from him while staring at him in bewilderment. Honestly, she noticed Lenore's similarities, but that wasn't enough for her to believe that her twin brother had a daughter who was apparently older than them both.

Maira was still stunned. It was a very shocking revelation. She kept exchanging glances between Luan, Catharina and Lenore. She saw some of both her children in Lenore.

"I think you've already connected the dots, yes?" Luan put his hand on Catharina's shoulder, his red eyes showing different emotions, "I discovered her recently. It's also why I said all that before, more precisely, Mom deduced everything correctly." He looked at her. "Mom, it all started when I met Nora Van Steffan…"

For the next few minutes, he explained everything to them, or rather, he summarized it precisely and practically so that they could understand what had happened to him. Everyone went back to sit on the couch. It took a few minutes to process. It was too absurd to digest so much information.

The one who was most anxious and even fearful was Lenore. She was afraid of being rejected. She already liked Maira, Cristina and Catharina as soon as she saw them, but she felt like an intruder to tell the truth.

'I…' Her red eyes moistened.

This did not go unnoticed by Maira, she stood up and hugged Lenore, who trembled in her arms. "God, honey... I... We're not rejecting you." She hugged even harder. "We're just too surprised. Sorry for making you think differently."

"Can I call you grandma?" Lenore sniffed softly.

"Of course darling." Maira rubbed Lenore's beautiful white hair gently as she pulled back a little, giving her her best smile.

"Grandma…" Lenore muttered as she hugged Maira again.

"Aunt Catharina... It's not bad, but it seems strange somehow..." Catharina beside her thought aloud. Cristina blushed furiously at the thought of being an aunt, as her brother's daughter was older than her by over 10 years. She was even older than Luan, her supposed father. The situation was so strange; it made smoke come out of her head as she was so confused at the time.

They talked a little longer, before Maira heard Cristina's belly growl.

Smiling, she said, "I'll be right back."

Leaving, Maira prepared a very delicious dinner for them all and, of course, Lenore insisted that she could help; but once everything was on the table and they were all sitting around it, Maira got up and said a little prayer.

Maira was not a Christian, but she believed that there was a superior being. Praying was not very frequent either, but today she felt like doing it. "We thank you, O Lord, for all the blessings you have bestowed on us this year," she began, "Thank you not only for the family fellowship, Lord, but most of all, we want to thank you for bringing Lenore to our family. Not only was she my son's daughter, but she filled the empty space in his heart as he filled the empty space in hers. We ask the Lord to make her feel as welcome and happy to be a member of our family and as proud as we are to have her here. Above all, Lord, please tell her how much we love her, and we ask that you bless her as you have blessed us...in the name of God we pray...Amen."

When Luan opened his eyes again, he found Lenore sitting beside him with tears streaming down her face. Looking at her, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she smiled sweetly, "It's just…well, I've never felt more loved than now…not for a long time."

"We love you so much, pretty girl," Catharina said gently to her, reaching across the table and patting her hand gently, "You are a member of our family now, as far as we are concerned, and I never want to have you to forget about it, ok?"

"Thank you, Catharina." Lenore smiled, looking around the table at all of them. "Thank you so much everyone."

"You're welcome, my granddaughter," Maira smiled with tenderness and serenity, "And we are all so grateful and happy to have you here with us today."

"That's right," Ingrid smiled, putting her arm around Lenore as she sat on her other side. "I can't say I'm happy with everything that happened, but I don't dislike you, and I hope you can accept me too."

"I will do my best," Lenore promised.

"Good," Ingrid smiled.

.

.

Lenore went to sleep in Maira's room. She wanted to have some time alone with Maira. Luan went back to his and Ingrid's room, and the two were now lying on the bed.

"Good night, Luan," Ingrid purred softly, "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled. "And good night to you, my love..."

That night they didn't make love. Even though they loved each other a lot, there was no mood for it. A lot had happened, with the appearance of Lenore as well as the appearance of Nora. All of this together made Ingrid unable to get into the mood. Luan respected that, and just slept with her in his arms.

.

.

The next morning, Luan woke up, soon noticed that Ingrid was missing.

Less than three seconds later, the bathroom door opened and there was Ingrid, looking absolutely stunning. She was wearing a tight-fitting pink short-sleeved blouse, tucked into a pair of white jeans that revealed all of her curves. Her blond hair flowed gracefully down her back, ending just above her shoulder blades. Her makeup had been applied perfectly, deep blue eyeshadow around her dark brown eyes and blood-red lips. 

"God, you look beautiful," Luan muttered, then smiled.

"Thanks," Ingrid smiled back, "Since you're awake, get up and take a shower."

"Mm." Luan got up from the bed. He was only in boxers. Heading out to the closet, he grabbed a clean set of clothes and headed for the bathroom right after giving Ingrid a good-morning peck.

In the bathroom, Luan went to the hot tub against the far wall with a separate shower standing about three feet away from it, also along the back wall. The entire bathroom was clad in white Italian marble, with a white porcelain sink with polished brass fixtures against the wall facing the tub, and a toilet off to the side. Luan got in the tub and turned on the water, adjusting it until it was just the right temperature.

*

Please read the author's notes down here! s2 ↓↓↓

- Drop some power stone, please s2

Join us to chat about the novel and see the visual representations! discord.gg/rK69edsWyt