"Hold on tight," Theodore enveloped Adeline in his arms after warning her that they were going to teleport.
Adeline also clung to Theodore and closed her eyes. And when she opened her eyes, she was in a room that she had never seen before.
"We've arrived." Theodore darted his eyes around the room but saw that there was no one in the room. "I think Nigel is still busy. He had asked me to meet here in this room."
Adeline looked around the room while feeling a mix of emotions. "Let's wait for them to come then," she whispered to Theodore and then walked towards the chair.
Adeline sat down at the edge of the chair and Theodore also sat beside her. He leaned into her ear and whispered, "You don't need to worry about being heard. This room is soundproof."
"Ah! That's much better then," Adeline spoke in her normal voice.
There was pin-drop silence in the room for a while. With every passing second, Adeline was starting to get really nervous because of the anticipation. She was trying hard not to show her restlessness to Theodore but she eventually failed at it. She began tapping her foot vigorously and began to pinch her own palm.
Theodore glanced at Adeline and couldn't help but get worried seeing that petrified look on her face. He placed his hand on her palm and asked, "Hey, what is bothering you? Are you nervous thinking that your brother might not be able to help you?"
"Hmm…" Adeline gave a clueless look to Theodore and it took her a few seconds to register what he had just asked her. She pressed her lips into a thin line and then shook her head. "No, it's not that. Actually… I am a little worried about my first meeting with the twins."
She gave an anxious look to Theodore and asked, "What if the twins don't like me?"
Theodore chuckled because that answer was far from what he had expected. He gently put his arm around her and pressed her head on his shoulder.
He then reassured her, "Adeline, you don't have to be so nervous about meeting the junior puppies. They are going to love you. You are going to be a lovely aunt."
Adeline took in a deep breath and entangled her fingers with Theodore's. "I don't know why I am feeling this way. I guess I want to have a lasting impression on them so that they will remember me the next time they see me." She puckered her lips and then added, "But I guess they are too young to remember me."
"Then we will keep on visiting the junior puppies every once in a while. You can always ask me to bring you here. It only takes a few seconds after all." Theodore then brought her hand towards his lips and gave a soft kiss on her knuckles.
Adeline was really happy to hear that. He was making her feel really pampered and she liked it.
They kept on waiting for another 10-15 minutes but there was no sign of Nigel or Rhea and the kids.
"Shall I go and look for Nigel?" Theodore asked Adeline as she was starting to tap her foot again.
But Adeline shook her head. "No, he must be caught up in something. Else he would have already rushed here."
Theodore's ears perked up and he looked towards the door. "Oh, I think the puppies are rushing here."
Adeline's heart began to drum really fast upon hearing that they were close. She abruptly sprung up on her feet and expectantly waited for the door handle to unlock.
Both Adeline and Theodore's gaze were fixated at the door. Adeline was waiting to see her loved ones while Theodore was ready to jump in at any second if it was somebody else.
When the door opened, Adeline instantly melted at the sight of her precious niece and nephew. It was Rhea who had entered the room carrying both of her twins on either side of her waist.
Rhea entered the room and slammed the door with her foot. And she immediately shouted, "Adeline! It is really you…" Rhea felt like crying after getting to see Adeline after so long.
"Yes, it is really me." Adeline couldn't help but glance at three of the most beautiful people with teary eyes.
Both Rhea and Adeline moved towards each other. They met halfway and Adeline carefully hugged all three of them.
Adeline pulled away from the hug and whispered in a broken voice, "I missed you so much, sister."
"We missed you too, Adeline," Rhea gazed at her loving sister-in-law and gave a wistful smile.
Adeline then focused her attention on the cutest kids she had ever seen in her life. And she couldn't help but praise them, "Aww… aren't they the cutest? The paintings don't even justify their cuteness."
She covered her mouth with her palm and lovingly glanced at them.
Ramon was playing with his mother's dress while Niylah was cutely gazing at the new lady standing in front of her.
"Hi, baby!" Adeline spoke in her softest voice and poked Niylah's chubby cheeks.
Niylah seemed to immediately accept her aunt. She held out her tiny hand to hold Adeline's finger while giggling melodiously.
"Awwww… she is so sweet." Adeline's heart couldn't handle the cuteness and she leaned closer to give a peck to Niylah.
She shifted her gaze towards Ramon who was also interested in that new person by now. She gently squeezed his soft baby cheeks and then gave a playful smile to him.
And she had a little baby talk with her nephew, "Hi cutie! I am your aunty." She let him hold her finger and then gently shook his baby hand. "It's so nice to meet you."
Ramon gazed at Adeline with his doe eyes as if he was seeing a beautiful doll. And he gave a heart-melting smile to her.
"Do you want to hold them?" Rhea asked the oblivious new aunty. Her hands were already starting to get numb by holding both of the babies at once.
"Can I?" Adeline asked a bit nervously because she had never held a baby in her arms before.
Rhea smiled and nodded, "Yes, of course." Rhea could sense the anxiousness from Adeline so she verbally taught the Princess how to hold the baby, "Use both of your palms and gently grab the baby under their arms. Lift them and hold the baby's by putting your forearm under the baby's bum."
Adeline didn't quite catch what Rhea said to her. She just caught half of it. She grabbed Niylah and tried to copy how Rhea was holding Ramon. But holding the baby on the waist looked way too complicated.
For her, it was easier to carry a sword around the waist than a baby. The baby was too fragile and she was afraid that she would hurt her precious niece.
She was holding Niylah in the midair as if she was holding some glass vase. And she asked while panicking, "Okay, now what do I do? I feel like I am going to drop her and break her."
"Adeline, relax. You are not going to drop her." Rhea tried to calm Adeline down and teach her how. But the situation became way too chaotic when the babies began to cry because of the commotion Adeline was creating.
Theodore, who was standing in one corner of the room until now, swiftly appeared right beside Adeline.
Rhea had forgotten that Theodore was also in the same room and was almost startled when he suddenly stood in front of her.
"Let me show you," Theodore took Niylah from Adeline's hand and then gently pressed the junior puppy against his chest. And then he began to softly pat Niylah's back to make her stop crying.
And as if Theodore had had a lot of practice to pacify a crying baby, Niylah stopped crying in no time.
Both Adeline and Rhea watched Theodore in action in shock.
Adeline couldn't believe that Theodore voluntarily took a baby in his arms, and not just that, he also calmed her down. Her jaw was wide open the whole time.
And after a while, she finally expressed herself in a baffled voice, "You know how to carry a baby? How? You don't even touch anyone!"
Theodore smirked at Adeline and slyly commented, "I had my practice while carrying you as a toddler."