Chapter 577 A Departure?

Chapter 577 A Departure?

"Daddy!"

Excitedly, Courtney wormed her way out of Mira's grasp and ran all the way over to Abaddon.

The fact that she had just clearly heard him threaten to rip someone's head off didn't really mean anything to her.

All she cared about was the fact that she hadn't seen her dad in almost a full 24 hours and now he was entering the garden with three of her mothers in tow.

And Abaddon, murderous star-eating beast that he was, was a husband and father before anything else.

So with one of his cute kids running towards him with her arms outstretched, naturally he forgot all about Gulban and the irritation he felt.

Instead, he just dropped to one knee while wearing a massive smile and let his daughter embrace him.

"Aww, theres's my- Guh!"

Courtney clasped her father on the cheeks with her small hands and started pulling for dear life.

"What kind of monster sleeps all day!? You promised to play with me and show me how to burp my ABC's!"

Lailah and Bekka elbowed Abaddon in his sides. ""You are NOT teaching her that!""

Abaddon : "But she asked!"

""No!""

While Abaddon was trying to defend his teaching practices, Valerie approached Gulban and Darius with an unfriendly look on her face.

"There is no violence in my sister's garden. Period. You know that already, Uncle D."

Darius seemed flustered, as he couldn't imagine the ass-kicking Abaddon would have given him if he so much as ruined a single flower in Eris' garden.

They say nothing in life is certain but death and taxes, but another certainty was that Abaddon would kill anyone who put so much as a frown on his sensitive wife's face.

"I-I was only looking to teach this son of a bi-"

"I know." Valerie said softly. "But I'll take it from here, alright old man?"

Darius still looked like he didn't quite want to leave Valerie alone with this strange man who called himself her father.

Hajun suddenly walked up and placed an arm around the old dwarf. "Come on, lad. Your meat's starting to get a little black."

Those words more than other seemed to be capable of tearing Darius away from the scene.

But before he left, he took a last glance at the items in Gulban's hands. "And she doesn't drink wheat beer! Dickhead..."

The veins in Gulban's head bulged in irritation.

Valerie hid it, but she had a very strong urge to laugh at the sight.

"Why are you here?" she finally asked. "I don't recall inviting you to my home."

"I.. recalled that you welcome a lot of surprise visitors here."

"Most of those people are friends who we love dearly."

"Even Nyx?"

"I said most!"

Gulban started to hold up the flowers and beer, but after remembering Darius' scathing words a moment ago, he hid the beer behind his back and just offered the bouquet.

"I came here in the hopes of making amends. I believed it to be high time to put all this unpleasantness aside and establish a real-"

"Go back."

"...Pardon?" Gulban looked gobsmacked.

"Just go back." Valerie turned away.

"H-Hang on, what is the meaning of thi-"

"I won't forget the things you said to me, or the way you tried to disparage me and my husband on our very first meeting.

You didn't want to apologize, or to tell me that you were glad to see how I survived my childhood, your first instinct was to be unkind to me. As if abandoning me when I was a child wasn't bad enough.

And when he opened his mouth to remind her of that, she gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Be a good husband and let me live in my delusions, okay?"

As requested, Abaddon said nothing and decided to holster his argument for later.

Still in his grasp, Valerie turned to the friends and family who had come to her aid and gave them a small nod.

"Thanks everyone... I really appreciate you stepping in."

"Bah, don't mention it, lass. This family's all we got, so taking care of it is our obligation. That includes you I'm afraid." Darius beamed.

Beside of him, the rest of the men nodded in agreement as they offered their own words of consolation.

But Valerie, for all of her growth in the past two years, was still a girl who was bad at dealing with too much mushy stuff that didn't involve the people she shared a bed with.

"A-Alright enough of this, somebody get me a drink pleas-"

"I think not."

Finally, Lailah approached the group with little Courtney on her hip.

Her demeanor as an empress was in full effect, causing most everyone to shrink back.

"You all are supposed to be at the observation site." She reminded. "But instead you're here grilling, smoking, and drinking beer."

The ladies who were sunbathing tried to hide their drinks.

"AND margaritas."

'Damn it...' they cursed internally.

"Is this really behavior befitting of Tehom's most illustrious?" She continued. "We have to set a better example for those under us, and that includes-"

Yara: "Hey, you guys haven't started eating yet, right?"

Imani: "Sorry it took us so long, this one was being playful with the icing."

"T-They don't need to know that!"

Suddenly, Yara and Imani emerged in the garden, the pair of them also in swimsuits and carrying baked goods.

Once they saw Abaddon outside with a few of the wives, their faces lit up.

"Oh, there are my sweethearts! Are you all joining us??" Yara asked warmly.

Smirking, Abaddon glanced at Lailah.

Sometimes, it was hard to believe that she hadn't been the one to give birth to Mira.

Because their weakness to any kind of sugary product was scarily similar and downright amusing.

"Y-Y'know I guess we can stay for an hour or so..." She said as she wiped away her drool.

Everyone outside laughed and thanked the creator for the invention of baked goods.

Smiling, Abaddon fetched an alcoholic beverage for himself and Valerie and the two of them sat underneath the shade of a tree.

With 'Return of The Mack' playing on the radio and a garden full of people laughing, it was easy to forget that things had been so unpleasant before.

That is, for everyone except Abaddon of course.

In the back of his mind, his only thoughts were of returning to the tree of life and having a word with the old couple about their little helper.

'Tomorrow... I don't want to put something like that off any longer than I have to.' He decided.

- The next day...

Currently, Abaddon was staring gobsmacked at a friend who had just given him the most unthinkable news possible as he was about to leave.

"Sif... what are you saying..?"

The golden haired goddess took a deep breath as she bowed her head.

"I... truly appreciate everything that you have done for me, Abaddon, but I need to go now. Please send me home."