Seeing Anton's behavior, Darell decided to keep his thanks to himself.
He suspected that if he did, all he would hear would be a grumble. And that would be the best-case scenario.
So, standing silently behind the siblings, he listened to what had already been done at his company.
To his surprise, Anton had efficiently handled the current matters, and all that was left was to take care of the daily tasks.
"I don't know how anyone could have fucked around with certain things so much, and it's a miracle this company is still operating. If I were you, I'd find someone more efficient...ouch! Sophie...Why did you pinch me?" Anton asked in a resentful voice.
He had just begun to complain about Darrell. Why had his complaints been interrupted so quickly?...
Sophie, looking at her unjustly wronged brother, just rolled her eyes.
She knew perfectly well that all Anton had on his mind was to vent some anger at her partner.
She didn't want to spoil the mood before meeting her little brother. So, after silencing Anton, they gathered their things and headed to the car.
Sophie and Darrell sat in the backseat, and Noah sat next to Anton, who was driving.
To comfort his grumpy little darling, he placed his hand on his thigh and gently stroked it.
Feeling his partner's touch, Anton quickly forgot the injustice and, with a faint smile at Noah, began discussing what they should have for dinner. By the time they arrived at the house, everyone was in good spirits.
Putting his arm around Noah's waist, Anton entered the apartment, calling loudly for someone to hear.
"Luka! We have guests! Come on, look who's arrived!"
However, after a moment of waiting, no one appeared.
Surprised, they looked at each other and headed towards the living room.
Imagine their surprise when they saw their father with Luka on his lap, laughing together.
"Dad? When did you arrive?" Pleasantly surprised, Sophie approached the two and hugged her father.
"Sophie!" Luka, seeing his sister, wasted no time in joining the hug.
"How did you get here so quickly? You said you'd show up at the end of the week?" Anton walked over to the nearest armchair and sat down, settling Noah on his lap.
The last thing he expected today was his old man. Would he finally get some peace? What had he done to deserve this?
Frowning, Anton closed his eyes to keep from saying something he shouldn't.
In fact, maybe it was a good thing everyone was there. Now they could talk things over and give him a moment of privacy with Noah.
Anton's hand slowly moved over the man's back, seeking comfort.
Noah wasn't necessarily comfortable under the circumstances with everyone gathered, but he didn't want to upset Anton, so he sat humbly on his lap.
Fortunately, this didn't bother anyone in the crowd. Darell extended his hand to greet Sophie's father and sat down next to her on the couch, wrapping his arm around her tenderly.
"Your call left me with many questions, so knowing you wouldn't answer them over the phone, I decided to hurry up. Besides, I missed my daughter. As I see, everything turned out well. I hope Anton protected you from any unpleasantness." The father finished his explanation, his gaze focused on his son.
"As you can see, Dad, everything is fine. Anton helped me a lot. If it weren't for him, I don't know how long it would have taken me to find Luka." Sophie stroked the pleased boy's head, thus preventing Anton from commenting and escalating the argument between father and son.
"As he should be," Ruslanov added, redirecting his gaze to the boy sitting between him and Sophie.
"So, Luka? What are we going to do with you?" He began, knowing full well that they should discuss this among adults first.
"Before we get to that, maybe we should eat something first." Seeing Mary nodding at him, Anton knew dinner was ready.
Everyone looked at each other with understanding.
Luka rose first, eagerly looking towards the kitchen. This caused a wave of laughter among the adults.
Sitting down at the table, they watched with joy as Luka devoured his food as if he hadn't eaten in a week.
During the meal, everyone listened to Luka as he recounted his journey with his father between bites.
He showed no signs of anxiety or fear, so no one interrupted him. For him, it was just a strange adventure that ended with his siblings reuniting.
What more could he wish for? After several months without communicating with his sister, this was the best thing that could have happened to him.
After a long history time, Luka began to visibly yawn so Anton picked him up and led him to his room.
Knowing that everyone would still be here tomorrow, the boy didn't protest.
He wrapped his arms around Anton's neck and allowed himself to be carried to his room, waving everyone goodnight.
A few minutes later, Anton returned to the living room, where Sophie was discussing something with her father.
"You'll be busy most of the day at work. It's better if I take him with me. Anton will take over my position, so I can devote all my free time to him. We'll visit you from time to time. What do you think?" Ruslanov offered Sophie his solution.
"And what? You will raise him like you raised me?" Anton growled angrily, hearing his father's words.
"Luka is different. I won't let you destroy his innocence."
This time, no one could stop Anton from saying a few words to his father. His words clearly angered him.
Remembering his childhood and his father's coldness, he wasn't about to let Luka go through the same experience he had.
"Luka will stay with me and Noah for a while."
"How are you going to take care of him? Besides, don't expect to just sit here and relax. It's high time you came back. You did what you had to do. You're no longer needed here."
Ruslanov was incredibly scathing towards his son. He claimed he'd given him enough time to be with his sister. Their business couldn't wait any longer for a rightful successor.
"Dad." Sophie wanted to say something, but Anton wouldn't let her.
"I'll be back when the time comes. And forget about Luka. No one in their right mind would leave him in your care."
"If you don't come back willingly...you know what I'll do."
"Try me. Let's see who wins." The tension in the living room was at its peak. You could practically see the sparks flying between the two men.
"Enough!" Sophie shouted in a firm voice, breaking the murderous glares.
"Both of you sit down! Dad, you're overreacting. We were supposed to discuss the options first and choose the best one, not listen to what you have to say and just nod." Sophie frowned, scolding her father, whose face quickly softened.
"Anton. You don't have to jump at each other's throats. We'll do this peacefully. No one will force you away when we still need you. The last thing we need right now is a fight between you. two."
Anton just looked away, not wanting to look at their father.
Sophie only sighed, knowing this will be a long conversation.