In Cyrus’s head, he's screaming. 

First there's the annoyingly hot Prime Minister's son who is behaving like Aria’s protective boyfriend and now there's another Justin dude whom Aria thinks is sweet and kind. 

There's only so much of his  patience left.

"You really met a lot of men and---"

"I swear to Luna, if you are planning to talk about other men in my life as if I am dating them all I'm going to take Kiana and leave this house on the spot. I'm not the one parading another woman on national TV Cyrus." Aria snaps before she grabs Kiana from the alpha's arms.

And since Kiana is so innocent, she thought her father and the pwetty pwincess were just playing with her so he starts giggling and laughing while teasing her father.

"Come on daddy, catch Kiki and Riri." Kiana screamed as Aria walks out of the room with her in her arms.

Cyrus and Aria froze when they heard the little girl called Aria by her name for the first time. 

Aria is dying to introduce herself as the pup's other parent and be called mama but she doesn't want to shock her daughter so hearing her call out her name sounds heaven to her.

"W-what did you just call me baby?" Aria asked, her voice a little raspy and her eyes sparkling with a glint of happy tears.

"Riri? Pwetty pwincess can Kiki call you Riri?" Kiana asked while fidgeting with her fingers because she noticed the spike in Aria’s scent. 

As little as she was, she could smell scents differently.

"Of course angel, y-you can call me Riri. It's pretty when it's you who calls me that name." 

Aria had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying. 

They were already outside the room and Knight could smell the nervous and overly excited scent of the omega in the penthouse so he immediately ended the call and joined them upstairs.

The pure blood alpha halted on his feet when he saw Aria carrying Kiana while Cyrus was staring at them. 

Knight immediately felt a tug in his heart when he saw the eyes of the younger pure blood alpha who's focus just on Aria and Kiana.

 The tug is directly in his heart but for unknown reasons, he doesn't feel a pinch of pain at all.

 In fact, the reunion of the little family makes his heart melt as if his wolf is also telling him that he's doing the right thing.

 Knight turned around and found himself staring at the portrait hanging on Cyrus’s wall again. 

It's as if his wolf is telling him that he owes that little boy in the portrait the happiness that radiates from the small family in front of him.

Knight forces himself to avert his gaze from the photo so he could finally join the family too but even before he speaks, Cyrus already beats him to it.

"And there is the annoying one again." Cyrus murmured, even when the truth is all he wanted to say is thank the older pure blood for finally bringing his omega back to him, to their home.

Knight had never imagined in his life that he'd see himself sitting in the middle of Cyrus Carter’s living room. 

He never dreamed of entering the Assemblyman's penthouse let alone Kiana’s bedroom but since Aria dragged him inside, he found himself witnessing the reunion of the mother and daughter who were separated three years ago.

Knight’s nose is filled with different scents. 

He already knew Aria wasn’t wearing any scent blocker that day but smelling the fruity scent of the omega combined with Kiana’s floral one, was a bit overwhelming for him.

 Being a pure blood who grew up with his alpha father's scent, Knight realized that he doesn't prefer the overly sweet scent from the omega. 

But the scene that's unfolding in front of him is emotional and intimate, so he decides to be quiet. 

When the older pure-blood alpha was sure that there was no threat to Aria and her daughter in the room, he silently walked out of the room and just decided to wait in the living room of the penthouse so he could also give them some privacy.

The pure blood was silently scrolling through his phone when he noticed the younger poor blood alpha standing in front of him so he lifted his gaze to meet Cyrus’s eyes.

"Ashbourne" 

"Carter"

The two pure-blood alphas stared at each other as if they were both gauging each other's strength until Cyrus decided to sit on the couch opposite the older.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with them upstairs? Are you afraid that I might steal some of your vases here?" Knight asked when the younger remained quiet in front of him.

Cyrus only raised his eyebrows, totally ignoring the older's question as he decided to ask his question.

"How did you meet Aria?" Cyrus asked.

 He already did his investigation about Knight Ashbourne and Dylan helped him but they never had solid information on when and how Aria and Knight met.

 Hell, they're even still clueless about the real relationship between the two aside from the fact that they discovered that Aria is living in Knight’s penthouse.

"I met her a few months ago when she arrived from Wellington. One of my closest friends asked me for a favor to look after Ria." Knight replied just so he could finally talk to the younger about what he wanted to talk about.

"A F-few months ago? Then why the fuck is she living with you?" Cyrus asked, his voice a little aggressive because he hates how Knight calls Aria. 

It was his nickname for his mate when they were still together too.

"Did you hear what I've just said? I helped her when she arrived because apparently, her ex-husband was so powerful. Unfortunately, the said ex-husband doesn't want her here again but it turns out that there's a huge misunderstanding between them because Aria’s ex-husband seems like he doesn't want her to vanish, in fact, he's all over her the moment he sees her again." Knight said while staring at the younger pure blood.

"She already has a good job, why is she still staying with you? Are you--"

"If you're dying to know if we're together, no Carter. We are not together yet but yes, I like Aria...so much." Knight confessed when he saw the pure-blood alpha's red eyes.

Cyrus clenches his fist. 

He hated the fact that he couldn't intimidate Knight with his scent or his eyes because the guy was older than him and he was also pure-blooded. 

He also hates the fact that he was the one who had been there to help Aria when she came back to the country.

 He hates the idea that no matter how much he despises the older pure blood, he knows deep inside him that he's thankful for Knight's existence not just because he helped Aria but because he knows the guy isn't the type of pure blood who takes advantage of other people. 

So no matter how he wants to rip the older's head off, he knows he won't do it because he doesn't really hate him. 

He envies him.

 He may never say it out loud but he's so jealous of how Knight could easily say what he wanted to say.

"What makes you think you'll be together when she already learned that our daughter is alive and that I never wanted her gone? Do you think you'll still have a chance to be together now?" Cyrus hates himself for voicing those questions out but for the first time, he saw Knight hesitate a little.

"I already confessed to her and I'm already courting her. You might have a daughter already but that doesn't mean she can’t be in a relationship with someone she truly likes. Besides, as far as I know...you two are separated so I don't think you'll have a say on this Carter." Knight replied.

Cyrus clicks his tongue the moment he confirms that the older pure blood is indeed courting his mate already. 

He bites the inside of his with his teeth before cockily glancing at Knight.

"Stop courting her Ashbourne. I want my mate back and I don't want you obstructing my path to making my family whole again."

"Do you think you can stop me, Carter? You're not Aria. I would only stop if she told me to. For now, I will do everything to be deserving of her love." Knight replies with determination.

Cyrus is already so close to snapping at the older in that moment. 

He was about to yell at him to tell him that Aria was his when Knight suddenly tossed the brown envelope he'd been holding since they arrived in the penthouse.

"Now, stop trying to scare me with your scent Carter. Take a look at this because I'm not sure how you managed to live with snakes for the past three years. I might as well think that you wanted all that had happened." Knight uttered.

Cyrus wanted to yell at the older man's face, telling him that if he could only turn back time, he wouldn't have left on that day. 

He should've waited for Aria to come home. He should've protected his family more. 

But because he is curious about the content of the envelope, he chose to be quiet and check every document and photograph taken from different angles.

The pure blood alpha didn't know what to expect or to see in the pile of photographs but the moment he saw Rina in the pictures where she was stalking Aria, he started to frown.

"They're in this together? Her two best friends? Does she about this? Did you tell Aria about it?" Cyrus asks because, to be honest, he's more concerned about how Aria must have felt the moment she learned the two friends she treated as family were the ones who stabbed her in the back.

"She already knows. I can't hide anything from her." Knight replied.

 "I'm gonna kill them."

"And be like them? Great, I'll take care of your daughter and mate." Knight replied.

The two pure-bloods stared at each other again, this time Knight felt a strong emotion rushing over him.

 It was not the first time he’d met Cyrus, and it was also not the first time he talked with the younger pure blood but there's something in the small space between them that makes him want to pull him into a tight hug. 

He's even surprised when he finds himself wanting to protect him just like how he wanted to protect Aria.

'of course, I want to protect this idiot because I don't want Ria to worry about him.' Knight thought to himself.

"What is your plan then? I know you have no plan of getting into politics. Don't you think it's about time you tell me what you have in mind Ashbourne?" Cyrus said, trying to ignore the weird feeling towards the older pure blood. 

When Knight said he'd take care of his family, he surprisingly believed the older would do that without malice. 

It's weird, so he just pushed it away for the time being and focused on what they needed to talk about.

Knight took a deep breath before he opened his mouth to speak.

 "I want you to become the next Prime Minister so you can take down your father'," Knight announces as he chokes on air.

"Woah! Wait a damn minute Mr. Prime Minister's son. Just because your father is the one sitting in the office, it doesn't mean you can just tell me you want me to take his throne as if I'm just going to ask him for a piece of candy. We are not even in the same party. How do you plan on making me the Prime Minister?" Cyrus looks at the older pure blood as if he grew another head.

Knight clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes because he was expecting that reaction from the younger, well minus the candy part.

"The Prime Minister said it himself, he wanted you to take his seat not because I cried and asked him like a child. My father has been eyeing you for the position and he has been keeping a record of all the possible candidates. My father isn't just a politician, his heart has always been for the people and you being the star of the opposition party list won't stop him from picking you if...."

"If what?"

"If you'll help us take down Julius Carter." Knight supplied the heavy words.

 He knows Cyrus has been a very good son to his father and he knows that what he's asking is ridiculous but he's dead serious.

 A criminal like Julius needs to be ousted and put into jail and no one can do that better than his son.

"Are you seriously asking me to put a bullet in my dad's head?"

"Yes."

"And why do you think I would do that?"

"Because you will do everything to protect your family and they will only be safe if you'll finally put an end to your father."

SILENCE.

The air surrounding the two is so thick and Knight almost starts to doubt Cyrus’s ability to take his father down until the younger pure blood finally breaks the silence between them.

"Fine, I'll take down my father in one condition." 

"Name it."

"You'll make sure that no matter what happens to me in the process, you'll look after my family...my daughter and my mate!"

~~~~~^~~~~~^*~~~~~~^*~~~~~~~~

 Aria was still frowning at Cyrus by the time Knight joined them. The older pure-blood looked at the younger and gave him a questioning look but the exes just kept quiet as if they were both embarrassed to share that they're fighting over their dating history while they're separated.

"Okay, since you don't want to tell me what's going on, I'll go ahead then. Justin just called to ask if we'd join him for lunch. I'll leave you here Ria but please call me when you are  ready to come home." Knight said while softly playing with the little girl's hand who was also excited to see him.

Aria smiled back at the older, she was still carrying her daughter so she just tiptoed to give Knight a light peck on his cheeks before she said goodbye. 

It's one of the things they've developed for months, a friendly gesture.

Cyrus saw the whole exchange and heaven knows how he tried his best to calm down the moment he saw Aria’s lips touching Knight’s cheek.

They all looked in Cyrus’s direction when he started to groan when Kiana moved closer to kiss Knight too.

"What? Am I not allowed to have a goodbye kiss from this pretty princess? Bye bye Kiki, Uncle Knight will see you again later." Knight said while ruffling the little girl's hair.

Cyrus has to bite his tongue because, of course, he wouldn't want to show his daughter how petty he is.

"Bye bye uncle Knight!" Kiana waved at the older pure-blood alpha before Knight finally left the penthouse.