The Duke's Passion

After our afternoon picnic, I put Law and Sunny to sleep for an afternoon nap. I smiled as I let out a deep exhale, brushing a few stray hairs away from my son's face. Sunny was already fast asleep in her bassinet. This had become the sibling's little bonding, as Law would always sleep in the same room as Sunny to protect her, just in case. 

My eyes softened before I withdrew my hand away from Law, shifting my gaze on the bassinet close to the bed. We had been in this place for three years; thanks to Tilly, who accepted us in this place with open arms, this place felt like home. We don't think about any schemes anymore, nor do we concern ourselves with matters other than what was good to eat. 

The mainland was a place for vampires only. So, the blood hierarchy was important. It was said that the Grimsbanne clan was one of the original vampires that first existed. The reason everyone listened to Tilly was that she was the last pureblooded Grimsbanne in this land and a powerful one at that. 

'I should join Tilly in reading a book before Sam upsets her again,' I thought, pushing myself up from the bed. I looked back at Law and then at Sunny with a subtle smile. 

After heaving a sigh of relief at seeing my children sleep in peace, I departed the children's room to look for Tilly. Usually, Sam would accompany her in the library or Tilly would stay in his office while reading a book. My husband and Tilly's relationship was a little weird since they could stand spending hours together without talking — Tilly wasn't much of a talker. 

There were also times that Tilly would stay with me and the children. She would just stay with us, watching from the sidelines. Sometimes, Law would talk to her, but she was usually not on the same page as Law. Funny enough, though, my son liked her. Well, we all liked Tilly, even though she was a bit strange.

Soon, I reached my husband's office in the mansion. I knocked once before opening the door, peeking my head in, and looked around. My husband wasn't here. I frowned and was about to leave when I paused, looking back inside Sam's office. 

'What's that?' I wondered, noticing an open book in the middle of the desk. 

Out of curiosity, I entered my husband's office. Unlike the one he had at home in Minowa, Sam's office here was simpler. Instead of stacks of documents, Sam only had a few on the desk. What filled his rooms were canvasses and papers with sketches, books he was working on, and books he was reading about the mainland.

It was an interesting place, but not as interesting as his workshop. I was so proud of him, honestly. 

I approached the desk and tilted my head, standing on the side to check the open book on top of it. 

"It seems he is writing something," I murmured, stretching my neck only to realize it was his journal. "Huh? Why did he leave it here?"

I glanced at the door with raised brows. I was a bit confused why Sam would leave his daily journal out in the open since he often kept it hidden, afraid I would sneak in and read it. As if I would do that — I was not him who was always curious in my daily journal.

"Right. How dare he think I will want to read his daily journal?" I quirked a brow as I gazed at the open journal. The side of my lips curled up, clearing my throat as I dragged my feet on the chair. 

"Well, he always read mine. It's his fault for leaving this thing out in here," I mumbled with a mischievous smile — maybe I wasn't very different from Sam as I found the pleasure to read what my husband had been writing that he was so afraid to show me. 

As I gazed down and skimmed through the pages that Sam was writing, my brows raised. This was mostly how our day turned out yesterday, and some details that I wasn't aware of happened. The side of my lips curled up while reading Sam's perspective about yesterday.

"Gosh, my husband. Why are you so stressed about seeing that your children look like you and not me?" I chuckled, shaking my head as it seemed my husband's only wish was to have all his children look like me. "It's funny how he adds this 'I still cherish my children, but why do they all look like me?'"

I read and read, flipping the pages, and simply skimmed through it. This journal was still new, recording the current year. I frowned as I set my eyes on the shelves. I wanted to read more, as this wasn't enough. 

"I wonder where he was keeping them?" I felt like a thief for invading my husband's privacy, but that wasn't a hindrance to even graze my nonexistent conscience. "I'll just take a peek."

I nodded before checking his drawers first. Sam wouldn't simply put those old journals out in the open where I could check them. So, I thought he would keep them in one of the drawers in here, but to no avail. Aside from the book where his schedule was inked, the one I was looking for wasn't here.

"Are they, perhaps, on the shelves?" I murmured with a frown, seeing it strange for Sam to not hide something as important as that. To fulfill my curiosity, I approached the shelves and skimmed through the books. I stumbled upon some poems, history books, and all those sorts. 

"Are they really... here?" I arched my brow as I gaze at the book placed at the bottom that suddenly slipped out of the shelf with no one doing it. This mansion was a strange place, and I was already used to things going missing on their own, so this was normal. 

I bent down to pick it up and return it back to where it was. But before I could, I caught a glimpse of what was written inside. 

[Today, I told my wife about my first son. It was quite interesting to see her look at me blankly, trying to absorb the news I broke to her regarding our first son.]

I scrunched my nose, recalling this particular day that left me distraught for a moment. It was the day my husband told me that Law wasn't our first legal son on the papers.