'...This is every bit as nice as I'd hoped.'
Within the dining room, the entire Tathamet family was gathered around for a rather large breakfast.
After Gabbrielle told her father that Lailah was upset, he immediately pulled her into his arms and refused to let her go.
Just as she had planned all along.
She could feel the slightly jealous looks from the wives and leaned further into Abaddon's body while making a truly pitiful expression.
That earned her a few more consolatory kisses on her cheeks and forehead, and even more intense looks of envy.
She was starting to feel better already.
"G-G-Good morning, everyone...."
The family looked up from their plates to find Kanami standing in the doorway looking incredibly shy and... elaborate.
The leader of the Euphrates wore neat dark pants and a button down shirt with a suit jacket draped over her shoulders.
She even had on a small bit of makeup, and had done her hair as well.
It was clear that she had been working on this look for quite a while.
"No." Abaddon said immediately.
"E-Eh? What is wrong?"
Abaddon used a clawed finger to gesture to the entirety of Kanami's outfit.
"Why are you dressed like you're going to a gala?"
"I-I just did not want to show my new family an unscrupulous appearance!"
Her earnest words put a small smirk on the faces of everyone at the table, but they still had to let her know it was an unnecessary gesture.
"This is your home now, Kanami. You can be comfortable." Lailah said.
"I-I am comfortable, I assure you! The fabric is-"
"Sister, look at us." Abaddon asked exhaustedly.
For the first time, Kanami stopped to pay attention to what everyone else in the house was wearing.
Most of the wives had on simple night gowns and silk robes, and a few didn't bother to put on bras.
Mira and Gabbrielle were both still wearing matching onesies and hadn't even bothered to wipe the crust out of their eyes yet.
Thea and Apophis were only dressed because they had just gotten back from Antares, and their wives were much the same.
Malenia and Lusamine wore simple sundresses, but while the angel had decided to put on a bra to preserve her dignity, the succubus decided to go without.
Although, it wasn't like she had very much to show off anyways...
"This is our home." Abaddon reminded. "Within these walls, no one is going to judge you, nor expect anything of you. We are all family, so you don't need to put on airs for us."
Kanami felt a strange warmth travel through her chest that she didn't quite understand.
The man that she had always idolized and seen as an untouchable existence was saying that they were equals now.
It felt good but there was a part of her that also believed it to be wrong.
Would she ever get accustomed to living like this now?
Her god had become her family practically over night, and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to behave around him.
But... maybe if she just continued to act normally, it would get easier and easier with time.
"I understand... I will return shortly then, family."
Kanami turned around and ran back upstairs to put on more comfortable clothes and left her new family at the table, chuckling at her cuteness.
After a few more minutes, someone else's absence was finally addressed.
"Sister still has yet to come down." Rita realized as she looked at the empty chair beside her.
"You know she's seemed a bit unwell these days, we should probably check on her." Nita added.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm The girls didn't notice, but Abaddon's heart dropped a bit when he heard that.
He knew full well that the reason why Tita was having a hard time was because of him.
He wasn't a hundred percent certain, but he had a sneaking inclination about what could have been causing a deterioration in her mood.
Before he knew what he was doing, he had stood up with Lailah in his arms and placed her back into the chair. "I'll go check on her. Be back shortly."
None seemed to have a problem with this or even find it strange that he was going and continued eating without even sparing him a second glance.
Abaddon traveled out of the dining room and up the stairs to arrive on the second floor.
He stood outside of Tita's door for a few seconds, as he was beginning to have second thoughts about this whole ordeal.
'Maybe I should have sent up one of the others instead....'
As soon as the thought crossed Abaddon's mind, the door to Tita's room opened and he came face to face with the weary looking woman.
"Is there a problem, Abaddon..?"
"I've come to check on you, the girls said that you haven't been feeling well for a few days..."
"They exaggerate, I am fine." She said with a forced smile.
Abaddon opened his mouth to say something, when the state of Nita's room caught his eye.
Clothes were neatly folded across her bed and were being placed into a suitcase that was already half filled.
"Are you... going somewhere...?"
Tita looked uncomfortable and very nearly closed the door outright.
Her tail drooped a bit and she let out a sigh before deciding to face this uncomfortable situation head on.
"I am... I've decided that I want to travel for a while... I'm sorry to drop this on you so suddenly."
Shock could not begin to describe how Abaddon felt, and he stepped inside to give them a bit more privacy to talk.
"Tita... why are you doing this?"
"I-I just felt like it was time, y'know? Other parts of Samael are likely very beautiful during this time of year and-"
"Please be honest with me." Abaddon asked.
Admittedly, the oldest of the triplet maids thought that her lie was perfect and was a bit surprised that Abaddon had sniffed her out so easily.
She contemplated doubling down on her lie, but decided that he at least deserved the respect that came with her honesty.
"Do you know...I have loved you for almost as long as I have known you...? And I do not only love the superficial things about you like your power or how you look.
I love how you treat those who follow you, how you treat your wives like partners instead of trophies and even how you make dumb jokes that make everyone-"
"My jokes are dumb?"
"B-Be serious!"
"Yes ma'am."
Nita sighed as she looked at all of the clothes lying on her bed and started packing once again.
"When you married Miss Lillian... it really hurt me to watch that, but I never said anything."
Tita was aware of Abaddon's vow not to take any more wives just like everyone who knew him.
As a result, she had resigned herself to living with this unrequited love and had always told herself that it was just a pity that she did not meet Abaddon earlier.
But then, a woman from his past was literally resurrected from the dead so that she could be with him, and soon the two of them were wed as well.
It hurt badly to see Lillian accepted by Abaddon's wives and children so easily when that was all that she had ever wanted.
He had even broken his vow for her.
How great must the love he felt for her have been for him to do such a thing?
And why could she not illicit those same feelings?
It took so much time, and so many nights of crying alone before Tita learned to accept it, partially because she just wanted Abaddon to be happy.
The dragon had some inkling that she might have felt like this, but Tita was never antagonistic towards Lillian or avoided her in anyway.
The two of them actually had a fairly good relationship.
As such, he dismissed his suspicions a while ago and put them to bed.
"She's so beautiful and gentle, and she truly loves you for everything that you are... I can see why you married her, and I no longer feel any negative feelings towards your relationship."
"But..."
Tita finally closed her suitcase and stared at Abaddon with a hurt expression.
"I... won't go through that a second time. I can't sit in your home and watch you pick another woman over me again, I-I just can't do it!"
Finally, Abaddon's stone-like expression cracked and he stared at Tita like she had just grown a second head.
"Say what..?"
"E-Erica! I saw you touching her and spending time together alone! A-And I see the way she looks at you and I know what that means so... What is wrong with you!?"
Abaddon had tried his best to be serious, but about halfway through Tita's lecture he finally couldn't take it and covered his mouth to hide his amused smile.
"W-Why're you laughing at me?!"
"I-I'm not, just give me a moment..."
"Are my feelings truly so funny to you?!"
Abaddon finally picked himself back up and moved over to Nita's bed.
He gently moved her aside, and then started unpacking her suitcase.
"Tita... I'm sorry that I hurt you before, but I think you should know that I do not have the slightest interest in Erica." He tried to remain serious, but he started chuckling again towards the end.
He just found the idea so hilarious that he couldn't even help it.
"You...don't?"
"Definitely not. We aren't compatible."
Abaddon started moving and returning clothes back to their rightful drawers, and Nita was much too powerless to stop him.
She was still trying to process everything that he had just told her.
"She... fits your type down to a tee though. She's older and pretty and she has a nice butt and she's super accomplished and-"
"She's alright." Abaddon said uncaringly. "But physical aspects aside, she isn't the kind of person I want to be married to."
"...Can I ask why?"
Abaddon finally paused from putting away clothes as he stared blankly into space.
"Marriages... they're wonderful, but they're work. They require constant vigilance and reassurance and a slew of other things in order to make them worthwhile. The same is true for myself and my wives. With each of them, I have had a moment where I felt like:
'I do not care how much this woman will require of me, I will give my soul, my body, my blood, to ensure that she remains happy.' But with Erica... I do not feel like that. The desire to place all the world's riches at her feet and ravage her endlessly has never once crossed my mind. "
Abaddon finally resumed putting away Tita's clothes, while she was left with more questions than before.
"But... you did not like Miss Audrina at first either and you still ended up marrying her. There is still time for you to change your mind and have that moment!"
"No, that won't happen." He denied.
"How can you be sure??"
"Because Audrina was a woman who initially wanted to possess me to satiate her own inner vanity. Once she overcame that and started to love my family just as much as me, I knew I had to have her.
But Erica is not necessarily a vain person, she just is the way she is. And who she is just so happens to be incompatible with who I am."
Tita looked like she was having trouble believing Abaddon's words and stammered out a question that she desperately wanted to know.
"Then do you... think that I might be compatible with you as well?"
Abaddon knew that this question was likely always going to come, but he couldn't answer.
He didn't know Tita all that well.
He knew that she was a natural sweetheart, and she got along with everyone in the family, but he didn't know much about her as a woman.
However, that was due to his own efforts to avoid her and not become too close.
Her feelings for him had always been the strongest out of all of the triplets, and they had also been the ones that never faded with time.
He never wanted to get too close to her and make those feelings stronger and increase her heartache.
"Tita... right now, what I have is perfect. I have no wish to change or alter that in any way, and neither do the girls. "
It seemed like he was about to break her heart again, when suddenly he turned around and took one of her hands in his.
"But... I can make you a promise right now. If I ever decide to take another woman into my bed, it will be you and no one else."
Abaddon could see the gears turning in Tita's mind as she fully processed his words.
It took a few moments, but soon her cheeks turned slightly pink as a small tear fell from her eyes.
"Are you... telling me the truth?"
"Have you ever known me to lie?"
"W-Well you are keeping it a secret that you used to be human..."
"You wound me with your jest."
"Hehehe! I'm kidding!"
Tita suddenly closed the distance between the two of them and hugged him firmly for the first time ever.
It was every bit as nice as she had dreamed it to be.
When the two of them finally separated, Abaddon left her room shortly after and asked her to come down for breakfast.
She told him she would be down in a moment but... her feet remained firmly planted in her room.
She was having a serious difficulty wiping away the large smile on her face, and calming her own rapid heartbeat.
Abaddon didn't say very much, but his act of unpacking her bag was a way of saying that he didn't want her to leave.
And his promise that she was first in line IF he ever decided to get married again, had confirmed that he held a small sentiment towards her and even believed them to be compatible.
It wasn't anything concrete.
It was truly no more than a hypothetical.
But for Tita who loved him more than anything, it felt like more than enough.
-
In the hallway of the manor, Abaddon had a slight headache as he walked back to breakfast with his family.
Dealing with complicated matters like this had always taken a lot out of him, and he knew exactly what he had to do to take his mind off of everything.
'I think I'm going to go and blow stuff up today...'
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