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We finally get back to the house and carry Brooklyn inside, climbing into bed with her in my arms and letting sleep claim me. The rest of the trip went by so fast it was like we hit a time warp, but it was time to go back home. Brooklyn and I both have to get back to work.
“I am glad we are flying back on the jet, otherwise, I would be paying a small fortune to get all these souvenirs home,” she says, carefully wrapping the delicate pieces up.
“You wouldn’t have had to worry about that. I would have gotten them home for you,” I say, looking back through the house, making sure we aren’t leaving anything behind. D packed all of the things I bought already. Finally, the car shows up to take us to the airport so we can head home. It’s an overnight flight, and I kept her up and busy all day, so I know she will fall asleep as soon as we are in the air. I help carry the bags to the car and make sure Brooklyn is settled before heading to the jet so we can return to reality. We board the plane and wait for them to get our luggage stowed, and we are taking off sooner than I would have expected. Brooklyn heads straight to the bedroom, stripping as soon as she crosses the threshold, leaving a trail of clothes as she climbs into bed and falls asleep before I can cover her with her blanket. I soon realize the joke is on me when I climb into bed beside her and fall asleep just as fast as she did.
When we make it home, it is morning, but Brooklyn and I are both refreshed and ready to go, seeing as we slept the whole way home except for the last hour. We slip into my private entry, heading directly to my suites to avoid letting my nosey-ass family know we’re back. It literally takes me two trips to bring everything in once I tell Brooklyn to get her ass away from the bags when she tries to carry one of them. We are unpacking when there is a knock on the door, and we both realize that we weren’t as discreet as we thought we were.
“Let me go see which one of my nosey ass brothers is here to harass us,” I tell her, walking out of the closet where we are putting away our clothes.
“What the hell do you want?” I ask Asher when the door swings open.
“Well, hello to you too. What the fuc..uh fudge is wrong with you?” he amends, remembering he is holding his daughter, who loves to repeat everything she hears.
“I was hoping not to have to deal with anyone else just yet,” I explained.
“Oh, so you enjoyed your trip with Brooklyn?”
“I did.”
“And you were hoping to stay in your little vacation bubble a little while longer, and here I come knocking, ruining it, huh?”
“Exactly,” I tell him.
“I mean, she’s just a friend, right, so why does it matter?”
“No, really, what the fuc…uh fudge do you want? This is why I didn’t want to be bothered with anyone. I’m tired of hearing the same shi..stuff from y’all,” I say, cutting my eye at Remi, who’s looking at me like she is waiting for me to slip up so she can have some new naughty word to say.
“Remi wanted to see her Uncle Aryan,” Asher says, and I look back to Remi, who, on cue, has crocodile tears dangling precariously in her eyes, threatening to break loose and run down her cheeks. She needs her very own acting coach. I see anEmmy™ in her future. I used to think Atlas was ridiculous with his antics with Sarai, but Remi is just as bad with me as Sarai is with Atlas. I can barely tell her no, and on the very rare occasions that I have, I have been wracked with guilt. So, I already know whatever Remi asks me to do, I am going to say yes to.
“I just wanted to see you, Uncle Ary. I misseded you, and you were gone for a really loooong time.” She says as one tear rolls down her cheek in the most dramatic way possible.
“Aww, come here, pumpkin,” I hold my arms out, and she practically jumps out of her father's arms into mine, wraps her little thin arms around my neck, and attempts to choke me to death with the hug she gives me. I pull her closer to me so she can’t see what I am doing, and I cuss her father out over her shoulder, mouthing cuss words that I know he understands, and of course, he stands there grinning at me. Fucker. Finally, she pulls back, turns, and holds her arms out for her father to grab her, “Let's go, Daddy, Uncle Aryan is tired. Can I come back later?” she asks me. I swear this little girl has been here before, and it also doesn’t help that Sarai has been coaching her.
“How about we have lunch and a shopping trip tomorrow,” I negotiate.
“Yay! Anywhere?”
“Yes, pumpkin, anywhere,”
“Okay! Come on, Daddy, let's go so Uncle Ary can get some rest, and I can pick where I want to go tomorrow,” she demands.
“Ok, let's go find your mother,” he says to her and to me, “We’ll finish this later,” before he walks off.
CHAPTER5
Brooklyn
I get all of my and Aryan’s clothes unpacked and put up while he is at the door talking to his brother. I grab the bag with the gifts and start unpacking them, separating them to know who gets what. I got hand-carved animals, I brought Lennox an authentic hand-carved Zulu mask, some seasonings and food back for Jaasiel, and a spear for Parker.
I go through each gift mentally as I pull them out of the suitcase. I pulled out the special gift I snuck in for Aryan. I was able to buy some gold for his business and even some precious gems. I look around the closet to stash it before he comes back in and see the perfect spot. Grabbing the ladder, I drag it over to the correct spot. I pick up the box carefully, climbing the ladder to stash it in the corner on the top shelf. Out of all the times I have been in this closet, I do not remember ever seeing this shelf, but then again, it’s so high up, and in the corner, I wouldn’t have known it was there. I set the box on the shelf, pushing it as far back as it can go, but it doesn’t move very far back. Carefully, I stand on a higher rung on the ladder to see what’s stopping the box, and I notice another box sitting where I want my box to go.
Curiosity gets the best of me, and I pull the box towards me. I almost fall off the ladder from the barrage of sneezes that take over from the thick layer of dust. It’s a beautiful hand-carved wooden keepsake box. Picking it up, I look at it all over to see if there is anything on it to tell me what it’s for. I tried to open it, but it’s locked somehow. but I don’t see a lock anywhere.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I hear the sharp, deadly words spoken behind me, making me grapple to hold onto the ladder when I jump. I turn to look at a pissed-off Aryan. I have never seen him so mad, which is saying a lot, and I am scared of him for the first time ever.
“Answer me!” He is full-on yelling at this point, making his way to me, and I am fighting the urge to run, but I am still on the ladder.
“I was putting something up and saw this,”
