Chapter 431 - 425: Romance in the palace
The door opened again, this time without a knock, because if you were the Emperor or Max Claymore, you didn’t knock. You just entered, fully aware of your rank, your right, and the chaos you might be walking into.
Damian stepped in first, tailored in black with the faintest shimmer of ward-stitched thread down his cuffs. His hair was perfectly in place, and his golden eyes were sharp but focused entirely on one thing.
Gabriel.
Or more precisely, Gabriel holding their son like a living anchor.
Max followed two steps behind, dressed like a man who had woken up fifteen minutes ago and dared the world to comment on it. His black hair, identical in shade to Damian’s, was cut in what could generously be called strategic dishevelment: short on the sides, longer on top, clearly styled at some point in the past twenty-four hours, then violently abandoned to the whims of gravity and caffeine. There was a stubborn curl falling over his forehead like punctuation to his smirk, and from the way he walked, hands full, one with a folder, the other with a croissant, you’d think his sole job was to disrupt schedules and seduce someone’s heir.
His green eyes, bright and entirely too entertained, swept the room with a lazy predator’s grace.
"Well," Max said, as if announcing a weather report. "The royal nest is full."
"Occupied," Gabriel said, without looking up. "You’re intruding."
"You love it," Max said, not bothering to deny it. He glanced at Irina and waggled the croissant. "Bribe?"
She beamed and took it with both hands. "For the record, I am easy to win over."
"Same," Alexandra muttered, catching the second croissant Max tossed her without ever breaking posture. "As long as there’s coffee."
Max turned to Damian, who hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken, just watched Gabriel like the rest of the room didn’t matter. "You’re going to stare until your eyes fall out. Just go take the kid."