𝗟𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗲

33- 𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝘁.2

Through the extravagant meal, Natalia and Elias shared numerous stolen glances- even if they had sat on opposite ends of the table to prevent that from happening.

They could feel it when their eyes locked, when everything else faded away for a moment- but Azaiah asking Elias to pass him the plate of turkey cut them off.

Leonardo and Estela were sat next to each other, though they seemed different from earlier. The handsy couple that Ines saw this morning were no longer all over each other, but kept to themselves as Leonardo had an impossibly hard to read look on his face.

However, Ines wasn't here to witness that, the empty seat opposite Estela often catching her attention.

Ines had told her that Christmas was her favourite holiday- she didn't know why she would want to miss it.

"Mommy, look at this!" Arabella exclaimed, holding up a nerf gun and a fighting costume with wrapping paper torn up beside her.

"Wow, it's amazing sweetie" Estela told her as she looked towards Natalia, who had a smug look on her face. She knew exactly who got Arabella that gift.

"Thank you, Auntie Nat" Arabella told her, not noticing Estela's eyes widen as she spoke.

"Santa got you these presents sweetie, not Auntie Nat" Estela explained, but Arabella only furrowed her brows.

"Mom, I know that Santa isn't real, how young do you think I am?"

Estela's jaw practically dropped to the floor as she was left sat there in a state of shock.

"Excuse me? Since when?!" Estela asked, mouth still hung open.

Estela was a firm believer in the fact that children should get a childhood and believe in those fantasies, so the fact that someone had took that off her made her furious.

And that was why Natalia was now taking a generous swig from her flask.

Estela noticed this and her eyes darted towards Natalia, narrowing as she tried to see if she was hiding any guilt. Estela would make a pretty good detective. Or even interrogator.

"Don't look at me- I didn't do anything" Natalia told her, holding her hands up in mock surrender with her flask still tightly in her grasp.

"Yeah, Daddy told me the other day when we were wrapping presents."

Just at that moment Leonardo entered the room, only to wish he never had in the first place as Estela sent him a stare that could turn him into a statue like Medusa.

"Did you tell Arabella that Santa wasn't real?" Estela asked him as he sat beside her, his arm hung loosely around her shoulder.

"I figured she already knew" Leonardo told her and Natalia was trying not to burst out laughing. He had just digged himself into a hole that was nearly impossible to get out of.

"Of course, she didn't- she's still a child" Estela hissed, keeping her voice down as Arabella was sat trying to open the box to the nerf gun.

"She's 10 years old, Stella-" Leonardo spoke but Estela cut him off.

"She still doesn't deserve to have those fantasies taken from her" Estela spoke, wobbling on the edge of anger and composure.

"I knew about Santa before I was 10, she's grown up, Stella" Leonardo told her, and that was when she tipped over the edge and fell into the watery depths of anger.

However, the sound of feet shuffling behind her and a tap of her shoulder made her stop in her tracks, the finger that was pointed in his face now being lowered.