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When Stefan Salvatore had heard his father was taking a new wife, he had been far from pleased. He had spent nights wondering what his soon to be step-mother would be like.
Would she be liked the ones in the tales his mother had once told him? The wicked, old step-mother who treated him disdainfully and despised himself and Damon.
The thought of his father replacing his mother hurt him deeply, but the thought of another womanly presence in the house wounded him more so.
Would she sit in his mother's sowing chair? Would she drink from his mother's favourite wine glass? Would she throw away his mother's many perfumes that still sat unused on the master bedroom's dressing table?
Whatever he had been expecting, the young woman before him hadn't been it. Innocent tawny eyes and a shy yet bright smile, she had taken his breath away.
Her voice sounded sweet on his ears, her words were always quiet and kind, and she was so young. She could only be a couple of years older than himself, if that.
Although his father had always been kind to him, Stefan thought the young woman deserved better.
And she hadn't come alone either, by her side had been an equally anxious child, tightly clutching her mother's skirts as she hid from the onlooking stares.
As her mother had spoken, the little girl didn't cease her grip, even when Roslyn's hand smothered over Amelia's curls, attempting to soothe her daughter.
Eyes wide as a deer's, Amelia had only shrunk behind her mother further when Stefan had initially offered her a gentle smile.
She had clearly been petrified, overwhelmed by meeting his stony father and an irritated Damon.
It was no secret that Damon detested the thought of another woman replacing his mother even more than Stefan.
Though Stefan had come to realise that Roslyn had evidently been forced into the annulment, Damon refused to acknowledge this, channelling the bitterness he felt towards their father towards Roslyn and innocent little Amelia.
If she was unsettled by Damon's cold attitude, she didn't express it, keeping up her façade of polite smiles and gentle words.
Stefan could admire her for that.
"Oh brother, hiding from our dearest mother?" Damon drawled bitterly, snapping Stefan out of his thoughts as he turned to face his brother.
His red-rimmed orbs showed evidently how much Damon had drunk, concerning Stefan deeply. Reaching forward and brashly grabbing Damon by the shoulders, Stefan frowned.
"How much have you drunk?" Stefan questioned in concern, eyes darting behind them anxiously.
If their father saw Damon in such a state all hell would pay, especially when the alcohol Damon got wasted on was from his father's stash.
Shrugging off Stefan's grip, Damon rolled his eyes. "Only a little, Stef. Stop worrying."
As he made his way to the window, the ever so slight stumble and sway only proved Stefan's point as Damon narrowed his azure eyes, focusing on something.
"Hmmm."
Before Stefan could even inquire what had captured his brother's attention, frantic footsteps caught his attention before a whirlwind of messy blonde curls and an array of frills and lace crashed into him.
Falling to the floor with a small "Oof!", the petite child didn't protest when Stefan quickly helped her up, scooping her off the floor.
"I fell over." She pouted, arms automatically winding around Stefan's neck as he chuckled, grinning.
Damon turned away from the window, silently watching the encounter between his little brother and his step-sister with distaste. "It seems you did." Stefan chuckled lightly.
"Oh, what a clever little girl you are." Damon snarked, pausing to lean on the arm chair beside him, only to stumble to the side.
As Stefan sent his brother an irritated, annoyed glance, the oblivious three-year old beamed at the sarcastic comment.
"Thank you! Mama says that too." She admitted bashfully, rounded cheeks tinging pink.
Stefan almost melted at the child's innocence as she sent him a dimpled smile, one hand unwinding from his neck only to touch the tip of his noise.
"Boop!" She chimed, erupting into uncontainable giggles at the bewildered look on Stefan's face.
He had never really been around young children being the youngest of the two brothers, but he was starting to understand and care dearly for little Amelia.
Before Damon could utter another cold comment, booming footsteps caught their attention causing the three of them too still.
Sitting up straight in the arm chair, Damon rubbed his eyes anxiously, swallowing as he rolled his shoulders, trying to magically clear his head.
The wild and carefree giggles that had once left Amelia's lips had halted, instead her lips pressed into a firm line.
"What's all this noise about?" His father's booming voice questioned, his cold gaze travelling carelessly across Damon and Stefan till they landed on an nervous Amelia.
Her little arms tightened around Stefan's neck as she nervously bowed her head. Stefan frowned at this, rubbing her back comfortingly.
"Nothing father, we were just playing." Stefan quickly interrupted, knowing if Damon said anything his father would disapprove and most likely pick up the drunken slur in his voice, and if Amelia made a comment, his father would snap at the young girl.
Shaking his head, Giuseppe Salvatore straightened his posture, narrowing his eyes at the small child in his youngest son's arms.
"You need to learn the rules of my household, young lady. And I believe, now is the time-" Giuseppe began.
"Is something wrong?" The delicate voice of Roslyn came from behind Giuseppe as she stepped into the room, a frown marring her beautiful features.
Wearing a large frilly gown, the corset sucking in her waist and the hoop skirt hanging around her ankles, Roslyn placed a hand on her hip.
She looked beautiful, just as she always did.
Turning on the woman, Giuseppe frowned. "It seems Amelia needs to learn the rules of my household."
Frowning, her misty eyes showed various emotions; fury, desperation, confusion, and yet she remained calm and collected as she held her arms out to her daughter.
At the sight of her mother reaching out towards her, Amelia wiggled in Stefan's grasp till he gently placed her on the ground.
As soon as her booted feet hit the floor, Amelia darted towards her mother, Roslyn knelling down briefly as Amelia buried her face in Roslyn's chest before she effortlessly picked her up, holding the young girl to her body.
"Perhaps your right, husband. Excuse us, I will speak to her." Before Giuseppe could even protest, Roslyn turned on her heel, taking Amelia away from the aggressive situation.
Stefan watched with a frown as Roslyn and Amelia walked out the room, the sound of the front door closing echoing through the foyer and into the study.
