"Dad?"

Emily asked with a shocked expression covering her face. Her eyes were trained on the parcel that was sitting on her brother's lap.

The word was so foreign to her that it came out without any hint of warmth in her tone. Was it bad that she felt no emotions towards a person whom she could not even remember?

"Umm-hmm! It was the present that he bought for you years ago, probably as a present for your birthday, the one when you were taken away from us. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to give this to you personally." Domenic told her as he placed the box on her lap and patted her lightly on her shoulder before he stood up and left the study, giving her some alone time.

Emily knew that their father had passed away years ago. The war that broke through in City A around twelve years ago, was the reason why the heads of the three powerful families of City - Alessandros, Sullivans, and Evans, lost their lives.

It was ironic that all the three family heads lost their lives on the same and in the same banquet, one that was held in honor to the three powerful families for placing the base of a better future for their city and citizens.

They were supposed to sign a peace treaty at that banquet. However, they never got the chance.

The enemies arrived at a time when no one was prepared and their guards were down. That day was recorded as one of the darkest periods of City A's history.

The only good thing that happened that day was that none of the younger generations of the three families were present at that banquet.

Domenic, Kaiden, and Sam took command over their family empires, and after a few months of the attack, the three signed the peace treaty that their fathers were supposed to sign.

As far as she knew, Domenic, Kaiden, and Sam joined their forces back then to find the team of rogues who attacked the council on the night of the banquet.

Rylan even told her that the three Masters succeeded in finding the rogues and killed them but for some reason, Emily felt like there was still a part of the story that she did not know yet.

A sigh escaped her lips as she turned her attention towards the box. She really did not feel any kind of attachment towards the man who was her biological father.

The thought of returning the parcel to Domenic appeared in her mind. However, it felt bad to not accept the present that her father especially prepared for her.

She struggled to make a decision but no matter how hard she tried, she could neither make herself open the box and look at whatever was inside it nor did she want to return it to Domenic.

"You can keep it with you. No need to open it now or today. Wait for the day when your heart finally wants to see whatever is inside it." 

Emily did not need to look at the person to know who he was. She just nodded her head in reply as she stood up with the box and left the study with him beside her.

Soon, all of them were sitting around the dining table as they enjoyed a warm and happy time during their lunch.

After lunchtime, her brothers decided that it was finally the time for them to open the presents since they had nothing else to do.

Leo and Crist decided to first make Domenic wear something casual since he was still wandering around the mansion in a grey suit pant.

"You should change too," Emily told her bodyguard as soon as Leo and Crist disappeared with her eldest brother to choose a casual outfit for him to wear.

"Why?" 

Shadow asked with his eyebrows raised high as he looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Come on, Shadow! Are you not tired of wearing all black? I haven't seen you in any other color since the day to appear in our lives. I think the black color too needs a vacation for the time being." 

This time, it was Sam who decided to answer Shadow's question. Everyone chuckled at his words while Shadow just rolled his eyes and ignored everyone.

His eyes were still trained on Emily as if he was still waiting for her to answer.

Emily let out a small sigh as she looked into the amber eyes of her bodyguard and started speaking.

"You do look great in black and the color suits you. But just like Sam said, you need to try other colors too." 

"I don't like any other color." Shadow immediately replied as he turned his focus towards the pile of presents that were sitting under the huge Christmas tree.

"How about....trying a color that I like?" Emily asked in a lowered tone as she looked at the man who immediately turned to face her once again.

"Is that what you prepared as a gift for me?" Even though he made it sound like a question, she had a feeling that he already knew the answer.

"You already knew, right?" She asked with suspicious eyes.

"I'm your bodyguard, Princess. There's nothing that I don't know about what you have been doing these days." Shadow's voice was just as low as it could possibly be.

Somehow, the rest of the people present around them were too busy in their own worlds to pay any attention to them.

"So where are my new clothes?" 

She turned her attention back towards Shadow when he asked about the clothes. A huge smile appeared on her lips as she immediately dragged the man towards her bedroom.

"Why did you not put my present under the tree?" Shadow asked as he followed behind her, shaking his head as he looked at her excited expression.

"Because I bought you more than one gift. One is sitting under the tree and the other one is in my room." Emily replied as she opened the door of her bedroom and entered.

It was a good thing that Kaiden was not there to hear her words. Otherwise, the harsh life that Mr. Kim was suffering at the moment would have become someone else's future.