The third point of view:

Reina felt Isabella's glare as they left the inside of the house under close scrutiny from the guards. She intended to arrive home before the observant Niklaus noticed she was gone - hopefully?

However, she received the shock of her life when she stepped outside into the courtyard to see a certain devil watching them smugly as if he had been waiting for them all this time to crawl out of their holes.

Right now, Niklaus looked like a hunter, while Isabella and Reina felt like the rodents whose home in the ground he had tactically set on fire so he could lure them out.

Isabella even stiffened, that sleazy smile on her father's face made him look like the king of hell. Great, who knew what punishment he had in store for them this time?

Reina started scratching the back of her head thinking of a suitable way to escape this one when he strode over to her and before she could open her mouth and lie her way, reached out and squashed her tiny frame into a hug.

Isabella's mouth almost dropped from shock, she had expected him to begin to yell their head off, who knew he was missing his "dear" wife - note the sarcasm.

The girl sneered, she was a fool for having high hope of thinking her father missed her. Of course, Reina was the new gem while she was the queen dowager - the old and forgotten once reigning Phoenix.

Isabella took one step back, already plotting how to escape since the two old hags were currently immersed in their public display of affection when a hand reached and squashed her to him too.

"Ugh!" Isabella groaned out her frustration. What the hell was this? Were they trying to kill her by suffocation?! And what the hell! She was no longer ten! What if that stupid asshole called Julie was watching, it would be so embarrassing.

And yes, he was watching, Honestly, he was greatly amused by the scene of Isabella compressed between Niklaus and Reina like a sardine. The sight was so comical especially now the girl had a deep scowl on her face, Julie threw his head back and laughed to his heart's content.

By the time Niklaus released Isabella, she was so red in the face that one would think she was about to explode - yes, she was about to explode from extreme anger.

However, Isabella subdued her killing intent and turned back on her heels to resume her journey out of this disgusting place. Isabella resolved in her heart, she would treat Julie in the future, very, very, very, well.

Niklaus stood perplexed at Isabella's cold outfrown; the girl could stare down a statue. He had been boiling with anger when he got a report that Reina had left the house, apparently in search of Isabella without telling him.

He knew his daughter quite well, although Isabella and Maya/Reina had grown attached over the years.

When angry, it was better to avoid Isabella until she cooled down since she had a ninety-nine percent chance of already landed herself into trouble. He had purposely ignored Isabella in the morning time, intending to send people to find her before night falls only to discover that Reina has engaged in one of her infuriating solo missions.

Isabella was lucky enough to have stumbled upon George in his later years. Niklaus didn't exactly have a close relationship with that man nor had they ever traded due to George's alliance with Sakuzi and he and Sakuzi haven't exactly been friends then. In his prime, George had been a force to reckon with, which wasn't surprising since Sakuzi, his discipline was doing well.

Niklaus had arrived to take his wife and daughter home with him and he was ready for a fight in case George put on one. However, he was highly surprised when the man welcomed him in without further questioning - seems he knows who he was - though he still had his men on standby in case that man was as tricky as his father.

Great joy filled his heart when he saw Reina and Isabella come out of the mansion unharmed and they seemed startled to see him which elicited a smirk from his lips - he would give the both of them a piece of his raging mind.

But then, when Niklaus was just about to rain down his fury, Reina's pep talk about treating Isabella like a "baby" surfaced in his mind. It had been hard for Niklaus to put that into work, but the moment he hugged Reina, the rest was as easy as ABC.

However, why was Isabella glaring at him? He had followed through Reina's instructional manual, yet, there wasn't any reward from her side - to be truthful, he felt she would throttle him given the opportunity.

"Let's go," Niklaus patted Reina affectionately on the hair. Their wedding was just a week away, he shouldn't be too harsh on his wife. Moreover, he hasn't told her of the surprise he had waiting for her at home, yet.

Reina was surprised at the three-sixty degree change in Niklaus' character, she was more scared now. It was better he yelled out his anger at her now and got over with it, than keeping it in mind to punish her at a time she least expects it.

The ride home was awfully quiet yet suffocating. Isabella was angry yet guilty; she had a lot to think about and a whole mess to clean up; Maya was still uneasy about Niklaus' unexpected magnanimity; Niklaus was uncertain if she would like his undiscussed gift. But all of them preferred to settle their decision in their heart than laying down it on the table - sigh, what a family.

Isabella was the first to show confusion when they arrived at the penthouse.

"Changed houses," Reina answered the query on her face.

As soon as the private elevator led them to their apartment, Niklaus pulled Reina aside to confess

"I might have invited someone you might not exactly like,"

Reina's face widened, then was replaced by a prominent frown, "Who?" she asked.

Niklaus simply grabbed her hand and led her into the living room where she met face-to-face with that man.

"F-father," a choke left her mouth.

The pepper and salt-haired man who had been playing with the kids suddenly stiffened upon hearing his daughter's voice.

Sakuzi rose to his feet, unmistaken affection twinkled in his eyes as he gazed at his daughter.

"Princess," He breathed, hesitant to take a forward step since he couldn't exactly gauge if she was pleased to see him.

"Father," emotion clogged her throat and before one could know what was happening, she had already freed her hand from Niklaus' grasp and ran over to her father, engulfing him in a hug.

Father and daughter hugged each other tightly as if the world was ending while tears streamed down Reina's face - no one was surprised by her outburst. She had always been emotional.

Without needing to be told, Niklaus immediately called out to the kids and pulled them to their respective rooms to give Reina and Sakuzi privacy.

"I'm sorry, father," Reina apologized. Though she had tried to harden her heart and pretend she didn't need Sakuzi in her heart, the truth was that she missed him greatly. After all, she had spent seven years with this man who never once raised his hand on her. If only he hasn't lied to her...

"No, I'm the one that's sorry," Sakuzi corrected the claim, pulling away from the emotional hug to clasp his daughter's beautiful precious face.

He wiped away the tears that kept falling without restraint, "I'm a bad father, princess. I was so blind with getting revenge for the dead that I didn't see how much I was hurting you and my grandkids,"

"You didn't mean to,"

"I know. I'm so disappointed in myself," He took Reina's hand and kissed it, " I didn't mean to hurt you either," He had a guilty look on his face.

"It's alright father, right now we have a more pressing issue,"

"Like what?" Sakuzi knew what she was about to say but he pretended to be ignorant so as not to ruin her surprise.

"I want you to walk me down the aisle, father," Reina requested.

"Oh," Sakuzi was dumbfounded. He thought she was about to tell him about her getting married to Niklaus - his previous enemy - which he knew about, already.

"Are you sure about that, princess? You know you don't have to feel compelled to -"

"I want you to be the one to do me the favour, father. You're the only one suitable for the role" she didn't even let him finish.

After a moment of hesitation, he gave in, "Of course, I'll walk you down the aisle, my princess"

"Thank you!" Reina was so excited she threw herself at the old man who nearly buckled under her weight. Does she think he was still in his prime form?

"Alright, now I need to brief you on the wedding preparation and also, the latest addition to the family," she began to chatter away enthusiastically with her father just as Niklaus stepped into the living room without noticing their secret communication between both men.

Sakuzi: Touch my daughter and you'd be on the next train to hell (>.>)

Niklaus: *smug* don't worry, she's mine only - no sharing (>.>)