Bonus Chapter: Part 9

***Bonus Chapter: Part 9* **

**“Wo…ow,”** Friso drooled at the sight before him. He was sitting on the high chair built and adjusted to be on the same level as his parents, so he could see what food they were having for breakfast. It had his parents’ usual Sunday morning feast of pancakes, bread, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and vegetable soup, but today’s Sunday was different, and rare because his favorite mushroom omelet was served! He was often fed with plain Gerber, porridge, and whatever “nutritious food” served by the head chef.

Meanwhile, as Friso was drooling on his freshly served breakfast, his parents were on their usual lovey-dovey-like-we’re-newlyweds session. The shared intimacy and romantic connection were not different, even with the cameras on.

“Hello again, beautiful,” Hades welcomed his wife strutting slowly towards him by reaching out his thick hand and holding onto her waist. He loved being close to her, if he could, he would stick next to her for a lifetime but of course, that could not be.

“I’m sorry again. Have we met somewhere before?” Allison asked with a bewildered expression on her face, to which he smirked. He knew what she was up to, she was playing with him again.

“Of course.” Just as he always did, he went with the flow with her little play, took her hand, and lifted it to his face for a light, gentle kiss. His wife’s hand was smaller, softer, and warmer than his own. It was the same hand that held him with such tenderness. “Or maybe I am mistaken and mistook you for someone precious.”

“Someone…” she hummed, pretending to be ignorant, but her lips were lifted in a devious smile. “Precious?” when she said those words, her smile grew wider then her cheeks flushed to a color that reflected her rusty hair.

“That’s right,” he answered, kissing her hand once again. “My wife,” he added with a cheeky smile. He knew Allison loved fishing for compliments, and he was going to give her the entire sea.

“Mhm.” The woman’s eye showed a glimpse of mischief as she asked: “Is your wife beautiful?”

“Of course, she is beautiful,” he immediately retorted. To him, Allison was a beauty beyond compare. “I wouldn’t marry anyone if it wasn’t her,” he declared, staring deeply into her eye that reminded him of shimmering emeralds. The couple stared at each other quixotically, a gush of thick amorous tension was forming between them. They were looking at each other as if they were the only people in the world. The atmosphere was glazed with sweet honey, and the audience watching them was getting bitterly stung by bees, figuratively.

“Mush…woom omewet!” a small voice suddenly said, which broke off the couple’s eye contact. The two adults looked at their son, whose cheeks were puffing, mouth drooling and eyes sparkling. It was clear that he was excited to eat. They both laughed in amusement.

"Okay, little man. Eat up,” Allison told her son, sitting on the chair beside her husband and in front of Friso. She lifted a slice of the omelet from a server and placed the right proportion to his plate, and added a few bits of other food on the platter, most especially the (baby food) that had all the vitamins he needed. She then proceeded by grabbing her utensils, and the boy imitated her, gripping his mini wooden utensils as well.

"Yes, mama,” he replied and began digging in.

That marked a peaceful breakfast to begin. Friso was sitting on a highchair, busy eating his mini mushroom omelet while his mother was eating her breakfast while opening small conversations in between, and his father was drinking coffee, listening to his wife’s sweet little nothings.

“How do you usually start your mornings, Mr. de Vries?” Haroun asked behind the camera. He wanted Hades to talk about his personal life, he wanted to get a grasp of something that even the magazines and articles couldn’t get. Hades de Vries was a private man, except during the time he tried to pursue his wife and a so-called scandal between them broke out.

“My mornings usually start with a morning coffee,” Hades said, lifting the mug to his face and taking a generous sip of the caffeinated drink. “Especially a hot one,” he added, placing the mug down.

Hearing the man say “hot”, Friso looked up at his father and asked innocently while chewing on his food, “Coffee too hot for dada?”

“Quite,” the man answered shortly and took another sip. “But don’t worry, dada can handle it,” he then added. He knew that the boy inherited his mother’s worrisome nature, the latter would always ask if they are okay if they mention something that equated to getting hurt in his understanding.

Meanwhile, the crew held themselves from audibly gasping in astonishment. The tyrant they were expecting to meet wasn’t there. This was a grizzly bear bearing fuzzy and fatherly vibes! Moreover, they didn’t expect that the word “dada” would come out from Hades himself!

“May I blow cold for dada?” Friso offered, leaning closer in the man’s direction. To him, his father was in trouble and need of help.

“It's fi—” Hades was about to protest but wasn’t able to finish when the child blew loudly on his mug of coffee, shreds of pieces of food were being splattered on his coffee and his hand. “Oh.” That was all he could say out of surprise. His caffeine-induced happiness now had bits of omelet and mushroom floating around it.

The child looked up at his father, his eyes sparkling with his desire for the man’s approval. “Did I do good, Dada?”

The two blokes stared at each other for a few moments, a few seconds more and a staring contest was to be held but it ended abruptly when the man couldn’t help but laugh at his son's cuteness and ended up patting the boy’s head. Never mind the wasted coffee, he could always have a new one anyway. “You did a great job, buddy.”

“I did?” Friso asked, his eyes sparkling with anticipation for another praise.

“Yes… yes… You did. Thank you,” the amused father tried to keep himself from wincing when he glanced at his mug. He was a man of honesty and integrity. This trait of his hiked him to a high seat in the business world since he always honored his promises to the people he work with and to himself. He was like a ­pure silk spotless of tainted lies. But for his son, he would willingly lie through gritted teeth. “I’m proud of you,” he added. Liar.

“I love you too, dada.”