Chapter 61 - surprise 2
[Seraphina’s POV]
The usually quiet office was suddenly filled with warmth.
Gray carefully placed the elegant chocolate cake on my desk before he and Amy stepped closer together.
"Happy Birthday, Mom!"
"Quickly cut the cake! It’s already midnight!"
Amy immediately handed me the cake knife.
"Yeah, Mom, hurry up!"
"I’ve been waiting to eat this cake since this afternoon, but this stingy Gray wouldn’t even let me touch it."
"I can’t hold back anymore!"
Gray immediately glared at her.
"Hey, glutton!"
"It’s Mother’s birthday, not your eating day."
"So at least pretend you’re waiting because of Mom!"
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
My daughter...
Was actually being scolded by her younger brother.
Then Astrid walked over as well.
"Seraphina, hurry up and cut it."
"I want to taste the cake too."
I looked at her helplessly.
"Astrid... why are you in such a hurry?"
"Haven’t you eaten plenty of cakes before?"
She proudly puffed out her chest.
"Hmph!"
"What do you know?"
"I’ve eaten plenty of cakes."
"But I’ve never eaten one made by my dear children."
My eyebrow twitched.
"...Your children?"
Astrid nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"Of course."
She proudly pointed toward Gray and Amy.
"See?"
"Those are my children."
"They made it."
"They’re extremely talented."
I stared at her speechlessly.
Her shamelessness truly knew no bounds.
She was claiming my children right in front of me.
Just as I was about to correct her...
I suddenly realized what she had said.
...
They made this?
I slowly looked toward Gray and Amy.
"...Is Astrid telling the truth?"
Gray opened his mouth to answer.
Before he could say anything, Amy immediately spoke.
"Yup!"
"We made it!"
"Well... mostly."
She pointed at Gray.
"This stingy brat wouldn’t even let me taste a single slice."
"He even put the whole cake inside his Space Storage, saying time doesn’t flow in there."
"I couldn’t even look at it."
"It smelled so delicious."
"And he made me work the entire afternoon!"
She folded her arms before continuing her complaint.
"And while I was helping, I got a little hungry."
"So I only tasted a tiny bit of the batter."
"Somehow he noticed and kept calling me a glutton."
She pouted dramatically.
"So I got my revenge."
"I ate every single cupcake he made."
A triumphant grin appeared on her face.
Astrid chuckled before adding,
"That’s true."
"After training, Gray practically dragged Amy into the kitchen."
"The two of them spent the entire afternoon baking."
Gray immediately looked at the two of them in disbelief.
"Hey!"
"Why are you two making me sound like some kind of villain?"
Amy answered without missing a beat.
"Because you are."
Gray immediately fired back.
"Oh?"
"Then who was the one who ate every cupcake the moment they came out of the oven?"
"You didn’t even leave me one!"
"Hmph."
The two of them immediately started arguing again.
As usual.
...
But I wasn’t listening anymore.
My thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.
They...
Remembered my birthday.
Not only that...
They had spent an entire afternoon making this cake with their own hands.
I already knew Gray had secretly been learning how to cook.
Yet...
He had never once asked any of us to taste his food.
Now...
I finally understood why.
He wasn’t waiting until he became perfect.
He had simply been waiting for the right moment.
He wanted the very first dish he served us...
To be something truly special.
Even then...
He hadn’t tried to take all the credit for himself.
Instead, he had dragged Amy into the kitchen so this could become a gift from both of them.
Without realizing it...
My little boy had grown far more than I had imagined.
He thought carefully before acting.
He expected nothing in return.
He wasn’t trying to impress me.
He simply wanted to make me happy.
In this world...
Where people betrayed their own families for power, wealth, and status...
My children had grown into kind, thoughtful people.
There was nothing more I could have asked for as their mother.
An indescribable warmth filled my heart.
Before I even realized what I was doing...
I stood up.
Then...
I pulled both of them into my arms.
Neither Gray nor Amy expected it.
For a brief moment, they froze.
Then they quietly hugged me back.
No words were spoken.
None were needed.
After a while, Gray gently looked up at me and smiled.
"Mom..."
"You still have to cut the cake."
I slowly let them go and walked toward the cake.
I wanted to express how grateful I was.
I wanted to tell them how much this surprise meant to me.
But...
That wasn’t who I was.
My children had always known me as someone whose love was shown through actions rather than words.
I had never been good at expressing my feelings with long speeches or sweet words.
Instead...
I protected them.
I guided them.
I stayed beside them whenever they needed me.
That was how I showed my love.
And I knew...
They already understood it.
There was no need to ruin the precious atmosphere they had created by becoming overly emotional.
Tonight wasn’t about my tears.
It was about the love and effort my children had poured into preparing this surprise.
So...
I would simply enjoy this precious moment together with them.
With a gentle smile, I picked up the knife and looked at the beautiful cake they had made with their own hands.
Then I picked up the knife Amy had handed me and carefully cut the first slice of cake.
I made sure it included a little of everything—the soft sponge, the chocolate frosting, the melted chocolate, and a fresh strawberry on top.
Holding the slice in my hand, I turned around.
The first thing I saw was Amy already standing right in front of me.
"Hey! I’m the oldest, so I should be first!"
Before I could even respond, Astrid joined in with a playful smile.
"Now, now."
"I’m older than Amy."
"So shouldn’t I be the one to get the first bite?"
Amy immediately glared at her with threatening eyes.
"You’re not a kid!"
"I’m the oldest child here, so the first bite is mine!"
Astrid simply chuckled at her reaction.
Seeing the eager anticipation on Amy’s face, I couldn’t help but smile.
She had probably been staring at this cake ever since they finished making it.
Meanwhile, Gray simply stood quietly beside us with a small smile on his face, showing no intention of competing with his sister.
Knowing him...
He probably didn’t mind in the slightest.
If anything, seeing Amy this excited was likely enough to make him happy.
With that thought, I smiled gently and brought the fork toward Amy.
"Here."
"The first bite is yours."
Amy’s eyes lit up instantly as she happily accepted it.
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A.N:-
Sorry for dragging this but when i started to write i got many ideas and many ways to go the situation so i don’t want to write like 2 Chapters and end the situation and there one more Chapter of Seraphina’s pov if you don’t like you can skip but in this novel main team is family warmth and cresting new spell i didn’t made them from pre plan when i got the elements and i got ideas i put in novel so different combinations and many way of using his powers came uo in the future until he go to adventure
After that adventure arc and make new friends travel the world do things outside the family and he might meet fl not sure i have two way to meet them so i don’t know how i do it in the future
Thanks for reading my novel this is a story i always wanted to make and once again thank for support
And if you ask why i just didn’t upload a 2k to 4k it not how it works for me at least when i began to write the Chapter i don’t even look at words count and when i look at it it already 800 - 1000 so i polish it in chatgbt and upload but dont worry i only polish my wording not let it write the Chapter idea because my English grammar is terrible 🙂↕️😅
B.S