The transmigrated villain has a plan

Chapter XI

Cael was already used to being called to Antoine's office, although he never knew if it would be for professional or personal matters. Sometimes he wondered if no one taught Antoine to give a heads up before the conversation. That would really help him with his anxiety.

When he arrived on the CEO's floor, Nate smiled at him and asked him to wait a little as he informed Antoine that he arrived. Three minutes later, Nate came back to call him. When he entered the room, Antoine was sitting next to the table, as last time, a pot of tea and two cups. The blond man didn't even notice when he arrived and he had to call him for him to get out of his state of introspection. Antoine gave him a half smile and got up to welcome him. As he got close, Cael noticed a pile of albums next to him.

"Please sit down. I got you some herbal tea". He smiled, politely, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Thank you".

He served the tea and sat down.

"I brought this for you". He gave him the albums. "Those are the twins' baby albums. We had almost everything printed".

"Thank you", Cael felt a warm feeling as he opened the first album. The kids were so small.

"They were born prematurely, so they were a little small and were really wrinkly".

"Still, they were so beautiful. So cute". Cael said, passing the pages.

"Yeah". Antoine said, a sad look in his eyes.

Although Cael felt happy seeing those photos, a melancholic feeling also hit him. There were many photos of the twins with Antoine, Cyrus, Antoine's family and even Nate. But there won't be any photos of him. He wasn't there at that time. He couldn't see them personally, nor hold them.

"I'm sorry", Antoine said. "Somehow, I stole these moments from you. I can't lie and say I regret my decision, if I went back in time I'd probably do the same thing. It was all I could do at the time. Still, I'm sorry. I took away precious moments with the twins that you'll never get back. I created a mess, this strange relationship that will be hard to untangle. And I realize that even unconsciously or unintentionally, I hurt you, a lot. I made a judgment about you and believed that you were someone you are not. And all my decisions were made based on prejudice. I apologize for that too".

All the time, as he apologized, he maintained his stern appearance, almost work-like. But Cael noticed that he was trembling, his hands and even his eyes. That professional and stoic appearance was his armor. Inside, he was probably nervous; and his words were frank, his apology real. Cael's eyes began to water, but he resisted the impulse to cry. He held tight to the album in his hands and looked at a picture of the twins sleeping.

"I know your relationship with the twins now is strained, but it will get better. It's getting better. And I promise I will do my best so that this all works". After he said that, he tried to drink the tea, but his hands trembled as he took the cup to his lips.

"Thank you", Cael still looked at the photos, avoiding looking Antoine in the eyes. "I wish I could have been there, but I know I can't go back in time. So I just wish to hold them now, to be with them. That's enough for me".

"I will help you with it".

"And I will fulfill the rules you set. I understand it. I wish to protect them too. But thank you. Your words were really important".

Antoine almost dropped the cup and his ears turned red: the guilt and shame for taking all this time to realize what he has done.

"You can take your time looking at the albums, but if you want, I can ask Nate to take them to you. So you can look at them calmly at home".