Elijah POV.
Elijah smiled warmly as he remarked, "There's my favorite girls," the words slipping out before he fully processed their weight. While Michaela seemed unperturbed, Joana's reaction was unmistakable. Her widened green eyes, accentuated by a hint of gold eyeshadow, revealed a glimmer of surprise.
"Hah," Elijah interjected, pretending to be taken aback by his own slip of the tongue, hoping to divert Joana's attention, "just a momentary lapse. Are you two ready?"
Upon their arrival at the bustling banquet, the event was already in full swing. The end-of-summer gathering held a special place in the Wyatt family tradition. While the earlier intimate event that Elijah had escorted Joana and Michaela to catered to immediate family and close friends, this annual gathering took on a d
