"Then... who is our daddy if it’s not them? Is it you?" my daughter asked Dave.
I could see the way her eyes searched his face, uncertain and hesitant... but still hopeful. Like a part of her was silently wishing Dave would say yes.
Dave, probably caught off guard, scratched the back of his neck, his usual composure slipping for the first ti.
His gaze briefly flickered to , and I could see the inner debate playing out behind his eyes.
"Uhm... no," he said carefully. "Your real dad isn’t one of us."
His voice turned more serious, and suddenly, I felt a knot of anxiety twist in my stomach.
"But... I do know who he is."
My heart sank.
Seriously?
I imdiately stepped in before he could say another word.
"Sweethearts, how about we head ho now, hmm?" I said, trying to sound as calm and cheerful as I could, hoping to steer the conversation away before it spiraled any further.
"But Mommy!" Egypt protested, her eyes growing wider with insistence. "Mr. Dave said he knows who our daddy is! We want to know too... please..."
I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I fought the urge to snap.
Damn it, Dave. I was ntally cursing him in a thousand different ways, doing my best to think fast.
I crouched down to their level and gently took their hands in mine.
"Uhm... kids," I began, keeping my voice soft and steady. "The truth is... you don’t need to look for your daddy anymore. Sotis, people who’ve been gone for a long ti... they’re better left in the past."
Paris tilted her head. "What do you an, Mommy?"
I hesitated. The words weighed heavily on my tongue. I took a deep breath, looked into their eyes, and said as gently as I could.
"The truth is... your daddy passed away a long ti ago."
It wasn’t the truth—but it was the safest thing I could tell them, for now.
Behind , I could feel the stunned silence of the four n. I didn’t need to turn around to know, they hadn’t expected to say that.
Seconds later, I heard them gasp behind , like they were only now beginning to process what I’d said.
I already knew they each had their own reactions, but I didn’t bother looking back. Instead, I tried my best to stay composed and maybe a little dramatic in front of my kids, before Ro’s friends could say anything else.
"Your father died while I was still pregnant with you," I continued. "So it’s better if we just stop talking about him altogether."
A long, heavy silence followed, stretching between all of us.
"Damn... I didn’t know won could be this scary."
I heard Calyx mutter under his breath. It was barely a whisper, but in the thick silence, everyone heard it.
All eyes turned to him.
"Gotta agree with you, Calyx." Alfonso added, as if trying to lighten the mood—but failing miserably. "I can’t imagine being declared dead by the woman I love just because I made mistake."
I shot them both a death glare.
"Good thing I haven’t fallen for anyone yet," Calyx went on with a dramatic sigh. "And if I ever do, I just hope it’s not soone who’d casually ’kill off’ in front of people like this."
Alfonso stifled a laugh beside him. I, on the other hand, was fuming.
I turned to the twins, doing my best to push the irritation aside.
"Co on, kids," I said with a forced smile. "Let’s go ho. And don’t pay any attention to those n—we don’t even know them."
It was my final jab at Ro’s ridiculous friends—my way of shutting them out completely.
"W-wait, where are you going, Sylvia... hold on! Don’t do this to us, please!" Calyx called out. "I rember how sweet you were to us last night, and now you’re acting like you don’t even know us right in front of the kids!"
That made my blood boil.
I stopped in my tracks and turned slightly toward him, crossing my arms as I shot him a deadly glare.
"Excuse , sirs, but last night was different. I was a waitress doing my job—serving custors at the bar. This is a completely different situation. We’re not in a bar anymore—we’re standing in front of my children."
"I-I’m sorry... I understand—I an, we understand how you must feel, since you just t us last night and now here we are, acting like this," Calyx said, raising his hands in defense. "But... we’re not trying to take the kids away from you. And we’re definitely not planning on telling their dad about them either."
The mont those words left his mouth, I shot him another death glare.
How could he forget what I just said? I had just told them their father was dead. I had erased him from my children’s lives—buried him in their mories—and here he was, casually dragging him back like it was nothing.
"Aha... r-right. Their dad’s dead. Totally forgot about that," Calyx stamred, forcing a nervous laugh in an attempt to save himself. "It’s just... you know, his mory is still so fresh in our minds. It’s like... like he’s still with us sotis."
I noticed his three idiot friends beside him struggling—and failing miserably—not to laugh.
"Uncle! Uncle, I have a question!" Egypt suddenly chid in. "What’s our daddy’s na?!"
I groaned and slapped my forehead, already feeling the stress pile up. As if the situation wasn’t chaotic enough, Egypt’s curiosity was now joining forces with the ss stirred up by Ro’s annoyingly persistent friends.
I thought she had finally decided to stay quiet, but it seems she was just trying to understand the situation first. Now, she was just as stubborn and mischievous as they were.
"Ah... hahaha..." Calyx let out an awkward laugh and glanced at for help. "Uhm, I... I can’t really rember. But we used to call him..."
Before he could finish, I shot him a warning glare that made him stop mid-word.
"Rom—"
"Rom?" Egypt asked, eyes wide with interest.
"Ah! R-Roo! Yes, that’s it—Roo was your dad’s na. And your mommy here was his Juliet, haha..." Calyx added with a teasing grin in my direction.
"Pfffttt! Hahaha!"
Amie, who had also been quiet for a while, burst into laughter. When I turned to glare at her too, she quickly stopped. "Hehe, sorry! It’s just... that’s so cute. Roo and Juliet. Your love story sounds so dramatic." she said, still giggling.
I didn’t find it funny. Not even a little.
"There’s nothing cute or funny about it," I said coldly. "And I suggest you all leave. I have no intention of introducing the kids to any of you."
"M-Mommy, are you mad? Is it our fault? Paris and I already introduced ourselves to them even though you told us not to talk to strangers." Egypt said nervously, clearly worried she had upset .
I shot her a look too. This little girl just couldn’t keep her mouth shut.
"But Sylvia! We really have no intention of telling Rom—uh, him—anything about what we’ve found out, we promise! We just... we just want to get to know the kids a little more—"
"No. And that’s a firm no!" I cut him off sharply before he could say anything more.
I grabbed both children by the arms, one on each side, holding them close. "Co on, kids, we’re going ho now!"
I leaned down slightly, adding in a warning tone to the twins, "Next ti, don’t talk to strangers like them, they might sell your organs to shady people if you still don’t listen. You understand?!"
The twins gasped, clearly alard, and clung to tightly as I turned us around to leave.
"Yes, Mommy!"
"Bye, Teacher Amie!" I heard Paris call out sweetly behind , waving at the only person she recognized.
I didn’t bother looking back. I kept walking without so much as a glance at those four n behind us. They didn’t need any more of our ti or our trust.
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