"Say goodbye?" Ro’s voice was cold. "Didn’t you already do that when you said you were leaving? Miss Lincolm already knows you’re going—so why say goodbye again?"
"No... not to Miss Sylvia," Gabriel replied innocently. "I want to say goodbye to Egypt and Paris too—for taking care of ."
The mont I heard those words, it felt like ice water had been poured over .
My feet froze at the doorway—I couldn’t move. And I wasn’t the only one.
The air shifted. Even Ro’s friends went completely still, as if they hadn’t expected that response either.
"Egypt and Paris?" Ro repeated, his voice low with suspicion. I didn’t need to look—I could feel his gaze turning toward .
"Yes," Gabriel nodded. "They’re my good friends now. They comforted and even invited to their room. They’re really kind kids, Dad. That’s why I want to say goodbye to them before we go ho."
"Kids?" Ro echoed. I could feel the chill in his tone growing colder by the second.
"Are those the voices I heard earlier when I stepped inside? Were they in the house the whole ti?"
"Yes," Gabriel confird innocently. "They’re the sa age as —and they’re twins! And now that I think about it... they have nas just like mine too! Their nas are also places!"
My heart sank.
I couldn’t see Ro from where I stood, but I could feel his gaze—sharp and digging into like he was trying to expose sothing I desperately wanted to keep hidden.
"Egypt and Paris, huh..." he muttered. "Interesting. I wonder why I didn’t see them. Now I’m curious."
"Uhm... you didn’t see them because they went into their room" Gabriel said, still unaware of the rising tension in the air.
"Miss Sylvia told them to stay inside and not co out unless she said so."
At that mont, I just wanted to cover Gabriel’s mouth—to stop him from saying any more. Why did he have to ntion that?
How was I supposed to deal with this now?
Ro hadn’t seen the kids yet, so I needed to calm down. He might be a little curious, maybe even suspicious, but that’s all. He couldn’t prove anything—not with just that.
"H-haha... you know what, Gabriel? I think it’s best if we head ho now." Alpheus suddenly cut in, his tone trying to lighten the mood. " I can tell Miss Sylvia is getting uncomfortable, and we’ve already caused her enough inconvenience."
"Your uncle’s right, Gabriel," Calyx added. "Miss Sylvia looks like she needs to rest now. It’s getting late, so it’s better if we give her—and Paris and Egypt, too—the space to relax."
"Okay..." Gabriel replied quietly.
But then Ro suddenly spoke again—his voice was cold.
"Paris and Egypt... how are they related to you?"
He wasn’t even facing , but I knew the question was directed at . And though I couldn’t see his eyes, I could feel the weight of his suspicion.
I forced myself to stay composed. I couldn’t afford to let even the slightest crack show. Slowly, I turned to face him, hiding every trace of fear in my voice.
"Why are you curious?" I asked calmly, eting his icy gaze head-on.
I couldn’t back down now. If I showed even the smallest sign of hesitation, he’d only dig deeper.
"Their nas," Ro said flatly. "It’s too strange to just be a coincidence. Are they... your children?"
I felt my knees nearly buckle at the directness of his question. He wasn’t even dancing around it—he went straight for the truth.
"N-no... they’re not my children. And please, don’t ask anything about them. We’re strangers, rember? I have no obligation to tell you anything about them. So just... leave."
He stared at for a long ti, as if studying every inch of my expression—trying to figure out whether I was lying.
When it seed like he couldn’t find anything to confirm his suspicions, he finally turned away and gently took Gabriel’s hand.
Gabriel looked back at , a hint of sadness in his eyes.
He knows. He knows that Egypt and Paris are my daughters. But I had to lie to his father—because I had no other choice.
I don’t need to see Ro anymore. Or any of the Haristons.
The other four glanced at before leaving, and I could tell from their expressions that they were feeling guilty. Apologetic, even.
They must think they’ve done enough to distract Ro and help . But no... their efforts weren’t enough to stop him.
As soon as they were gone, it was like all the strength drained from my body.
I collapsed onto the floor, unable to hold myself up any longer. My mind was still in chaos, but at the very least, I’d managed to keep the twins and Ro from crossing paths.
I stared down at my trembling hands.
The way Ro cared for Gabriel... would he be like that with the twins, too?
Haha. What am I even thinking right now?
I must not have recovered from everything that just happened. That’s probably why I’m entertaining such ridiculous thoughts.
"Mom? Did Gabriel already leave?"
I snapped out of my thoughts at the sound of Egypt’s voice. She and Paris had just stepped out of our room.
They both looked worried as they hurried to my side.
"What happened, Mom? Did they hurt you?" Egypt asked, trying to help up.
But I had no strength left to lift myself, so she gave up and sat beside instead.
"I heard a lot of voices earlier. Did they do sothing to you?"
But I didn’t answer. I just kept staring at Egypt’s concerned face, unable to say a word.
I unconsciously reached my hand toward her and gently touched her face. If Ro were to see this face... would he recognize them right away as his daughters?
"Mom?"
Paris’s voice pulled back from my thoughts.
She looked worried as she slowly sat on the floor beside Egypt, mimicking her position.
"Tell us... did Gabriel’s dad say sothing bad to you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "Did they try to fra you—say that you kidnapped Gabriel or sothing?"
I froze, stunned by her words.
Unlike Egypt, who looked more curious than anything, Paris seed... angry?
"W-Why would you say that, Paris?"
"They’re Haristons, Mom," she replied surely. "People like them are proud and egoistic. Maybe they think it’s easier to put the bla on soone like us—accuse us of kidnapping Gabriel—instead of admitting it was their fault for not taking care of him properly."
I nearly slapped my forehead in disbelief.
Where was all this coming from?
I honestly thought that by now, she’d be bombarding with questions—why I didn’t let them out of the room, why I didn’t let them see Gabriel’s dad.
But instead, she misunderstood the entire thing... and in a completely different way.
I reached over and gently ruffled her hair.
In so strange way, I felt relieved.
What she assud was far from what I feared she might ask.
"Kids... there’s nothing like that," I said softly. "Gabriel’s dad didn’t say anything bad. He just... thanked us. He was genuinely grateful we looked after Gabriel. And yes, he was really worried about him."
I paused, then gave them a small, reassuring smile.
"He also promised that from now on, he won’t ever neglect Gabriel again. So... let’s not talk about what happened anymore, okay?"
The two of them exchanged glances, as if silently reading each other’s thoughts. Then, after a mont, they both nodded.
"Okay now. Can you help Mommy get up, please? You know... facing them earlier was so exhausting." I said with a small, tired smile.
Without hesitation, the twins rushed over and gently helped to my feet.
"Mom, are you really that tired? Do you want to give you a massage?" Paris asked, her eyes filled with concern.
"Yes, please" I replied, my smile growing a little wider as I looked at the two of them.
They are my greatest treasures—sothing I will never, ever give up for anyone.
Not even for Ro.
Even if he finds out they’re his children...
I won’t let him hurt my daughter the way he once hurt .
----
Third Person POV
-----
"Mom looked really exhausted earlier..."
Egypt whispered, lying beside Paris on the bed.
The two of them stared quietly at their mom, who had finally fallen into a deep sleep after they took turns giving her a massage.
"Do you think Gabriel’s dad had sothing to do with it—like, why she looked so panicked earlier?"
Paris didn’t answer right away. Her brows were furrowed as she scrolled through sothing on their mom’s phone.
"Yes. I didn’t want to ask Mom directly about Gabriel’s dad," she finally said, "but I have a feeling she knows him... personally. Look—this is what the article says about him."
Egypt shifted closer, peering at the screen.
They had been quietly searching for information about Gabriel’s father—and after a few tries, they finally found a na connected to the Hariston family.
"So his na is Ro Hariston?" Egypt said slowly, reading the na out loud as more details about the man popped up on the screen.
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