CHAPTER 81: OUR TWINS

"Sir, Sir Alpheus called you a moment ago."

Rome stopped just before entering his room when his butler spoke.

He took the phone from his hand—the phone he had left behind before attending his family’s dinner gathering.

After excusing himself from that dinner, he went straight home to his own residence.

The moment he arrived, he couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh. It felt as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted off his shoulders.

Now that he had cut ties with his family’s influence, he was free to make his own decisions. That also meant severing his connection with Ingrid’s family and fighting for Gabriel’s custody.

But more than that, his priority was simple for now—he just wanted to see the twins every day.

Speaking of the twins, it had already been nearly four days since he last saw them.

According to Alpheus, Egypt had fallen ill and had been taken to the hospital.

Rome’s fist clenched at the thought. He knew about it, but there was nothing he could do—he hadn’t been able to visit her.

On top of that, he rarely caught his parents at home, and he wanted to resolve everything before they could interfere and found out about Sylvia and the twins and tried to stop him.

Ring... Ring...

Not even a second passed before Alpheus answered his call.

"Oh, Rome? Why couldn’t I reach you earlier?"

"My parents called me in for a family dinner."

"Oh... I see. So, did you manage to settle everything with them?"

Rome fell silent. He didn’t want to answer that, not to anyone. He knew his parents too well.

For now, they might pretend to let him live as he pleased, but sooner or later, they would run out of patience and start pressuring him again to return and manage the family enterprises.

And knowing Daniel for the bastard he was, Rome was certain he would find a way to avoid that responsibility altogether.

"Why did you call earlier?" He asked instead of answering Alpheus’s question.

"Ah... I called because I plan to visit Egypt tomorrow. Dave, Alfonso, and Calyx are planning to come too. Are you going with us?"

Rome fell silent. His mood shifted little by little, and without realizing it, a faint smile tugged at his lips, though it quickly faded the moment he remembered there was no way Sylvia would ever let him see Egypt.

Sylvia would probably stop him the instant she saw him, before he even got a glimpse of the child.

"I want to," he admitted after a pause, "but... will Sylvia even allow you to bring me along?"

"No." Alpheus replied without hesitation.

Tsk. Just as he thought.

"However, you can always wear your bear costume if you want to. Egypt would definitely appreciate seeing you in it again—she never stops talking about Mr. Bear Man hahaha."

Rome’s expression darkened. He let Alpheus laugh on the other end of the line without saying anything.

"You know," Alpheus continued, "I’m starting to get jealous whenever she mentions how much she loves your bear costume. Sometimes we even think of buying our own, just so she’d miss us too, the way she misses you."

"Tsk. Are you done now?" Rome muttered.

He hated the thought of putting on that ridiculous costume again and becoming a joke in front of his friends.

But every time he remembered Egypt’s bright little face lighting up in pure joy whenever she saw him in it, his pride didn’t matter anymore.

All he wanted was to see Egypt and Paris smile, even if it meant throwing his dignity away.

"Are you done laughing now?" Rome repeated flatly.

"Nope—" Alpheus started, but Rome immediately ended the call before he could continue.

As much as he was thankful to Alpheus for keeping him updated on Egypt’s condition ever since she was hospitalized, he couldn’t stand how his friends kept refusing to tell him the truth about his relation to the twins.

Nobody would say a word to confirm if they really were his children.

If he could just get a DNA test sample, Sylvia would never be able to deny his connection with the twins. And once it was proven that they were his daughters, he would make sure no one could stop him from acknowledging them as his own—not Sylvia, not even his friends.

**********

(Back to the last scene where Rome removed the bear head costume in front of Sylvia.)

Sylvia’s Point of View

--------

"Why are you here?"

I forced myself to stay calm, even though Rome’s eyes never left the twins.

"Do I really have to answer that?" Rone replied. "I came here because of the twins."

I looked at Egypt and Paris, who were both confused, their eyes darting between Rome and me.

Egypt seemed lost, as if she couldn’t understand why the Mr. Bear she knew was suddenly staring at her with such intensity.

Paris, on the other hand, furrowed her brows before turning her questioning gaze toward me. I couldn’t give her an answer.

How could I, when even I didn’t know how I had allowed Rome to get this close to them?

Did he already know about the twins? Did he suspect that he was their father? Or worse... did his friends finally tell him everything?

I quickly glanced at Alpheus, who avoided my eyes almost instantly. When I turned to Alfonso and Calyx, they both looked away as well.

My chest tightened. So it was them... How could they betray me like this?

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stay composed.

I couldn’t let a single emotion slip, not when the twins were watching. If they saw me falter, they might start to suspect something.

"Let’s talk," I said, turning and walking toward the doorway.

I paused, glancing back—Rome was still frozen in place.

"I’m talking to you, Mr. Bear Man. Let’s talk outside."

For a second, I caught a flicker of emotion in his eyes when I used the same nickname Egypt and Paris always called him. Slowly, he began walking after me.

Each step I took felt heavier than the last, weighed down by dread. And yet, every sound of Rome’s oversized bear feet dragging across the floor seemed to echo unnaturally.

Nurses and doctors passing by couldn’t help but look at us—not just because of the ridiculous contrast between my stiff, tense expression and the childish costume Rome still wore, but because of the strange tension clinging to us.

To them, it might have looked like a surreal scene, a man in a bear costume with a cold expression trailing after a woman.

The hallway seemed longer than it should have been, stretching endlessly as if trying to prolong the moment I dreaded most.

When we finally stepped into the elevator, it felt as though time slowed painfully inside.

I stood there stiffly, refusing to look at Rome even once until the doors finally opened to the rooftop.

Yet I could feel it, the heavy weight of his gaze burning into my back with every second that passed.

Slowly, I turned to face him, all the emotions I had buried earlier in front of the twins now surfacing, raw and uncontrollable.

Without thinking twice, I walked closer and slapped him hard across the face, the force snapping his head to the side.

Even I was stunned by my own reaction. I hadn’t realized just how much anger I had been suppressing.

How dare he? How dare he show up at the hospital, standing in front of the twins as if he had the right?

Rome’s hand slowly rose to his cheek, his expression unreadable. Not a flicker of emotion crossed his handsome face—until the corners of his lips curved into a faint smirk.

My fist clenched again, the heat of my fury rushing back.

"That hurt," he said coolly. "Are you really that angry to see me again?"

My jaw tightened.

Shameless.

How could he stand there and act so unaffected?

"Or..." his eyes glinted as his smirk deepened, "is it because you’re angry that I showed myself to the twins... your twins?"

The arrogance in his voice made my blood boil, and I lifted my hand again to strike him, but he was faster. He caught my wrist midair, and before I could react, he pulled me sharply toward him.

My eyes widened in shock as my body collided against his chest, my breath caught between us.

"I suppose you don’t appreciate me standing before them," he whispered, his voice low and cutting. His eyes locked onto mine, sharp and unyielding. "Or should I say... our twins?"

The words hit me like ice water. My body froze, my knees weakening until I thought I might collapse if not for his arm gripping tightly around my waist.

His hold only tightened when he felt the tremor in me.

And in that moment, I saw it, the fleeting storm in his eyes, a mixture of anger and regret flashing through the cracks of his composure.

"Just as I thought," he murmured, his voice laced with certainty. "They’re mine."