CHAPTER 85: THE STRANGER AT THE DOOR

"H-haha... Paris, what are you saying, sweetheart? No one hurt me."

I said, glancing briefly at Rome’s friends, who were carefully avoiding my gaze.

"Then why do your eyes look like you’ve been crying? And... where did Mr. Bear go? Why isn’t he with you?"

Paris asked as if she needed every question answered.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my composure.

"Ah... I just got a little wet outside, that’s why my eyes look like I was crying. And about Mr. Bear..." I muttered, my voice barely hiding my irritation. ’That... animal won’t be visiting you anymore.’

Paris’s eyes widened. "What did you say, Mom?"

I smiled faintly at her, ruffling her hair gently.

"I said Mr. Bear Man and I had a talk, and he told me he won’t be coming to see you anymore."

"Whyyy?" Egypt interjected, pouting.

"Why? Because that animal—I mean, he’s a busy man. He may seem like he has all the time in the world, but he told me earlier that this would be the last time he visits. So... I guess you won’t be seeing him at school anymore."

I noticed Rome’s friends exchanging glances, but I didn’t pay them any attention. My focus was on the twins, whose faces gradually fell. I could see their disappointment.

"Why didn’t Mr. Bear even say goodbye to me? Does he... hate me now?" Egypt asked, her voice trembling.

I immediately knelt down and gently cupped her cheeks in my hands. I couldn’t let her feel abandoned, not even for a moment.

How dare Rome manage to win the twins over so quickly?

Just as I had feared, I couldn’t trust him...

I was afraid he would do the same thing he had done to me, leaving the children in confusion and pain if I let him grow closer to them.

He was a dangerous man. And someone dangerous like him didn’t deserve to be recognized by my children as their father.

"Sweetheart, that... animal... I mean, that man doesn’t hate you. He doesn’t have the right to hate you." I said firmly, looking at the twins before giving them a reassuring smile.

"However, you shouldn’t get too close to him. He’s still a stranger. And what did I say about strangers when you met one? Didn’t I tell you not to go near them?"

Paris and Egypt exchanged glances, as if sharing a secret only they understood, or maybe it was just my imagination.

"Yes, Mom, we remember what you said," Paris replied earnestly. "Next time, we won’t go near him anymore, right, Egypt?"

Egypt nodded.

I let out a relieved sigh. For a moment, I allowed myself to relax just a little. I only hoped the twins hadn’t noticed Rome’s face earlier. I prayed they wouldn’t suspect anything.

Rome’s friends, on the other hand, who had been quietly observing, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity for Rome. From their perspective, it seemed as though Sylvia completely wanted to erase Rome from the children’s lives.

***********

The next day....

Egypt was discharged early, fully recovered, and moving around with her usual energy.

Sylvia had been absent from work for a few days, and now she was preparing to return.

Worry lingered on her face as she paused, hesitating over whether she should go to work or not.

"Mom, we’re really okay, so you don’t have to worry about us. Besides, Aunt Tess will be looking after us!" Paris said cheerfully, nudging her as she tried to leave the house.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Sylvia couldn’t help but worry about the twins.

Now that Rome knew where they lived, there was always the chance he might suddenly appear at their doorstep and introduce himself as their father. That was something she simply could not allow.

Perhaps it was time to find a new home—somewhere far away from him. Only then would she no longer have to worry about Rome suddenly taking the twins away.

"Okay... just be careful, alright? If a stranger comes to the door claiming to know you, what would you do?" she asked, her gaze moving between the two of them.

Egypt and Paris exchanged looks before answering in unison. "We don’t know them, so we won’t open the door."

Her lips curved into a satisfied smile. She picked up her bag and made her way toward the door. Before leaving, she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the twins’ foreheads.

"Okay, be careful, sweethearts. I’m leaving now. Bye!"

With that, Sylvia closed the door behind her.

The twins stayed still for a few seconds before looking at each other. Their mom had left her old phone with them in case of an emergency, but the twins had a different reason for using it.

"His name is Rome again, right?" Paris asked, typing quickly into their mom’s social media to search for the man who had visited them at the hospital yesterday—the one under the bear costume.

They didn’t need to ask their mom about it. From her reaction yesterday, it was clear she was hiding something from them, which only confirmed their suspicions.

"Are you sure it’s Rome and not Daniel Greece—the person under the bear costume?" Paris asked again, a note of doubt in her voice.

"Yep," Paris said confidently, glancing at Egypt. "I heard one of our uncles say his name is Rome, so Daniel Greece is definitely out of the question. What we really want to know now is... is he really our father?"

Egypt nodded firmly, as if confirming to herself what Paris had just said.

"Well... his account is private, so there’s not much information about him. It just says he’s the vice chairman of Hariston Enterprises and gives a little detail about his family. Look, there’s even information about Gabriel, and it looks like his mom too."

Paris read aloud, showing Egypt a picture where Gabriel, Rome, and a woman were together.

"Woah... he’s got a beautiful wife..."

Egypt muttered, pouting as she scrolled through the few snippets of information they could find. But as she continued scrolling through the pictures, most of them showing the woman’s face looking like a model, she couldn’t help but pout even more.

"She’s beautiful... but Mom is prettier~" she whispered.

"Of course. Mom’s the most beautiful woman in the world. No one could ever compare." Paris agreed.

"But... if he really is our dad, then why did he choose to be with that woman instead of Mom? It looks like we’re even older than Gabriel... so shouldn’t we have come first?" Egypt asked, her voice heavy with confusion.

"Maybe he doesn’t know... or maybe he just doesn’t love Mom."

Paris’s gaze hardened as she stared at the picture. The sight of the three, Rome, Gabriel, and the woman looking like a happy family left a bitter taste in their hearts.

"You think he visited us at the hospital because he knew?" Egypt asked, tilting her head.

"I don’t know..." Paris frowned, leaning closer to the phone. "But by the looks of it, it seems like he didn’t just go to the hospital to visit... it felt like he already suspected something. Maybe about us."

Egypt’s brows furrowed. "You mean... he already knows we’re his kids?"

Paris bit her lip, hesitating. "I can’t say for sure. But if he does... then maybe that explains why he showed up in that silly bear costume. Maybe he didn’t know how to face Mom directly."

Egypt hugged her knees, her expression clouded with mixed emotions. "If that’s his reason... then why did he only show up now?"

The two fell into a long silence as they continued scrolling through the photos one by one. Neither of them noticed when Egypt’s finger accidentally tapped the like button on one of the posts.

Tok... tok...

The sudden knock at their door made both of them glance at each other.

"I’ll check. Maybe it’s Aunt Tess" Egypt whispered, slowly making her way toward the door. She opened it carefully, expecting the familiar face of their neighbor.

But instead of Tess, standing before her was the very man they had just been stalking on their mom’s social media account—Rome Hariston.

Egypt froze, her brows furrowing. The man looked exactly like the one in the photos, yet something about him felt... different. His aura wasn’t the same as the man who had visited them at the hospital and the one she saw in the principal’s office.

"Egypt, who’s—"

Paris began, but the words died in her throat the moment she turned her head toward the doorway. Her breath caught.

There he was. The man from the pictures.

The man stood outside, his expression unreadable as his sharp gaze swept over them. For a moment, silence pressed heavy in the air. Then, slowly, the corner of his lips curved upward into a knowing smirk.

"Hi, nice to meet you... I am your—BANG!"

Before the man could even finish his sentence, Egypt immediately slammed the door shut right in front of him.

Paris blinked in surprise at what just happened. "W-why did you slam the door?"

However, Egypt only shrugged.

"Didn’t you remember what Mom said?... We’re not supposed to entertain strangers. So there’s no reason for us to talk to him."

Slowly, a mischievous grin spread across Paris’s face until she burst out giggling.

"Hehehe, you’re right! We don’t know him. So we shouldn’t talk to him!"

Daniel, on the other hand, was left standing outside with wide eyes, his hand on his forehead where the door had nearly hit him.

He couldn’t believe the twins had just shut the door on him without hesitation. He had planned to pretend to be Rome, to imitate him and introduce himself as their father. But instead, the exact opposite happened.

He blinked twice, then slowly, his lips curved into a smirk. It seemed he had finally met his match—two little opponents who wouldn’t be so easy to fool.