âWhatâs happening? Why am I here? And where are you right now?â Ian questioned impatiently.
âIâm at your house, Ian. We look exactly the same, thatâs why everyone blundered! If Iâm correct, I think
weâre twins,â Matteo said solemnly.
âTwins?â Ian repeated after him.
His two hands gripped the receiver as he tried to make sense of what he just heard.
âYes, weâre twins. I went to your dadâs office today to look for him because he bullied Mommy. But after I
got there, everyone started calling me âIanâ. Even your dad got it wrong. Thatâs why I think weâre twins.â
âAre you sure?â Ian asked again.
âYeah! Of course! Think about it. Iâm sure Mommy and Vivi thought you were Matteo too, right? That
means we really look the same! And only twins look the same, isnât it?â Matteo insisted.
Ian fell into silence.
What he said is right.
But Ian still had his doubts. He craned his neck and looked at Sasha cooking in the kitchen, and recalled
having a blast with Vivian, eating all the food he had never tried before.
His face turned sour before he finally spoke again.
âIf weâre really twins, why did she abandon me? Daddy even said she died.â
âWhat?â Matteo blurted out in surprise.
What is he talking about?
Is he talking about Mommy? Is he blaming Mommy right now? And he even said Mommyâs dead!
âHey! Daddy is a liar! Mommyâs not dead! Mommy also told us Daddyâs dead. But is he?â
Once again, Ian was rendered speechless.
He puffed his cheeks and sulked as he thought about those two annoying adults who had lied.
Meanwhile, Matteo cleared his throat, getting ready to brief Ian about their plan of action.
âThings are complicated between the adults, so we should take whatever they say with a pinch of salt.
What we need to do right now is find out why they went their ways. We also have to find out why both of
us ended up separated.â
âThatâs a clever idea, but how are we gonna do it?â Ian asked.
âHm⦠Lemme think⦠What about we meet up first? I think itâs just a matter of time before Daddy and
Mommy realize somethingâs off. We need to go back to our respective homes before they find out.â
Ian contemplated his suggestion in silence before giving him an answer. Mommy already knew about my
existence, but I doubt Daddy knows about Matteo and Vivian, else he would have demanded that she let
him meet them.
Matteoâs right. We need to keep things the way they are and make sure none of them finds out.
âAlright, letâs meet,â Ian finally agreed.
âMatt, Vivi! Time to eat! I made pork ribs and fried chicken. They are your favorite!â
Sashaâs called out for the children when she was done cooking.
Matteo heard her from the phone and a blissful smile curved on his bright little eyes. âAlright, off you go,
Ian. I think Mommyâs calling you. Youâve never really spent time with her, so enjoy your time at home.
Sheâs the best person in the entire world. Iâm sure youâll like her!â
Ian smacked his lips and glared at the receiver before slamming it back on the switch hook.
âWho called, Matt?â Sasha was putting the plates on the table when she realized Ian looked upset.
âI donât know. Just some random stranger,â he answered gloomily.
âOkayâ¦â
Sasha was busy setting up the table and decided to just drop the topic. âCome over, Matt. Have some
spaghetti. And here are your favorite pork ribs.â
Beside her, Vivian clung to Sashaâs leg and looked at her with watery eyes. âWhat about me, Mommy? I
want my favorite fried chicken too!â
âOf course, sweetie! Come, get a seat. Letâs you a big piece of fried chicken.â
It was such a heartwarming sceneâthe mother and two children gathered around the table for a meal.
The apartment was plain and was not the very least luxurious. It did not have the opulence of Royal
Court One at Frontier Bay, but it had the warmth of a family. It was just another usual day where the
family got around for a simple mealâyet they found joy in the simple pleasures of life. This was not
something Ian had ever experienced in the cold and empty house back at Frontier Bay.
Ian lowered his head and looked at the mountain of food on his plate and dug inâhis heart was full.
Meanwhile, Matteo was also having lunch with his family today. Sebastian cooked, and the two sat
quietly at the table as they ate.
Halfway through the meal, Berta came over and announced the arrival of a guest.
âMr. Hayes, Ms. Greenâs here. She brought some honey lemonade for Ian.â