CHAPTER 90: EVERYDAY COZY LIFE

A month later, in the late afternoon, when Dylan returned home, he walked into the living room and heard the soft sound of classical music coming from inside. He saw Ellie, Maya, Lena, and Amy, whose stomachs were starting to swell, clearly showing their pregnancy as they wore house dresses, reading books and looking at their smartphones calmly.

Meanwhile, Megan served tea on the coffee table, then exited the living room, bowing her head slightly to Dylan. Dylan immediately walked in, sat down, and took off his construction helmet.

"Babe, Robert called me earlier. My brother Mike has already claimed his inheritance because he’s married now," Maya said.

"But the problem is, he came with my mom and dad, right?" Lena added, turning to look at Maya.

"Yes, that is the problem, but Robert asked them to wait outside and only spoke with Mike and Carla," Maya replied.

"So there’s no problem anymore then, right?" Dylan asked.

"But I still don’t get why my mom and dad went with him to Robert’s office. It’s weird," Lena mumbled.

"Hmm... it is strange," Amy murmured while reading her novel.

"Well, don’t worry about it too much. The important thing is that all four of you are healthy. That’s my only focus right now, and what matters is that Robert didn’t tell them where we are," Dylan said.

"Yes, you’re right, babe. You guys shouldn’t overthink things," Ellie added while stroking her belly and looking at her smartphone.

"Hmm, that’s true. At least we’re safe here," Amy added.

"Speaking of which, Aaron, Clara, Fiona, and Iris aren’t home yet?" Dylan asked, looking behind him.

"They are. They’re working on their assignments... in the bunker," Amy replied.

"They really love being in the bunker, don’t they?" Maya added.

"It’s comfortable down there. I actually like it too, but the going up and down sometimes makes me want to puke," Lena added.

"Dling," a message popped up on Lena’s smartphone. She looked at it right away. It was a message from her school friends’ group, which was still active even though they had all graduated. The message contained an invitation for a group holiday in a mountain cabin at the end of the year, after Christmas, to welcome the New Year.

"Someone’s suggesting a holiday," Lena muttered.

"Wait, you still have a school friends’ group?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, Sharon added me. Oh, and... according to Sharon, Derek’s dad, the police officer, died in the line of duty after Derek joined the military after graduation, she said," Lena replied.

"Huh... Detective Paul? The one who caught the terrorists during the graduation ceremony?" Maya asked.

"Yeah, Sharon said so, but I don’t know if it’s true yet. Also, there’s news that the guy who wanted to marry me because of debt has been arrested," Lena replied.

"Oh, well, that was our job, wasn’t it, babe?" Amy said, turning to look at Dylan.

"Yep, I was the one who arrested him. I told you everything already, right?" Dylan asked.

"Yes, you did. And now Aaron and Clara are addicted to playing games in the bunker. They have their own special room just for gaming, of course with Fiona and Iris," Ellie replied, annoyed, glancing at Dylan.

"Hahaha... sorry. I’ll head down to the bunker, then, to check on them," Dylan replied.

"Okay. I don’t want them bringing a bad influence on our children in the future," Ellie replied.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’m going," Dylan replied.

Dylan stood up and left the living room. Then the four women returned to their respective activities. Suddenly, Maya looked up.

"Ryan, please put on some music that’s a little louder, but not too loud. Something gentle," Maya said.

"Yes, Madam," replied a digital, AI-like voice, which was Ryan.

The song then changed to a popular pop song from the 90s, and the four of them seemed to enjoy it, nodding their heads.

***

Meanwhile, Dylan, who was now in the bunker, saw no one around. He then entered the barracks area, which had now been sectioned off into rooms. He heard noise coming from the largest room at the very end. He walked straight there and opened the door.

It turned out Aaron and Clara had converted the room into an entertainment center. Fiona and Iris were seen playing on their tablets while lying on mats. Clara was playing on a PS5 on a large television, and Aaron was sitting in his gaming chair, facing three monitor screens with his headphones on.

All four of them looked up when Dylan entered the room, then immediately went back to their respective activities.

"Hey... don’t you guys have any homework or anything?" Dylan asked.

"No, Big Brother. It’s almost winter break, and we just finished exams," Clara replied without looking.

"Yeah, Big Brother, we’re right in the middle of something fun," Fiona added.

"I can’t turn around yet, or my character will die," Iris added.

Dylan looked over at Aaron, who wasn’t looking at all. Dylan also noticed the coffee maker and the air fryer he had taken from Jacob’s house were placed on a table, looking like a dispenser setup in a café or a fast-food restaurant.

Besides that, there was also a mini-fridge for storing cold drinks. He also saw several pizza boxes stacked in the corner of the room, some plastic cups scattered around, and a few articles of clothing spread out on the floor.

"Wow, they are really cozy down here. I think I’m spoiling them too much," Dylan muttered in his head.

[That is pretty much the case, sir.]

"Hmm... this is tough... Alright, I have an idea," Dylan replied to himself.

Dylan closed the door, then "Plak," he clapped his hands, causing Clara, Fiona, and Iris to turn and look at him, while Aaron kept playing.

"How about we all go on a winter vacation to the mountains?" Dylan asked.

"Oh, where, Big Brother?" Clara asked, pausing her game.

"Yeah, Big Brother, that sounds fun," Fiona added, putting down her tablet.

Iris also turned to stare at Dylan and put down her tablet, then she waited for Dylan to say something. Dylan then turned to look at Aaron and walked over to him, immediately pulling off his headphones.

"Hey... oh, Big Brother? What’s up?" Aaron asked.

"I want to take you all on a vacation to a cabin. Do you want to go?" Dylan asked.

"Oh... okay. We’ve never been on a holiday," Aaron replied.

"Perfect. Let’s go upstairs and talk with Ellie, Maya, Lena, and Amy about where we should go. They need some fun too—it’s a shame for them to stay home all the time," Dylan replied.

"Okay, okay. I’ll save my game first," Aaron replied.

After that, they all left the room to go upstairs. Before closing the door, Dylan took one last look at the room.

"Ryan, please shut everything down, okay? They left everything running," Dylan said.

"Yes, Master," Ryan replied with his digital voice.

After that, Dylan closed the door and went upstairs with his siblings to discuss the family vacation.