CHAPTER 23: MORNING VISIT

Sylvia’s POV

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I couldn’t help but freeze in place, staring blankly at the person now standing in front of my door.

He had that same awkward smile on his face, nervously scratching the back of his head like he wasn’t sure if he should stay or turn around and leave.

"Uhm... H-Hi. I mean, G-good morning.."

I didn’t bother returning the greeting. I just looked at him, expressionless, waiting for him to get to the point—or better yet, disappear.

"Ahem... ahm, where are the kids?" he asked, trying to peer past me into the house like he might catch a glimpse of them if he looked hard enough.

My eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here?" I asked sharply, not bothering to hide the irritation in my voice.

He let out a nervous laugh, still scratching his head. "Ah, haha... what am I doing here?" he said, like it was some kind of joke.

I rolled my eyes. Of course, he didn’t even have a reason. Typical. Without wasting another second, I reached for the door and started to close it.

But before I could shut him out completely, he stepped forward and blocked it with his body.

"Wait! Wait! Y-you’re really going to shut the door on me?" he blurted out, his tone frantic.

I stared at him and couldn’t help but let my frown show.

"Didn’t you just say you don’t even know why you’re here?" I said coldly. "Then maybe you should go. The kids and I have a full day ahead, and we don’t exactly have the time—or the patience—to entertain uninvited guests."

"Ahm... actually, I came because I was hoping to see the kids again.." he said, sounding unsure of himself.

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? You just saw them last night, and now you want to see them again already?"

He chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well... the truth is, I didn’t exactly plan to drop by. But I passed by this bakery, and they had these really good pastries—and the first thing that came to mind was the kids. So I thought... maybe I could bring them some, if that’s okay with you?"

I let out a breath, glancing toward the inside of the house. "They’re not even awake yet. I was just about to wake them up when you knocked on the door."

"Oh, I see... um, would it be okay if I came inside and waited?" he asked, completely shameless.

I blinked at him for a second before looking over my shoulder at the mess behind me—the house still looked like it had just woken up too.

"Honestly, I just got up myself. I haven’t even cleaned up yet," I said. "But if you’re not too picky about the mess, I guess you can come in."

He looked at me, and for a moment, I could tell he was actually sizing me up—like he had just noticed I wasn’t even fully put together yet. And just like that, I suddenly felt a little self-conscious.

I hadn’t even had time to fix myself. I had only just started getting ready to make breakfast for the kids before they had to leave for school.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, instinctively covering myself with my arms.

His reaction caught me off guard—I saw him staring, mouth slightly open.

"Ahaha—sorry if I offended you," he said, still trying not to laugh. "I was just checking if you’re completely awake now, since it looks like I came a bit too early... because you still have a bit of dried drool right here."

He pointed to his own mouth to show me exactly where it was on mine.

Mortified, I quickly wiped the corner of my lips with the sleeve of my shirt.

"Is it gone?" I asked, trying to sound calm, though the look on his face made me suspicious.

He was still chuckling.

"Hahaha... actually, I think I was wrong. That wasn’t drool—it was eye crust" he said, laughing even harder now.

I shot him a look of disbelief—half embarrassed, half annoyed—but deep down, I knew he wasn’t being mean... just annoyingly honest.

"Huh? Eye crust on my mouth?"

How could there even be eye crust on a mouth? But that only made him laugh harder.

"Hahaha! You just made my morning, seriously," he said, wiping tears from his eyes from laughing too much. "No, not eye crust on your mouth—I meant you still have some in your eyes!"

"Really?" I asked, clearly doubtful.

"Yes! Haha. If you don’t believe me, go check the mirror" he said between fits of laughter.

Still skeptical, I quickly turned toward the small mirror hanging in the living room and checked for myself.

And sure enough—there it was. A small, stubborn crust clinging to the corner of my eye.

Damn it. That’s so embarrassing!

I groaned internally, discreetly wiping it away with the back of my hand, now too embarrassed to even look at him.

"See? I told you!" he said gleefully.

"Is it really that funny? You’ve been laughing at me non-stop." I said grumpily, mostly just trying to cover up how embarrassed I felt.

I stood up straighter and looked him directly in the eyes, doing my best to appear serious—even if my face was still warm from the earlier teasing.

"Ahem... anyway, is it okay if I come in now?" he asked, clearing his throat like he was trying to reset the mood.

That’s when I realized he was still standing outside the door.

"Oh—right!" I said quickly, swinging the door open wider and motioning for him to step inside.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" I asked as he came in.

"Ah, not yet," he admitted. "I was planning to eat at the bakery, but I figured the kids might’ve already eaten by the time I got here, so I just skipped it."

"Well then, why not just have breakfast here with us?" I offered while bending down to check the contents of our little refrigerator. "Any preference?"

"Hmm... I’ll just have whatever you’re having." he replied with a shrug.

"You sure? Alright then," I said, closing the fridge. "Just wait there—I’ll go wake up the kids."

I headed down the hallway and gently knocked on the bedroom door before slipping inside. A few moments later, the door creaked open again, and the two kids trudged out, still rubbing their eyes.

They walked straight to the couch like little zombies and plopped down without a word, their sleepy heads bobbing as they fought to stay awake.