CHAPTER 36: UNINVITED VISITORS LL

"Wow, this tastes amazing!"

Paris exclaimed after taking a single bite, her spoon still halfway to her mouth, already full of excitement.

"Mommy, which neighbor gave us this food?" she asked, curiosity all over her face.

"Ahh... it was Maria.." I replied without thinking.

"Huh? Who’s that?" she asked, frowning. Her question made me pause—I had just made that name up, and even I wasn’t sure who I meant.

"Ah... I meant Tess. Yes, Tess," I said, forcing a smile. "Sorry, I mixed them up. Maria just looks like her. They’re practically twins."

But Paris didn’t seem convinced.

"Eh? But Mommy... Tess is stingy. How could she afford to give us expensive food like this?" she asked, scrunching her face in disbelief.

"A-ha-ha... is that so?" I said with a nervous laugh. "Well, maybe she got lucky and won the lottery or something. Who knows? The important thing is that we have food now, right? And you’ve nearly finished your share already—don’t forget to save some for your brother."

"Hehe, sorry Mommy. It’s just really delicious! Next time, can we buy this kind of food again?" she asked sweetly, her eyes lighting up.

"Sure, sweetheart. We’ll save up for it." I said with a smile, even though deep down, I winced.

This kind of meal costs almost a week’s worth of my salary...

But seeing her so happy—even just for a moment—made it all feel worth it.

At least Rome’s friends did something right for once.

-------

However, what I thought would be just a one-time visit from Rome’s friends turned out to be the opposite. Worse, what Alfonso and Calyx said actually came true—because even Dave and Alpheus started dropping by early in the morning too.

Since then, they’ve been knocking on our door bright and early—bringing delicious breakfast with them every time. Probably their way of trying to bribe me, hoping I’d eventually let them get close to the kids.

But just like the first time, I always sent them away before the twins woke up and had a chance to see them. Good thing is, the twins never catch them—so they still believe the breakfast we get every day is from our neighbor Tess.

As for those four? They always insisted on staying just a bit longer—hoping to see the kids—but I stood firm and kicked them out every single time.

Sure, I may have sent them away, but I always made sure to let them leave the food behind.

I mean, really—why let it go to waste? They’re rich anyway; it’s not like they’d miss it. And besides, what were they going to do with all that food? Bring it to work? Throw it out?

No thanks—I’d rather put it to good use.

So every day, the kids and I ended up having amazing breakfasts. And honestly, those meals made even my grumpiest boss easier to deal with. At least I was showing up to work on a full stomach.

Eventually, I began to notice something about their visits—a pattern. A routine, even.

Apparently, they had organized a schedule—taking turns like some kind of breakfast delivery rotation.

If Alfonso and Calyx showed up one day, then it would be Dave and Alpheus the next. Then back again. This strange little cycle had been going on for a full week now.

However, the idea that the twins would never find out where their breakfast was coming from didn’t last long—everything changed just over a week into the routine, when the truth finally came out.

Paris eventually discovered that the delicious breakfasts we’d been enjoying every morning weren’t actually from our kind neighbor, as I had claimed.

She caught me red-handed one morning—right in the middle of yelling at Alpheus to leave.

I’ll never forget what she said to me afterward.

"Wow, Tess is so thoughtful," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "She even went out of her way to send those meals through Uncle Alpheus."

I froze.

"And next time, Mommy, please make sure to tell Uncle Alpheus thank you for delivering all of Tess’s food." she added with a sly smile.

I couldn’t tell if she was enjoying watching me squirm or if she was just so sarcastic it was actually a little scary.

"A-aha-ha... sweetie," I began awkwardly, trying to recover. "You see, your uncles can be a bit... persistent. That’s why I keep sending them away. But of course, we should still accept the food they bring—it would be a waste to throw away such blessings, right?"

Paris gave me a knowing look and slowly nodded. "You’re right, Mommy. Kick them out, but accept their food—because we shouldn’t waste blessings!"

She even repeated it thoughtfully, like she had just learned a valuable life lesson from me.

Great. Now she thinks that’s the proper way to deal with people.

----

"Mommy!" I heard Paris call from outside the bathroom while I was still in the middle of taking a shower.

"Mommy, we got breakfast again!" she added cheerfully.

I paused mid-scrub, my hand frozen on my arm as her words sank in.

Again? I sighed. Of course. Another morning, another surprise meal.

"Good. I’ll be done in a bit," I called back, raising my voice so she could hear me over the water. "And make sure to wake Egypt up and get her to eat too, okay?"

"Roger that, Mommy!" she chirped back with enthusiasm.

Shaking my head with a small smile, I resumed my shower.

It had been nearly two weeks now, and that strange routine hadn’t stopped. Every morning, like clockwork, breakfast would magically appear. Eventually, I just gave up on cooking altogether. Why bother when we had a reliable supply of free food?

After rinsing off, I quickly stepped out, dried myself with a towel, and changed into fresh clothes.

I wrapped the same towel around my head to dry my hair—since we didn’t have a hair dryer at home, that was the best I could do.

I walked out of the bathroom humming, in a noticeably good mood. I had a good feeling about breakfast—just like the past few days, I was pretty sure it was going to be delicious.

"Hmm... hmm..." I kept humming, the towel still wrapped around my head, as I made my way into the living room to help the kids get ready.

"Are you two ready yet—" I began, but the words caught in my throat the moment I saw who was sitting comfortably on our small couch.

There they were—Alpheus and Dave.

The two of them were casually lounging in our modest little living room, looking around as if they were scanning every corner of the house.

They both looked up when they noticed me and, of course, smiled. They stood from the couch as if getting ready to greet me properly.

"Good morning, Sylvia! You know, you’ve become even more beautiful since we last saw you," Alpheus said with a charming smile.

I shot him a sharp glare.

"Yeah, I agree!" Dave added with a wink. "Honestly, you could wear anything and still look stunning—especially that cute little house clothes you’ve got on."

I scowled and looked down at what I was wearing.

Just great. Of course they’d show up unannounced.

But what the hell—how did they even get inside?

"What do you mean ’house clothes’? This is what I wear to work!" I snapped. "And more importantly—why are you two even here? Who said you could just walk into our home? What gave you the right to invite yourselves in like this?!"

I was glaring at both of them now, arms crossed, the towel on my head still slightly dripping.

"Wait, wait—don’t get mad," Dave said, raising his hands in defense. "We didn’t exactly barge in without permission. It was Paris who let us in."

I turned toward the dining table and saw my daughter happily munching away on the breakfast they had brought, completely unbothered.

Paris?!

I couldn’t believe it.

"Paris," I said, trying to keep my voice calm but firm. "Sweetheart, why did you let them in? Didn’t I tell you that you can’t just allow strangers into our house like that? What if they turned out to be bad people—like a group of syndicate who sell kids’ organs?"

She looked up from her plate, still unfazed by my reaction, and I could already feel a headache coming on.