CHAPTER 66: THE BEAR MAN

In the end, Rome had no choice but to give the woman a balloon. He still had four left anyway, and he originally planned to give them to Paris and Egypt.

Tsk. What a waste—he didn’t even get to catch up with Sylvia and the twins since they had already entered the school gate.

The school guard had stopped him right away, so he couldn’t do anything but wait for another chance.

Haist...

Feeling drained, Rome walked back to his car parked a short distance away. He planned to take off his ridiculous disguise there and wait until the kids’ classes ended.

A little while later, he saw Sylvia leave the school.

He didn’t know why, but seeing Sylvia today stirred something in him—anger, and strangely... longing.

Longing? Where the hell did that word even come from?

No. He shouldn’t let himself feel that way.

He and Sylvia had long since separated. The only thing he wanted now was to find out if Paris and Egypt were truly his children.

If it turned out they weren’t, then he’d have no reason left to come near Sylvia again.

Riiing—

Rome’s brows furrowed as his phone rang. It was Gio.

"What now? Are you happy?"

"Pfffftt—"

He could hear Gio stifling a laugh on the other end.

"S-sorry, sorry, my dear VIP. It’s just... I can’t believe the future chairman of Hariston was actually willing to wear a bear costume for this. Tell me—did you at least get to see the twins’ faces?"

"Shut up. I know you’ve already seen them. Why not just give me a photo instead of making me go through all this?" Rome snapped.

"Oh, come on, Rome," Gio replied. "Just this once, I wanted you to experience seeing them with your own eyes. It’s not that I didn’t want to share their pictures... but believe me, once you see them for yourself, you’ll be shocked—and you’ll thank me later."

"Tsk. So why did you even call? Don’t tell me you just called to laugh in my face right now."

"Pfftt—chill, Rome. As much as I want to laugh, I can’t—unless I want to die early. I still value my life, you know."

"Tsk. Then why did you call?"

"Haha, calm down. I called because I have both good news and bad news. So—what do you want to hear first?"

"Is it about the twins?"

"Nope. I haven’t gathered enough info on them yet. What I do have is about your ex-wife, Ingrid. Remember? You asked me to dig into everything she’s been doing behind your back so you could win custody and legal guardianship of Gabriel, right?"

"So what about it?"

"Well, I found something. With this, you’ll definitely have the upper hand in proving you’re the more eligible parent to adopt Gabriel. Want me to spill it now?"

"Tsk. Just say it already!"

"Haha, okay, okay—but brace yourself first, alright? What I found out is... Gabriel isn’t even Ingrid’s biological son."

Rome froze.

"W-What are you talking about? That’s impossible. I saw her pregnant with my own eyes! So why the hell are you saying Gabriel isn’t even her child?" he growled, his fists clenched tightly.

"Yes, it’s true she was pregnant," Gio replied calmly. "But let me ask you—did you actually see her give birth to Gabriel?"

Rome fell silent. Three months before Ingrid was due to give birth, she left the country to stay with her parents abroad, supposedly to deliver the baby there. After that, he didn’t follow her—and he never saw her give birth.

"...No, I didn’t."

"Exactly. That’s the point. Gabriel isn’t her biological son. And you’ve said it yourself before—he’s not your son either, right?"

"Now, I hate to break this to you, especially since I know how attached you’ve become to Gabriel... but I came across something that points to Greece being involved in all of this. And based on what I found... he’s Gabriel’s real father."

"W-What the heck?"

"Shocking, right?" Gio chuckled dryly. "But maybe that explains why Ingrid and Greece have always been unusually close. Think about it—what if Greece was the one who had Ingrid adopt his child? They’ve probably been keeping that secret between just the two of them. And honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more secrets they’ve been hiding all this time."

"But how do you even know all this?" Rome asked, still stunned. He was still trying to wrap his head around everything he had just heard.

"Let’s just say I got lucky... or maybe I’m just that good at digging up their secrets," Gio replied casually. "So what do you think? Do I deserve a raise for doing such a good job?"

Rome fell silent. He didn’t know how to process everything Gio had just told him.

There was no way Gio could be wrong—not when it came to digging up dirt or uncovering hidden truths. Gio had always been thorough. Reliable. And if this was true, then Daniel Greece—once again—was involved in his life in the worst way possible.

The mere thought of his involvement made Rome’s blood boil.

He clenched his jaw.

"Oh, I know exactly what you’re thinking right now," Gio interrupted. "You want to go after Greece and confront him, am I right?"

Rome didn’t respond, but his silence was loud enough for Gio to continue.

"Well, that actually brings me to the good news—Daniel Greece is back. He flew into the country two days ago. So if you’re planning to confront him... you won’t need a plane ticket anymore."

Rome stiffened. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"What do you think?" Gio sighed. "He’s probably looking for someone new to mess with. And this time... I think his next targets are the twins."

Rome’s expression darkened. "The twins?"

"Yes. Sylvia—and probably your twins too. That’s why I called. You need to keep an eye on them, Rome. You have no idea what your twin brother wants from them. That’s all. I’m hanging up now. Bye!"

Gio ended the call.

Rome stared at his phone, jaw tight.

If everything Gio said was true, then he needed to reach the twins before Daniel did. Because whenever Daniel Greece showed up... it was never just a coincidence.

It always meant trouble.

And this time, Rome wasn’t going to let that happen.

-----------

"Did you see the bear man outside earlier? He’s holding a balloon! I wish I had money to buy that cute balloon he’s selling!"

"I saw him too! But this time, he’s not selling the balloons anymore—he’s giving them away for free!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah! That’s why I wish our class would end already so we could still catch him and maybe get one!"

Egypt’s ears perked up at the excited chatter of her classmates.

She glanced subtly at the windows, but the view outside was blocked by curtains. Her grip tightened slightly on her crayon as she pretended to focus on coloring, though her thoughts were clearly elsewhere.

"Class, keep quiet!"

Amie called out as she walked between the rows, gently flipping pages and checking the children’s coloring progress.

Egypt leaned closer to her sister and whispered, "Paris... did you hear what our classmates were talking about? I think they’re talking about the bear man we saw outside earlier."

Paris didn’t even glance at her. She kept coloring with a serious face.

"So what about it?"

"Well... do you think we could sneak out later and ask for a balloon? I heard he’s giving them away for free."

Paris finally paused and looked up with a slight frown. "What are you, a baby? Only little kids would believe that guy is actually handing out balloons for free."

Egypt pouted, her shoulders slumping. "But we are kids! And besides, it’s just a balloon. It’s not like we’re doing anything bad if we ask, right?"

"If you really want one, then go by yourself." Paris replied flatly.

Egypt tugged lightly at her sister’s sleeve. "But I want you to come with me... and remember what Mommy said? ’Don’t ever separate from each other, not even for a second.’"

Paris pulled her arm away. "Exactly. That’s why you’re not going either. Didn’t you hear what Mom always reminds us? Never leave the school grounds. Don’t talk to strangers. Especially not people dressed as giant animals!"

"But he’s just outside the gate—"

"Class, keep quiet!"

Amie’s voice rose a little louder this time, drawing everyone’s attention back to their seats.

Egypt sat up straight. However, inside, her curiosity only grew stronger. She couldn’t stop thinking about the bear man.

Was he really giving out free balloons? And what if they ran out before she could get one?

After class........

As the students began packing up their things, Paris carefully zipped her pencil case and placed her coloring book into her bag.

Egypt, on the other hand, fidgeted in her seat—her eyes flicking toward the classroom door.

The moment Teacher Amie turned her back to speak with another student’s parent at the door, Egypt made her move.

She slipped her bag over one shoulder and pretended to follow Paris, only to veer off at the last second. Keeping her steps light, she made her way toward the gate.

She glanced over her shoulder—Paris hadn’t noticed.

Once outside, Egypt immediately spotted the bear man again.

He was still standing there, just like earlier, holding a bunch of colorful balloons in one hand.

He really is giving them away...

Egypt took a hesitant step forward.

Just two balloons—for her and Paris.