The Mistress Who Ran Away With The Twins

Chapter 195: Unfamiliar Ties

Paris’ POV

I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until the door finally clicked shut behind Mom.

The sound echoed softly in the room, yet somehow it felt loud enough to change everything. Like something final had just settled between us.

I stayed still, my eyes fixed on the door as if it might open again at any moment. As if Mom would come back and tell us what to do, like she always did when things got confusing or too heavy for us to handle.

But the door stayed closed.

And just like that, it was only the four of us left inside.

With him. Our dad.

Dad...

The word still felt strange in my mind. Unfamiliar. Like something I hadn’t learned how to use properly yet.

I slowly shifted my gaze away from the door, then looked at Egypt.

She was still by the bed, her small hand resting near Cairo’s arm. But she wasn’t her usual self. The restless energy she always carried was gone. She wasn’t talking. She wasn’t even fidgeting or complaining.

Then I looked at Cairo.

He was asleep again. His breathing was steady, his face more relaxed compared to earlier, but still too pale.

And then my gaze moved again to him. To uncle Rome.

No... our dad.

He hadn’t moved much since Mom left. He was still standing near the bed, close to Cairo. One hand rested lightly on the edge of the mattress, like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to pull away or stay.

There was a pause.

A long one.

It stretched until it almost became unbearable.

No one spoke. I inhaled slowly. Then exhaled.

Say something.

But what?

I wasn’t like Egypt. I couldn’t just speak whatever came to mind without thinking it through. And I wasn’t like Mom either, keeping everything inside until it became too heavy to carry.

I always stayed in between.

And right now... I didn’t even know where to begin.

"...So..."

Egypt spoke first.

I glanced at her immediately.

She shifted her weight slightly, arms crossing as she looked up not at me, but at him.

"...This is weird." she said bluntly.

I almost sighed.

He didn’t react right away.

But after a second, he let out a quiet breath, something that sounded like a restrained chuckle, though it never fully became one.

"...Yeah," he admitted softly. "It is."

That wasn’t what I expected.

I thought he’d try to explain everything, or defend himself, or say something, but instead... he just agreed. And somehow, that made everything even stranger.

Egypt frowned slightly, like she didn’t know what to do with that response.

"...You’re supposed to say something more serious," she muttered. "Like in dramas. You’re supposed to hug us and say sorry for everything!"

There was a faint complaint in her voice.

He looked at her gently.

"...D-do you want me to hug you?" he asked carefully, his voice calm, but I could see the nervousness flicker in his eyes.

Egypt opened her mouth. Then closed it again.

"...I don’t know.." she admitted.

Another silence followed.

But this one wasn’t suffocating. Just... unfamiliar.

I shifted my gaze back to him, studying him more carefully this time. Now that the truth was out... I allowed myself to really look at him. Not as "uncle Rome," but as our father.

It still felt unreal.

But I noticed things I hadn’t before.

The way he stood straight but not stiff. The way his eyes kept drifting back to Cairo every few seconds, like he needed to make sure he was okay. And the way his expression stayed composed... but not cold.

There was something else there. Regret, or maybe even fear.

"...You look nervous."

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

I blinked.

Oh.

I didn’t mean to say that out loud.

Egypt turned toward me immediately.

"Wait—he does?" she asked, squinting at him.

He went still.

Just for a second.

Then exhaled softly.

"...Do I?" he asked.

I didn’t look away.

"Yes.." I said simply.

He ran a hand through his hair again, slow and distracted, like he didn’t even realize he was doing it.

"...Am I that obvious?" he murmured.

Egypt tilted her head.

"...Yeah, a little."

He let out a quiet breath.

"...I’m sorry," he said after a moment. "I just... can’t calm down in this situation. I’m sorry you have to see me like this."

I frowned slightly. That wasn’t what I expected either.

"It’s okay," I said quietly. "You don’t seem as bad as you think."

He looked at me.

"I try not to look bothered," he said honestly, "but I can’t. I’m very nervous. I’m sorry."

His eyes shifted to Cairo again. Then back to us.

"I don’t know how to face you," he admitted. "And I’m scared that if I show you how I really feel... it might make this harder for all of you."

Egypt shifted again, clearly still full of questions.

"It’s okay. You can just act naturally around us. We don’t mind whether you’re nervous or not." I said, then turned my attention back to Cairo. Our dad is not the only one nervous right now. Even Egypt and I are nervous around him. It’s just awkward meeting your father’s eyes for the first time.

"...So what are we supposed to do now?" Egypt asked. "Just sit here?"

"We are already sitting here." I pointed out.

"No. That’s not what I meant.." she muttered, pouting slightly.

His lips twitched slightly.

"...We can talk." he offered.

Egypt immediately straightened.

"About what?"

He paused.

"...Anything you want to know."

That seemed to catch her attention. Egypt hesitated, then stepped a little closer to him.

I watched carefully.

This was new for all of us.

We didn’t grow up with a father. We only saw our classmates with their fathers, playing and being overprotective of them. Things that always felt impossible for us.

Egypt never said it, but I knew she noticed. I knew she envied it sometimes.

As for me... I didn’t think much about having a father anymore. Mom always avoided the topic. Whenever we asked, she either said he was already gone or refused to say anything at all about him. That silence became normal.

But I always felt there was more behind it. Especially when Mom had nightmares she never explained. I already suspected our father had hurt her, and I came to resent him for it.

So when I first saw him...

I already had a feeling. There was no way someone who looked that much like us wasn’t our father.

Egypt and I even tried searching before, but she gave up after Mom kept shutting everything down whenever we asked.

But I didn’t stop believing. And in the end, I was right.

"...Okay," Egypt said slowly. "Then I’ll ask something."

He nodded.

"Go ahead."

Egypt narrowed her eyes slightly, like she was preparing herself.

"...Do you truly like Mom?"

I blinked and looked at him.

He didn’t look shocked. But he did go quiet. Just for a second longer than usual.

"...Yes." he answered without hesitation.

Egypt frowned.

"...Just like that?"

He exhaled softly.

"...More than that. I love her. I love her more than my life. But I hurt her."

His voice softened at the end.

His eyes drifted briefly toward the door Mom had walked through earlier.

"...Then why did you hurt her?" Egypt asked.

He didn’t look away.

"...I was selfish and immature back then," he said. "I didn’t try to understand her. I only thought about myself. And I failed her."

No excuses. Just truth.

"...You know that’s a bad answer, right?" Egypt muttered.

He nodded.

"...I know. I really was selfish. I’m sorry. I hurt your mom."

Silence followed, but it wasn’t uncomfortable anymore.

I shifted slightly, my eyes dropping to Cairo before speaking again.

"...Are you going to leave us now that you know about us?"

The room stilled.

He didn’t answer immediately, and for the first time... I saw something different in him. Not hesitation, but careful thought.

"...No," he said finally. "I won’t repeat the same mistake I made with your mom. I promise."

Egypt crossed her arms, her brows knitting together as she looked up at him, clearly unconvinced.

"...How can we know you’ll keep that promise?"

He didn’t answer right away. For a moment, he just stood there, looking at her, like he understood that this wasn’t something he could fix with a simple explanation. Then he exhaled slowly.

"...You can’t." he admitted.

Egypt blinked. I did too.

"That’s not something I can prove with words," he continued, his voice steady but quieter now. "Not after everything I’ve done." He glanced at me briefly before looking back at Egypt. "I broke your trust before you even had the chance to give it," he added. "So I don’t expect you to believe me right away."

Egypt’s arms loosened slightly, though she didn’t fully drop her guard.

"...Then why say it?" she asked.

He gave a small, almost tired smile.

"Because it’s the truth," he said. "Even if you don’t believe it yet.

Silence followed, but he didn’t stop there.

"I know promises don’t mean much right now," he continued. "So I won’t ask you to trust me just because I said I’ll stay."

His gaze shifted briefly to Cairo, then back to us.

"I’ll stay anyway," he said. "Even if you doubt me. Even if you push me away. Even if it takes a long time."

Egypt looked at him carefully, like she was trying to figure out if he meant it.

"I will make it up to all of you. Especially your mom."

I held his gaze.

"...That’s not enough to assure us."

He didn’t argue.

"...I know."

That surprised me.

Egypt wasn’t fully convinced.

"...We’re not like other kids," she said. "We don’t get fooled by expensive gifts or sweets. We love our mom more than anything."

He nodded.

"I know. I’ll keep that in mind."

I almost smiled at that.

Then, a soft sound.

All of us turned.

Cairo shifted slightly in his sleep.

Instinctively, we all leaned closer.

Rome moved first.

His hand hovered before gently adjusting Cairo’s blanket, like he was afraid to wake him.

I watched that closely.

"...You’ve done that before." I said quietly.

He glanced at me.

"...Yes." he answered.

Egypt suddenly spoke again.

"...Wait," she said. "You have a wife and a son, right? Your son’s name is Gabriel, right? So that means he’s our brother?"

He paused. A long pause.

"...About that—"

"You don’t need to explain everything," I cut him off. "We understand."

I looked at Cairo. Then at Egypt. Then at him.

I know that maybe... one of the main reasons Mom never told us about our dad was because she was trying to protect us.

I may be young, but maybe Mom was afraid we’d get hurt if we found out the truth. That our dad had another family. A legal one.

Like in the dramas Egypt and I used to watch together when Mom was busy. The kind where the "real" family, the wife and child, were the ones people knew. The ones who stood beside the man in public.

And then there were the others. The ones hidden, and that’s us.

I swallowed.

Maybe Mom didn’t want that for us. Maybe she didn’t want people looking at us like we were something wrong.

Like we were a mistake.

Or worse... something to be ashamed of. Because if people found out... they wouldn’t just talk about us. They would talk about her.

They would call her things I didn’t even fully understand yet, but I knew enough to know they weren’t good. Words like the ones I’d overheard before when adults thought kids weren’t listening.

Mistress.

I didn’t like it. I didn’t like imagining Mom being called that. Because I knew my mom. She wasn’t anything like that. So maybe... she chose silence instead.

Maybe it was easier to let us think we didn’t have a father than to let us grow up knowing a truth that could hurt us.

That could make us question where we stood. That could make people look at us differently.

My chest tightened a little.

It felt strange.

I glanced at Rome again, at the man who was supposed to be our father. Then back at Cairo, sleeping peacefully like none of this existed. Then at Egypt, who looked like she was still trying to make sense of everything in her own way.

Maybe Mom carried all of this alone so we wouldn’t have to. Maybe that was her way of protecting us. And somehow... thinking about it like that didn’t make me feel angry at her. It just made me understand her a little more.

I sighed quietly.

Egypt leaned lightly against the bed.

"...This is still weird," she whispered to me. "Having a dad... but not really having him like other kids do."

I nodded.

"...Yeah."

And for the first time...

I felt it too.