NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 12: Suspicious
(MC POV)
A boy forcibly bows his twin sister as he apologizes.
"Terribly sorry for that. My sister is a fool, but she's kind."
"Hey!"
I cough slightly at that. "Well, never mind. You guys must be the kids."
They raise their heads as the boy nods. "Yes. We heard about you from our mother. I'm Hoshino Aquamarine. Say your name, Ruby."
I glance at the girl, who scratches her head in shame. "Um… Hoshino Ruby. Please don't tell Mama what just happened."
I chuckle. "Of course, we can talk before that."
She smiles brightly at me, her fists clenched. "Really?"
I laugh. "No."
She turns deadpan as I turn my head to the woman between them. "You must be Saitou Miyako-san? I'm Kinoshita Kazuya."
I offer my hand to her. She looks at it, and we shake hands. "Yes. I'm Saitou Miyako. You're taller than I thought—I mean, handsome. Wait, nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
Every time she slips up, I can feel Ruby's judging eyebrow rise dramatically.
I sigh inwardly. "Well, how about dinner first? I already cooked something for you all."
"Oh my…" Miyako looks slightly surprised. "Well, I can smell something delicious."
She glances at the kids—awkward, yet clearly hungry. Well, it's really awkward when I, the questionable boyfriend, come over to do the house chores and cook for them. Let's not forget I took care of their sick mother too.
We head to the kitchen where the dining table isn't far. "Your mother is asleep after she ate and took her medicine. Anyway, I cooked what was available."
I say as I plate everything and place it on the dining table. They stare at it in a daze, while Ruby shows the most reaction.
"Hey, I know this! Remy cooked this, right?" Ruby asks as she sniffs it.
"Remy? Oh, yes. I remember he cooked Leek and Potato Soup too. Wait a minute. Don't tell me she bought those ingredients after watching Ratatouille?"
Judging by the silence, I guess that was a yes.
After that, they start to dig into their food.
"Hm!" Miyako looks at me after tasting it for the first time. "It's delicious."
I nod. "Thank you."
I quite enjoy their reactions, especially Ruby's excitement. Meanwhile, I'm satisfied with farming a new skill. With this, I guess I'm paying her back a little for the stuff she bought for me.
---
(Third POV)
Now, he put his jacket back on, there was no longer a reason to stay.
"Once again, I'm grateful for saving my mother. I won't forget it for the rest of my life."
By the doorstep, he saw kids about four years old—bowing at him. Their formality gave him slight chills, but since he knew their secret, his mind was prepared.
"Alright, Aqua."
He said as the little boy raised his head.
"Are you going to become our stepdad?"
"Ruby, that's rude."
"Silence, brother."
What's up with this twin dynamic? Kazuya sighed inwardly and shook his head at the girl.
"I don't know."
The little girl hummed excitedly. "Well, for now, I approve. Don't misunderstand though—I'm not going easy on you, Uncle."
Ruby said with a cheerful smile. Meanwhile, Kazuya felt he wasn't old enough to be called Uncle.
Behind them, Miyako, who was taking care of both, sighed audibly.
"Sorry about that, Kinoshita-san."
He chuckled. "Don't mind it. Just—uh, make sure she eats a lot."
The three of them watched the man leave the apartment.
"So that's Mama's boyfriend."
"What? And what the hell was that attitude, Ruby?"
"Got a problem? I just wanted to make sure he's a decent guy. If he has a problem with petty things like that, he needs to stop calling himself a man."
"That's sexist."
Ruby chuckled. "Who cares?" She shrugged. "There's no man these days. Even our dad never met us or took responsibility. Instead, he revealed our address to a stalker. What an idiot to think he'd date Mom if she weren't hot and stacked with money."
Aqua hummed quietly at Ruby's reasoning.
"Yeah, but he saved her life, right?"
Ruby was taken aback for a moment. "You're right. But that's different! I know Mama already quit, but thinking about another man taking her from us—AWWW HELL NAH!"
Aqua sighed.
He knew she was an idiot, but this time, he had to agree: they needed to keep an eye on him.
"Miyako-san, is it too soon to bring my girlfriend home when we've only known each other for less than two weeks?"
At Aqua's question, Miyako hummed aloud.
"Depends. If I trust him, it's not a problem. Wait—this topic isn't for kids like you two. Alright, time to brush your teeth and sleep."
Miyako said as she thought, What a bunch of weird kids.
---
(Aqua's POV)
After the first time we met Ai's boyfriend, about a month had passed. I'd learned a lot about him, since he had interacted with us several times.
"Ruby-chan! I didn't know you had a cool dad!"
"Yeah, I agree! His cooking is way better than my mom's!"
"I wish I had the same dad. Mine's too fat and reeks of cigarettes."
Amidst our classmates, Ruby held her nose to the ceiling with pride.
"Hoho~ Don't mention it."
I stared at this fool, remembering how she was the one who gave Kazuya a hard time about becoming our mom's boyfriend. Now, she's the one acting the proudest.
Today, our kindergarten had a special class where we had to bring our parents and cook with them.
Since Ai, Miyako, and Ichigo-san were all busy with work, Kazuya came in our mother's place.
After class ended, we headed back to the parking lot. I tucked half of my face under a scarf as the cold winter air hit me.
"Hey, Kazuya! Did you see my cooking skills? I flipped the omelette at the right time!"
Kazuya chuckled and patted her head. "I saw that. Luckily, I got it on video."
"For real?! Gotta show Mama! What's your plan after this? Are you busy?"
"Wait, let me check… I've got time before heading somewhere else."
Ruby looked down like a puppy losing its owner. Again, I was impressed by how she'd gone from rejecting their relationship to this.
Well, unlike me, she's pure.
Ruby seemed to have forgotten about the attempted murder of Ai. Meanwhile, I was still stuck on it, hoping one day I could kill the person behind it.
"All right, hop in, kids," Kazuya said as he opened the car door.
Speaking of him, I've come to realize he's a decent guy.
He wasn't desperately trying to get close to us, but he was the kind of person who's easy to be around.
Also, I learned he's rich. I don't know what his job is, but Ai told us he's wealthy.
With that, maybe he's not after Ai's money or fame—especially since she's technically retired from showbiz. I was surprised. He could've gone after someone else, but he chose Ai. So I started to respect him.
"We're back!"
After a while, we arrived home. Ai rushed to us, an apron tied around her waist.
"Welcome back! Did you guys have fun?" she asked with a grin.
Ruby jumped up, "Yes! You should see the video when I flipped the pancake!"
"Ehhh~ Let me see!"
Feeling thirsty, I headed to the kitchen—then suddenly realized I needed the toilet.
Maybe… it's time to stop being suspicious of Kazuya.
Ai's era had ended. She was just a normal person now, and like anyone else, she'd eventually meet someone new after being hurt by that jerk.
Flushing the toilet, I felt a little lighter in my chest.
"Kazuya, can't you stay longer?"
"Sorry, I've got things to take care of."
"Really? It's almost Christmas and you're still working?"
The toilet I was in was close to the front door, and it wasn't very soundproof. I could hear them clearly, even more so when I pressed my ear against the door.
"Yeah, sorry. Next time."
"Aw! Stop poking my forehead, will you? Um, I thought we could go somewhere. Oh, right—Kazuya, I already transferred 100 million yen to your account. Did you receive it?"
"Yes.... Ai, do you trust me?"
"Of course~ Do you need more?"
"Hm… I think it's better if you send me 50 million more."
"Got it~"
Wait, wait, wait a minute!
100 million of what?! This is the first time I've heard of this! Wait—why would she transfer that much money?! No… this can't be right. They've only been dating a short while, and she's just casually transferring that kind of money?!
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A/N: thank you for reading my story! don't forget to leave a comment and drop all your Power Stones to keep me motivated.