"Hey, Myko…" Aisla moved closer to her brother, dragging her doll with one hand and her bag of trinkets on the other.
"What is it?" Myko asked, sounding slightly impatient and disinterested, glancing at her younger sister before returning his attention to the tablet screen.
"Look at Mr. Julian." Aisla's voice vibrated with excitement. Her eyes sparkled in amazement as she tilted her head and watched the imposing giant with unbridled fascination.
"Do you think he even eats and sleeps?" Her question was full of wonder and curiosity.
Slowly, Myko looked up from what he was doing and followed his sister's gaze.
After staring at him intensely, he couldn't help but compare him to a dissected frog his mother had shown him. Both subjects had piqued his interest and made him want to know more.
"Mr. Julian is not a robot, silly." Myko quickly corrected his sister. "But he might be a spy." He concluded, judging by his immaculate black suit, his massive size, domineering presence, and confident stance.
After all, Mr. Julian didn't exactly look like a typical nanny.
Frankly, the man appeared more like James Bond on a mission than someone who would prepare their meals and chase them around the house.
***
"Didn't she recognize him?" He wondered, assessing her reaction when she first saw him.
Apparently, not.
But could he blame her? It had been years. Then, they were both drunk.
Besides, he looked different, remembering his long hair and thick beard.
"Hmm! Answer the damn phone." He mumbled. But the phone just kept ringing and going to voicemail.
After the fifth unanswered call, Julian hung up. "So, who do you call when it is an emergency?" He asked the kids, finding the small task frustrating.
Usually, he had an assistant to do such mundane things. But something this simple, like contacting his wife, shouldn't be this difficult.
"Of course, Mom said call 911… Dah!" This time, Aisla answered first, rolling her eyes as if finding his question moronic.
Her dainty fingers drummed against her plump cheek while her eyes raked him from head to toe, probably wondering whether her mother had made a mistake in hiring him.
"Usually, Mom is busy at this hour. So, you can call the hospital's direct line if it's urgent." Myko told him, pointing his index finger at the bottom of the contact list as if that should be common sense.
"Do you think we can trust Mr. Julian to care for us?" She whispered dramatically in his brother's ear, using her sweet little voice. "It looks like he doesn't know what he's doing."
"Hey, I heard that." It was still audible enough for him to understand.
Instead of being offended, he mildly chuckled. "But you're right. You shouldn't easily trust a stranger."
He knelt before the kids, not too close, but low enough to look into their eyes.
"But as of now, your mother put me in charge." He spoke gently, hoping they wouldn't be afraid of him, but still respect his authority.
"I don't know…" Myko gazed at him. His eyes were still glazed with suspicion. "Although he seems different." He added, tapping his tiny fingers on his chin as if debating whether to trust him.
"Different?" Julian didn't know whether to frown or smile at the boy's assessment. "Should I take that as a compliment?"
"For now, you're under probation." Aisla banged his little fist on the coffee table as if she had just passed judgment.
"We'll see how long he would last." Myko just shrugged, as if he was already counting the hours.
Then, they went back to their activities, acting as if he wasn't even there.
Wow! Was he dealing with kids or tiny monsters? Should he be amused or afraid?
Thinking about what to do, he moved to the other end of the couch and sat.
"Whoa!?"
Out of the blue, something moved behind him.
"Grrrl!"
Instinctively, he jerked, surprised, and stood up. "What the he…!" But he caught himself before he could finish, remembering the children.
"Oh! That's Lynx." Myko introduced the furry pet, buried under the pillows.
"Lynx is the youngest in the family," Aisla said, her fingers twisted around the doll's hair as if she was giving it a makeover.
Meanwhile, the cat, which was momentarily disturbed from its sleep, stood and stared at him for a second. As if Lynx found him boring, it stretched and resumed its tiny ball position. Then, it closed its eyes again.
For a few minutes, he sat and petted the adorable fur ball beside him while he silently observed the kids.
To be honest, he was a dog person, but he didn't mind being around cats. Or kids, so it seemed.
"Hey, Myko…" He called to the toddler, who hadn't pried his eyes off his tablet. "How old are you?"
"I'm six," Myko casually said. "I'm twelve minutes older than Aisla." Patting her younger sister's head, acting like the big brother.
Automatically, his brain started calculating.
The twins were six.
Seven years ago.
Like a puzzle, his mind tried to put all the pieces together.
Mathematically, the timing matched.
Did it mean they were his kids?
"By the way, where's your father?" He looked around the room for any photos or signs he existed.
He needed to know if another man lived in the house.
"My Dad's overseas… In a military mission..." Myko said proudly.
Instantly, his eyes lit up at the mention of his father. Clearly, he adored him.
"Yeah, and his coming home soon." Aisla finished his brother's sentence.
Visibly, she missed her father dearly too.
So, they did have a father.
Fuck! What was wrong with him?
Why did his heart ache when the kids talked about their father like he was their world?
Why was he disappointed?
Did he want to be their father?
No! Of course, not.
But—
Wait!
If she had these kids while they were married, did that count as cheating?
"Hey, get your head back to the game." He mentally chastised himself. He was here to sever his tie to his wife, not claim an entire family.
With nothing else to do, he grabbed the contract and read the to-do list.
It was basically a list of chores, the kids' likes and dislikes, and medical conditions. So on. And on.
"Are you married?" Myko suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
"Do you have kids, Mr. Julian?" Aisla followed up.
Surprised, he dropped the papers back on the table and turned back to the kids.
"Ugh!" The answers should have been simple.
No.
But—
For some reason, it made him think.
Legally, he was married.
But kids?
Did he even want one, much less two?
Seven years ago, having a family, meaning a wife and kids, was completely taboo to him.
It hadn't even crossed his mind.
But today, he couldn't stop thinking about it.
Suddenly, his father's words kept replaying in his head.
"If you want the Hawthorn Group, then give me an heir." Tobias Hawthorn demanded, as if his life depended on it.
Technically, it did.
His father's life's work would vanish if the company landed in the wrong hands.
So, if he didn't get married and have kids, those shares would go straight to his cousin, who had been eyeing his spot for as long as he could remember.
No, he couldn't let that happen.
***
Ding! Dong!
"Mr. Julian, someone's at the door," Aisla's angelic voice interrupted his musing as she pointed toward the main door.
As the only adult in the room, he quickly walked over and opened it just enough to see who was outside.
"Hi, I'm Mrs. White. Ms. Spencer is expecting me?" A woman, probably in her mid-forties, stood behind the doorway with a friendly smile.
For a second, he just gazed at the stranger. Once again, he was clueless.
The woman must have noticed his reaction. "I'm the nanny." She clarified.
Realizing who she was, he abruptly stepped outside and closed the door.
Suddenly, he understood the situation.
So, she was the woman Amira actually hired to care for the kids. But his wife had mistaken him for her.
"Mrs. White. Right?" He greeted the middle-aged woman, who looked like she was auditioning for Mrs. Doubtfire.
Well, she really looked the part.
So, how did that woman mistake him for the nanny?
But before he could say anything else, his phone rang.
Kring! Kring! Kring!
"Can you wait here for a minute?" He quickly stepped aside to answer.
"Julian, did you get her signature?" Jarvis's voice reverberated on the phone's earpiece.
"No, something unexpected happened, and I would need your help." His mind spun like a runaway freight train as he thought of a new course. It completely derailed all their plans.
After discussing it with Jarvis, he turned to the woman, waiting patiently in the hallway.
"Ms. White, can I talk to you?"
In less than five minutes, he had handled the matter.
"Who was that?" Myko's inquisitive eyes studied him when he returned inside.
"It was the pizza delivery." He lied, walking toward the living room where the kids were waiting.
"Where's the pizza?" Aisla's eyes widened at the mention of the oven-baked pastry. But her lips pouted when she saw his empty hands.
"She had the wrong house." He quickly came up with another cover.
At the same time, he realized something.
"I can order one if you want it for lunch." He pulled out his phone and waved it at the two kids like it was a sweet treat.
As expected, those bulging eyes and wide grins told him everything he needed to learn.
At that moment, he knew he had found one of the twins' soft spots.
"Then, pizza it is."