Chapter 5 - Misunderstanding
1210 Words
How could Eva not be excited to see Lukas and Lily so actively playing in the children's play area? Truly, their smiles and laughter are among the real joys for Eva.
If Sister Nafa were still here, she would be so happy to see the twins being so extraordinarily active….
Ah, Eva hopes her sister is resting peacefully in Heaven. Moreover, there's nothing to worry about since the twins are never short of affection.
“Mami! We love you!” Lukas's voice was very loud, followed by Lily's laughter.
Eva just smiled.
“It seems they still call you Mami,” said Dika, who seemed to have just arrived. The man immediately took a seat next to Eva.
Eva, who had been watching Lukas and Lily play, naturally turned to her brother-in-law.
“Oh, Dika has arrived,” replied Eva.
“Sorry if I took a bit long.”
“No worries . Look, they're still having a blast in the ball pit and on the trampoline.”
Dika nodded. “Seriously, they still call you that?”
“They only do that in public . When we're somewhere private, they call me Aunty as usual,” explained Eva.
“Really, they are something else,” said Dika, unable to comprehend.
Lukas and Lily have a reason for calling Eva "Mami" in public. According to them, it's the safest way for people to think Eva is their mother. That way, if any man intends to approach Eva, he would automatically back off, thinking Eva is the mother of two children.
Even with Daniel, Eva's boyfriend... Lukas and Lily clearly don't like him.
Lukas and Lily have also openly said that if their daddy were to remarry, it should only be with their Aunty. They don't want a stepmother other than Eva. Well, this is clearly one of the reasons Dika hasn't remarried until now.
“I'll call them over .” After saying that, Eva immediately stood up and called the twins. “Your daddy is here. Come on over!”
Soon after, Lukas and Lily cheered happily and quickly ran over to Eva and Dika.
“Papiii!” The two kids rushed into Dika's arms.
“Why do you still call Aunty Eva Mami?” Dika asked the twins.
“Aunty Eva doesn't mind. Why are you upset, Daddy?” replied Lily.
“All right, all right. It's time for you to eat now,” said Eva to prevent the argument between the father and the kids from dragging on.
"They haven't eaten yet . They said they'd eat after playing on the trampoline. It's been really hard to get them to eat," Eva explained afterward.
Eva had indeed been trying to get Lukas and Lily to eat for a while. However, the two kids kept refusing. Even though Eva allowed them to choose any food they wanted, they seemed unwilling to leave the children's play area.
This mall is quite large for the outskirts of the city. They're currently on the second floor, a children's play area with various attractions that are just as complete as those in city-center malls.
Meanwhile, on the third floor, there is a food court, so they only need to go up if they want to eat. Unfortunately, Lukas and Lily kept insisting they'd eat later.
"Let's go up to the third floor and eat together," said Lukas enthusiastically. Lily cheered right away. This time, they didn't refuse the invitation to eat like before.
"We do want to eat," said Dika. "But not here," he continued.
Eva frowned. Lukas and Lily also looked puzzled.
"What do you mean Dika?" asked Eva.
"Aunt Sri wants us to stop by for dinner," answered Dika. "She said it's okay to come straight after work, no need to go home first."
Aunt Sri is the younger sister of Eva's late mother. She already considers Eva like her own child. In fact, Eva is currently living in a house rented out by Aunt Sri at half the price of other tenants.
Aunt Sri didn't actually want Eva to pay the monthly rent, but Eva couldn't do that. She insisted on paying, even though it was eventually agreed to be only fifty percent.
"Huh? Why is Aunt acting like this all of a sudden? Is there some event?"
"This is totally spontaneous," replied Dika. "Aunt Sri called right when I was still at the office," he continued.
While Eva was still confused, Dika spoke again. "Aunt Sri called me because she couldn't reach you. She might have also stopped by the rental where you're staying, but you were probably at the office. It seems she wants to talk to you about something."
"I'm not keen on meeting Aunt," replied Eva. "It's always about marriage, marriage, and more marriage. I haven't even thought about that yet. Aunt has turned into my mom from six years ago. Or is Aunt possessed by my mom?" she said in frustration.
Eva continued, "Oh no, maybe Aunt has already accepted a proposal from some guy to marry me off? Good grief."
"Don't think negatively yet. It's not certain," replied Dika.
"How can I not think negatively ? Six years ago, Aunt stood up for me when Mom forced me to marry young. Now Aunt is the one telling me to marry."
"To be honest, I don't want to comment, but since we're already discussing it... I think Aunt Sri believes you're old enough to marry now, whereas you weren't back then."
Eva was silent.
"I'll help explain that your boyfriend isn't ready to marry, and I don't think Aunt Sri will push it."
" Dika is right. At least Aunt isn't like Mom, who insists on having her way."
"So, do you want to go there now?" Dika asked.
Eva nodded. After that, she called the twins, who were sitting and talking about their exciting games today.
"We're eating at Aunt Sri's house, okay?" Eva told Lukas and Lily.
"Yay! Aunt Sri must have lots of snacks to welcome us," Lily said to Lukas.
"Yay!" replied Lukas, his enthusiasm overflowing.
"Eva," called Dika, causing her to turn. "Since I brought the car, how about you take my car with the kids? I'll take your motorcycle."
Before Eva could refuse, Dika spoke again. "The kids would definitely prefer to be with you. So, instead of me driving the car alone, it's better if you all take the car."
In this situation, Eva couldn't refuse, especially since Dika's reasoning made sense. Eva was also sure that Lukas and Lily would choose to be with her.
At this moment, the four of them began descending to the first floor using the escalator. Eva held Lily's hand, and Dika held Lukas's. They looked like a happy family. Yes, someone who didn't know might think they were a real family.
Just like Ardi, who was currently on the escalator. However, the escalator he was on was different because he was heading up to the second floor, unlike the four of them, who were heading to the first floor. But he could clearly see the harmonious togetherness of the four people.
It seems... what Ardi saw at that moment made him misunderstand even more.
Eva, is that your husband now?
- Writer
