WebNovels

Chapter 15 - CHAPTER 15

Zane

Without wasting any time, I rushed into the bedroom and saw Nico and Nilo sitting on the bed with Rio.

Nilo was crying while holding Rio's hand. I quickly went to them and pulled Nilo into my arms.

"My baby, what happened? Why are you crying?" I asked softly, but he only clung to me tightly without saying a word, his sobs getting louder.

"Dad, Nilo scratched Brother Rio's hand by mistake," Nico said, glancing worriedly at Rio.

I looked at Rio, who smiled gently at me and showed his hand. His skin was scraped a little, and a small drop of blood had oozed out.

"It's nothing serious," Rio said. "He was about to fall, so I caught him, but his nails got stuck in my skin by accident. It's not even hurting now. He just started crying because he thought he hurt me."

Oh, so that's how Rio got hurt. But how can he say it's not hurting? It looks painful. He must be pretending so that Nilo won't feel guilty.

I put Nilo down on the bed beside Rio.

"Nilo, when you do something wrong, what should you do? Just cry?" I asked gently.

Nilo looked at me first, so I wiped his tears, and then he turned to Rio and bowed his head.

"I'm sorry, Brother Rio, for hurting you."

"It's alright. I'm not hurt," Rio replied and hugged him.

It's really surprising how close Rio has become to my kids in such a short time.

"Boys, wanna know something interesting?" Vien said from behind me.

Both kids nodded eagerly. Vien came and sat down beside them, while I took Rio out of the bedroom and made him sit on the sofa. I brought the first aid kit in the meantime.

"Where did Adam go?" Rio asked.

I opened the kit, sat beside him, and started applying ointment on his scratch.

"Earlier, when Viktor got mad at me, he left with Mr. Adam and Black. I think they went next door—that's where Viktor lives. If you want to go, you can."

Of course, since Adam and Rio are in a relationship, and he doesn't know anyone here—he's only met me for the second time today—he'll probably go.

"No, I don't want to go. You and the kids are alone here, so I'll stay. I know Adam will come back. Besides, Mr. Viktor and you are a couple, right?"

I quickly looked up at him. Me and Viktor—what? How could he think that? Viktor and I could never be a couple. Not a chance.

"Of course not. We're not a couple; I just know him by chance."

"And what about your wife? Where is she? Did you divorce her?"

"My wife… she died the moment she gave birth to the kids. I didn't remarry because I don't want my sons to have a stepmother," I said.

I couldn't tell him that I was the one who gave birth to them, so of course, I lied.

"I'm sorry for your loss," he said, his face softening with pity, like he might cry any second.

"It's fine. And done—your bandage is ready."

Even though it was just a small scratch, I still applied the bandage. Rio smiled at me after that, and we both looked ahead in silence.

Honestly, it felt awkward. I didn't know what to say, and he wasn't saying anything either.

As we sat quietly, a sudden knock on the door startled both of us. We exchanged glances.

"Who could that be?" Rio asked.

"I don't know. Let's check," I said, standing up and walking toward the door.

But I didn't open it right away. I stood there for a moment since the knocking had stopped.

"Who is it?" I shouted from inside. If no one answered, I wouldn't open it.

I had a feeling it might be Viktor, but since he left on his own, he should answer now.

"It's me," a voice said from outside.

Honestly, I didn't recognize the voice. I glanced at Rio, who was now standing right beside me.

"Do you know who it is?" I asked.

"Nope, can't tell just from the voice," he said.

Wow, what a genius. He can't even recognize someone by their voice. But then again, not everyone's a genius—some are extra geniuses, and Rio's clearly one of them.

"Should we open the door slightly and see who it is?" he asked.

I didn't think we needed to, but nothing wrong in checking. So, I signaled Rio to step back, cracked my neck, and slowly pushed the door open.

As soon as I did, I saw a man standing there—wearing a hoodie, gloves, a cap, and a mask covering his face.

And just then, that man looked inside and pushed the door open. The moment he did, we realized our mistake—he wasn't wearing shoes, and I could see his dark skin. He was covering his whole body just to hide that.

"Rio, run inside!" I shouted. Rio ran, but before I could move, the man lunged at me.

I fell to the ground, and when the man's mask came off I saw his face — dark and twisted — and his teeth were no longer human.

I had both hands pressed against his throat, trying to stop him.

"I am hungry," he rasped, and saliva dripped onto me.

The disgust was instant. I slapped him.

"You son of an egg — how dare you!" I shouted, slapped him again, then kicked his stomach and hurled him aside.

I knew what that thing was — dangerous — but he shouldn't have spat on my neck; it was utterly disgusting.

I sprang to my feet and started looking for something to use. My hand closed around the table lamp, but I didn't notice the man had already stood up. Pain flared in my hand; I looked back to see him scratching me — blood seeping from the wound.

I kicked him again, then brandished the lamp and pointed it at him.

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