chapter 25: How can they handle the truth
The door bell rang. That was very strange- Kyoya was not expecting anyone, now considering the most recent events, he had a pretty good idea, who that was.
When Miss Priti opened the door, Kyoya was not surprised to see that his suspicions were correct- Ren came to visit again. Probably because what Hikaru and Kaoru did with Akira:
- Hello, everyone!- Ren greeted with a false smile. The others did not reply.- Miss Priti!- Ren continued, pretending she did not notice the tension in the atmosphere.- So good to see you again. I look good today.
- What do you want, witch?- Priti was not buying it.
- Just came to talk with Kyoya a little bit.- Ren answered.- Is it a crime?
- It should be.- Priti commented, feeling just as sour as earlier.
Kyoya was standing behind the maid, with his arms crossed, not having any intention of tolerating Ren's presence. He knew she had ulterior motives for visiting, as always:
- Kyoya, tell this commoner that what we have between is not her business.- Ren asked her ex-husband.
- After this erotica you pulled, it is just as much of her own business, as it is ours.- Kyoya said salty. He pushed his glasses and said.- Unless you are here to retreat, I advice you to leave my premises.
The sound of antagonism could not go unnoticed by the ears of Simran and Nandini. Once they heard the bell ring, they went downstairs and hid, in order to see what was all of this about. When they saw their mother, they suspected that she was here to do something wicked again. She probably knew that the whole bluff with the maid was not going anywhere. What if this time she was directly after their father? The twins were not certain, but they had to keep an eye on their mother.
- Just let me in, and we can talk like adults, okay?- Ren offered with the same sly smile on her face.
- Ren, I know about the hoax.- Kyoya straight up told her.- There is no need to pretend anymore. Whatever material you ever had is destroyed, so there is no point of trying anymore. And you cannot pull this again. Not when I am here.
"Trust me, Kyoya! You are exactly the one I need", Ren thought. She accidentally noticed the two kids, spying on them behind the staircase. Perfect!
- Not going to allow talking in the office?- Ren said in a falsely oblivious tone.- Fine by me. Could we just tell the girls to come down, so we can see them eye-to-eye?- she pointed at the two twins.
This did not surprise Kyoya. He already knew his daughters well enough to know they were hiding and spying on them this whole time.
Simran and Nandini got a little shocked, when Ren acknowledged their presence. Knowing that hiding was very pointless now, they simply, climbed down the rest of the stairs to get down. They were now facing both of their parents. The feeling was incredibly strange:
- Aren't you two absolutely adorable?- Ren commented on the children.- You and I did well, Kyoya. Perfect results of a perfect deal. Aren't you glad I convinced you?
What did she say? She was the one, who convinced him? The girls were very surprised. They always thought it was the other way around:
- Is this what you came to tell me, Ren?- Kyoya asked impatiently.- That you remember you have two daughters?
- I just don't understand why you don't let me see them, after I insisted so many time.- Ren responded.- It's not like you yourself have any time for them, even before they were born. After all, the deal was just to make heirs, not for you to pretend that you can raise them.
- Father?- Simran asked anxiously.- What is she talking about?
- Oh, he didn't tell you?- Ren asked.- Never telling anyone anything, huh, Kyoya? You haven't changed.
Kyoya must not let that wicked woman keep talking, but he if said something right now, it would be as if he was admitting that she was right. Sure, it did start as nothing more than a business deal, but from the moment Ren got pregnant everything changed. Kyoya's entire life changed forever. There was never a moment, when he regretted becoming a father to Simran and Nandini.
However, Ren had created a plan to take the girls away from him. There was no way, in Hell, he would ever let that happen!
Ren was now about to speak:
- Before you two were born, your father and I discussed the idea of producing an heir, who will inherit the family business, once the two of us retire. We made a big plan about everything, even your education. He agreed and the rest is history.
- W-What does that mean?- Nandini asked, finding it hard to swallow. She turned to her father.- Father, what is she talking about? Does that mean...
- Does that mean that we are just part of a plan?- Simran finished her sister's sentence.- Just a plan? A PLAN?
- We are a part of the deal, huh? Answer!- Nandini raised her voice.
She said it. The witch told his daughters the unnecessary details about their birth, making them believe their entire existence is designed for business. Kyoya had nothing to hide anymore. He had to confess:
- It's true.- he said, without looking at them, ashamed and afraid of their wrath.- This is the story of how we decided to have children, back when we were still married.
- Here you have it.- Ren said in a somewhat playful and sly tone.- The truth on a silver platter. Aren't you two girls lucky you were chosen for this honor?
- Cut it out, Ren!- Priti ordered.
- Who are you to boss me around, you foreign peasant?!- Ren's voice sounded filled with disgust.
- Watch your mouth, Ren!- Kyoya threatened his ex-wife. He would not allow anyone to insult his maid.
- Hm! One would think you do have something with each other.- Ren mocked.- Anyway, I see you have better things to do. We will see each other again some time. Goodbye!- she waved and left the premises. For the rest of the day, she was not seen again.
Although, this did not make the atmosphere in the Ootori mansion any calmer. Nandini and Simran felt...betrayed. They never knew the story of their conception, and now when they knew they did not know how to respond. They were locked in their room, not allowing anyone, especially their father, to disturb them. The twins really needed a lot of time and space to think.
After all this time they knew the truth- their mother has convinced their father to conceive an heir, not a child. And to think that Kyoya Ootori's workaholism was the result of the tiredness, caused by 11 years of parenthood, but it turns out that this was actually always the case. It should not be surprise though. This is the Ootori family they were talking about. A family whose entire ideology centers around nothing but money and connections. They were more of an army of strategists, looking for more ways to raise in society.
This whole dilemma reminded them of those earlier times, when their father was too busy to do anything with them, seemingly preferring to work, than to spend some time with the twins. Nobody could accuse Simran and Nandini of not trying though, as they did try to ask him whether he wants to join their activities, but he always had an excuse not to. In time, they had enough of it and stopped trying at all.
On the other hand, Kyoya has been doing anything he could to redeem himself. He protected Simran from a bully in school, he protected Nandini from being slapped by her grandfather, he took them with him to Greece, he started to celebrate Christmas with them again, he introduced them to his friends from high school and their children, he is fighting tooth and nail to keep them with his operation "Burn the witch", and a witch their mother was, so it made sense that a deal would be the only reason anyone would agree to copulate with her.
It appears that the biggest problem was that the Ootori men and their wives were simply horrible, when it came to emotional intelligence. If anything, they were bad at expressing their emotions, which of course often led to misunderstanding, conflicts and so on. Maybe what Kyoya needed was someone to just push him to the right direction, and as his children, it was Simran and Nandini's job to show him what all three of them need for the sake of being a better family.
It was late at night, around 5 AM. Simran could not sleep again, and neither could her sister. They decided to go to the kitchen for a glass of water and so they did. Once they reached the kitchen, though, they saw their father walking around in circles, wearing his pajamas and without his glasses. Apparently, he had so many thoughts in his head again, that he could not sleep. He was surprised when he noticed his daughters looking directly at him, with confused expressions:
- Girls!- he began.- What's wrong? You can't sleep?
- We are the ones, who should be asking you that.- Nandini replied.
- I just needed to have some time to think.- he said. He got closer to them and kneeled.- Simran. Nandini. I am sorry about what you heard earlier. Even if Ren is ready to do anything to destroy me, that does not mean that her last trick was a lie. She was not lying about...your origin, but...
Kyoya had prepared an entire lecture about how his life changed after his daughters were born, but he could not finish, because Simran interrupted him politely:
- Dad, don't worry!- she placed her hand on his cheek affectionately.- The past is in the past.
- We have already been through this.- Nandini added.- We know you're still learning, so we'll be here to support you in any way we can.
- There is no such thing as a perfect parent.- Simran confessed.
Kyoya gave them a fond smile, after which the three hugged each other very tightly.
The next morning, while the Ootori family were having their breakfast, they discussed how their plan would be realized. Miss Priti was there too, as always, to give them ideas from time to time. Kyoya was feeling really grateful and really lucky that his two girls showed such maturity last night. The three have gotten through so many changes the last year. They were finally starting to act like a family.
At noon, the rest of the former host club arrived at the Ootori mansion, each of them brought something to help with the plan.
