Chapter 17 A nobody
Standing in front of Arthur’s mansion again, a surge of nostalgia ran down Aurora’s spine.
Though she didn’t have a very good memory of the place, she still missed it very much. She was getting used to the mansion when she left.
“Woah!” The boys exclaimed as the hugeness and beauty of the mansion swept them off their feet.
As they proceeded into the house, Aurora began to notice a few changes in the house, and the first one happened to be a new butler.
“Good day Ma’am and welcome. My name is Theo, and I’m the butler in the mansion.” He introduced himself to her with a wide smile, while Arthur on the other hand ignored them and walked into the living room with the boys.
“Thank you, Theo,” Aurora answered with a faint smile. She was so used to Carter that she wished he was the one welcoming her like he used to, but that was never going to happen.
Not after Carter was fired because of her actions.
Theo looked younger than Carter. He was about Arthur’s age in appearance, if not younger.
‘I hope he would treat me the same way Carter did.’ She thought as he walked her into the house.
Other things that changed in the house were the couches, curtains, the chandelier, and even the dining area.
This didn’t surprise Aurora. Things weren’t supposed to be the same in a rich man’s house after five years.
Arthur led the boys to one of the rooms on the first floor, which he had prepared in anticipation of his kids a long time ago.
In the large room were three small beds placed next to each other. They all had their duvets and pillows in the same design but different colors.
The closet was built to have three compartments, each one for one boy. And next to the closet was a long, large toy rack.
There were varieties of toys ranging from masculine dolls and teddies, water guns, car toys, train toys, and down to puzzle toys.
This caught the attention of the boys first, and they ran to the rack with their faces flushed in excitement.
Arthur giggled as he watched the boys get busy with the toys of their choice.
After spending such a short time with them, Arthur noticed they had completely different tastes and behaviors even though they were triplets.
The oldest Ryan was fierce and very smart. He would challenge anyone and anything that tries to hurt him or the people he loves, most especially his mother. Most times, he’s often doing things completely different from his brothers.
‘His hobby must be asking questions.’ Arthur said to himself as he watched him.
The middle one, Riley is in between. He’s also smart but can be quiet at times. He smiles a lot and loves to play. He seemed pretty closer to Rowan than Ryan, maybe because Rowan has similar traits to him compared to Ryan.
The last one, Rowan is very quiet and hardly talks. He’s also smart but prefers actions to express his emotions rather than saying them. But no doubt, he loves his brother so much.
“Okay, boys! Before we start playing with the toys fully. Let’s pick our beds!” Arthur uttered, clapping his hands so he could get their attention.
“Ryan. You go first. Which of the colors do you prefer?” Arthur asked him, and Ryan stared at the three beds as he thought of the one to choose.
“This one.” He pointed to the blue one, and Arthur grinned and nodded happily. Blue was his favorite color too. Ryan couldn’t stop proving to him that he was exactly the same as him.
“Okay. Riley?” He asked, and Riley chose the white one.
The pink bed was left and Rowan walked up to it without uttering a word.
Aurora walked in and saw how magnificent the room looked.
‘Maybe I was wrong. He isn’t totally a bad father.’ She thought as she watched him have a chat with them.
“Mummy!” Rowan called after seeing her first. He got off the bed and ran to her, hugging her thighs.
“There you are!” Aurora retorted happily, lifting him.
“There are so many toys!” Ryan uttered, pointing at the toy rack.
“I can see that. And what do you say?” She asked.
“Thank you.” They all chorused to Arthur.
“You’re welcome!” Arthur answered, affectionately poking their noses.
Aurora moved closer to where they were and placed Rowan on the bed again. She wanted to move away because Arthur looked at her, but Rowan wasn’t ready to let go. So she had to sit on the bed, embracing him.
Arthur clenched his jaws and looked away from her. ‘You’re so lucky the kids are here.’ He said to himself, letting out a false smile.
“Mummy?” Ryan called, turning to look at Aurora.
“Yes, my love.” She answered.
“Is it true Mr. Arthur is our dad?” He asked, causing Aurora to look at Arthur.
Their gazes locked and their eyes lingered on each other before she answered.
“Yes, my love. Mr. Arthur is your father.” Aurora answered, still smiling at him.
“But what of Uncle Jimmy? Isn’t he your boyfriend?” Ryan further asked, making her slowly lower her head. She couldn’t dare to look at Arthur after Jimmy’s name was mentioned.
She got stuck and didn’t know what to say. She raised her head to steal a glance at Arthur, whose head was also lowered slightly.
“Okay, boys! Enough questions for today. Let’s eat!” Arthur suddenly uttered, carrying Ryan and Riley.
“Uncle Theo, it’s fine for lunch!” Arthur added as he headed outside with them.
Aurora let out a deep breath as she also lifted Rowan and headed out too.
Getting to the living room, they placed them on the floor and the kids followed Dereck to the kitchen, finally giving Aurora and Arthur the chance to talk.
“Why didn’t you answer his second question?” Arthur asked, unbuttoning his shirt as he walked to the couch and sat on it.
“I didn’t know what to say.” She mumbled, lowering her head.
“You know… don’t think you’ve gotten away with what you did. I’m doing all this because my kids like you. The moment I gain their trust and love. You’re out of this mansion.” He muttered coldly, resting his head on the backrest.
Aurora nodded slowly and gulped hard. “I am sorry, Mr. Arthur for what I did. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No, you shouldn’t. But you did. This is what you wanted right? That we become a couple and do this mummy and daddy sht together? Well, guess what?…”
He stood up from the couch and approached her.
“It’s never going to happen. We will never be a couple. Now you can go and be with Jimmy for all I care. Just don’t drag my kids into your mess. I don’t care who you’re sleeping with.” He added, and she nodded, gritting her teeth.
“Also, try not to come close to the kids anytime I am with them. I can’t pretend I like seeing you anymore.”
After saying these, he walked out of her face and made his way to the stairs.
She threw her head backward and closed her eyes, trying to take in his words without feeling hurt. She knew she was going to regret her decision until she died.
Reaching for her phone in the pocket of her pants, she dialed Jimmy’s number, hoping she was finally going to get a chance to apologize, and if possible, make their relationship work again.
But, he didn’t answer the phone. “He’s still mad at me and probably hates me now.” She mumbled, staring at his face in the picture she used to save his contact.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, which made her look in its direction.
“I’m coming!” Theo answered from the kitchen.
“Don’t bother! I got it!” Aurora answered, putting her phone in her pocket again as she headed to get the door.
Opening the door, she was faced by a beautiful blonde lady, dressed in a red, short dress. Her cleavages were exposed and her face was covered in makeup.
She had the banging body of a model.
“Hello! Is Arthur home?” She asked, peeping into the house from above Aurora’s shoulder.
“Yes. Sorry… who are you?” Aurora asked furrowing her brows, and before she could respond, Arthur spoke up from behind her.
“Danielle!” He called, and they both turned to look at him.
“Hi, baby!” She answered with a chuckle, waving at him prettily.
“Can you please leave the way so she can come in?” Arthur said to Aurora who was still confused about what was going on.
“Oh… sorry.” She muttered, moving out of the way.
“Hey, darling,” Danielle added as she walked up to Arthur and embraced him, planting a peck on his lips.
Aurora’s eyes widened in reaction to what she just saw. ‘Doesn’t he hate women?’ She tried to recall.
“Who is she?” Danielle asked, looking at Aurora while she still held onto Arthur firmly.
“She’s nobody. Just a new maid. Come, let me introduce you to my boys.” Arthur answered with a smirk, walking away with Danielle.
“Did he just call me a maid?”