After Adriana left Noah's office:
Noah was leaning against the door of the adjacent room, staring at the spot where Aria had slept on.
"What's up?" Chris asked, walking into the office since he was called by Noah earlier.
"Is it possible to conduct a DNA test with someone's hair?"
"Yes, it's common knowledge." Chris laughed.
"I know, I just want to stall enough time before I make my decision," Noah replied, still staring at the bedsheets.
"Uh...do you have a secret child or something?" Chris asked, following his line of sight in confusion.
"I don't know, do I?"
"Okay, that's just concerning. Do you mind filling me in?"
"Figure it out yourself," Noah answered and locked the door, walking back to his desk and taking a seat.
"Wait, a sec…."
"Adriana plus kid plus you…..equals oh sh*t!" Chris took a deep breath and walked to Noah's minibar. He picked up a bottle and a cup and then sat down in front of Noah.
He gulped down his first glass, the second, the third, and continued until he started feeling tipsy.
"One second, I'm almost drunk enough."
Noah smirked, "I think Aria is mine."
Chris choked on the drink and started coughing continuously. "I wasn't drunk enough, you jerk!" He complained.
"I knew it! I freaking knew it! It was too suspicious! How could a child share two people's features so well and say they aren't related at all? It was so obvious why did I-WE dismiss it?" he poured himself another glass and gulped it down in one go, still trying to process the recent information.
Noah was silent as he watched his struggle at accepting it.
But he's right, isn't he?
The only way to know for sure and confirm his doubts was right in the adjacent room. He could just send it for testing, but he couldn't.
He wanted to hear it from Adriana himself, even if he knew that was probably not going to happen.
And if it is true, how could she hide something so big from him?
"She never admitted it...but she never denied it either." He mumbled to himself, remembering her reaction earlier.
"Daddy!" She called him.
It sounded so natural from Aria's mouth. Even when they met, she had always somehow made him feel like he had responsibility for her and fondness.
The images of Aria's moments with him before her mother came to pick her up rushed in his head, not allowing him to concentrate on his work.
Chris had left after Noah warned him not to blurt out anything of what they discussed, and then he had many files waiting for him.
He tried to get through the day but it irked him; he needed an answer, and so he went to get it himself.
He had a plan on how to make her talk, and so he headed towards the hotel they were staying in.
Present time:
"Bryan, tell Simon to tell Sanders to screw himself."
Bryan walked up to her and lifted his hand to pat her head.
"Touch her and we're going to have a problem."
Bryan literally felt his soul leave his body at that moment, it was the only chilling to the bones tone that could make him feel like he's life was on the line.
He retreated his hand and his lips curled up into a smirk.
He turned around, cursing his luck silently. 'I should have closed the door.'
Adriana groaned, not even daring to lift her head.
She was so over it.
"What is an irrelevant-" Before he could continue, Caroline, interrupted him.
"Bryan! A little help here?"
He rolled his eyes and walked away towards Caroline to 'help' her.
Noah gave Adriana a hard stare.
He was so pissed that he even forgot the reason he had come back to the hotel, and instead, he walked away and entered his hotel.
He had a clear annoyed expression displayed on his handsome face, making Adriana laugh as she watched him leave.
She then banged her head on the table.
With a deep breath, she closed her hotel door and walked towards the kitchen. Opening the cabinet she picked up a butterfly needle to draw blood which was inside the first aid kit.
She drew out some of her blood into a small tube. When she was done, she cleaned up and tossed the trash away.
With the bottle of her blood in her hands, she walked to the room Carolien and Bryan were arguing in.
"Take this for testing." She handed it to Bryan.
"Uh…."
"For any kind of poison or abnormal substance." She added.
Maybe she was being her same old paranoid self, but she felt that the condition her body was in was not normal at all.
"Wait, take James to the car first and then take it for testing."
"Why can't I go with you guys instead? and why would there be-" He asked, receiving a glare from Caroline.
"Don't worry about him, he badly wants Noah to beat him up. Look at him, he's literally begging for it."
"Just go," Adriana ordered in an icy voice.
She then walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
"Chop chop!" Caroline continued to glare at Bryan.
"You're so damn annoying."
"I am? I'm glad I can annoy you. It's my superpower, don't you think?"
Bryan's lips twitched, and he walked into the bedroom to pick up James and carried him downstairs.
After placing James in the car seat in a comfortable position and coming back up to carry their luggage and place it in the trunk, he left to get Adriana's blood tested.
When Bryan was gone Caroline knocked on the bathroom door and asked, "Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Uh, I'm fine, just a headache." She heard Adriana's faint voice.
"Lier. Why would you need your blood tested then?"
Adriana washed her face a few more times, and she chuckled. "I promise. I just want to make sure, you know how I am."
Caroline sighed.
"Fine, I'll carry Aria downstairs and meet you there."
"Kay' "
Finally, feeling more 'awake' Adriana picked up her purse and a few more things from the hotel room before walking out.
She heard Noah clear his throat when she closed the door behind her, and she smiled.
He had come out at the same time Caroline did and saw her carry Aria downstairs.
"Catch her before she moves out, okay?" She had told asked him and then walked away.
"Yes?" Adriana asked.
"Is he gone?"
"Hmmm"
"Can we talk?"
"Didn't you have enough of me for today?" She laughed.
"Yeah, probably."
"Let's talk later, I have somewhere to be."
"Is that place your new apartment?" He asked when she gave him her back and started walking away.
"I figured because of the luggage and all."
"Yeah…" She shook her head, scrunching her nose. "She totally snitched."
"Right."
There was an awkward silence that followed.
Adriana turned around and said, "FYI, there are no units next to mine."
"I'm not a stalker."
"Sure you are."
"I'm not."
"Uh-huh." She then started walking away.
"Am I your favorite stalker?"
'Suddenly, my mood is better.' She thought.
"You're my only stalker." With a smile lingering on her lips, she entered the elevator, keeping the contact between their eyes until the door closed.
"I'm so whopped." He mumbled to himself before going back inside his hotel room. Regretting not making her talk as he had planned.
...
James yawned, and he woke up to his sister's excited squealing.
He rubbed his eyes and found himself in an unfamiliar bed. He looked around and saw Aria squealing at the empty white wall in the large room.
There was a bed across from him with royal blue sheets, just the color Aria loves.
He furrowed his eyebrows and jumped out of the bed in confusion.
"Bro, are you awake?" Aria turned around, and she excitedly jumped into her brother's arms.
"What happened?"
Aria then started telling the story, "Mommy brought me back after I had a fight at school and then I went to sleep and woke up here then I found the wall and I started dancing happily but I don't know where mommy is but we can go find her let's go!." She explained, gasping for breath when she was done.
"Wait, what? What happened?"
"I already told you Mommy-"
"No, I mean, why did you fight with the kids at your school."
"..." Aria responded with crickets.
"Not important, we have to go find mommy." She insisted, pulling him by his hand.
"Very important, you have a bruise on your face!"
She was very surprised and confused when she saw her brother's angry expression.
Aria pouted, "They bullied me, and I fought back but there were too many of them and I got this." She said pointing at her bruise.
"Is that all?"
She sighed deeply as if it were an exhausting job to explain everything to her brother. Looking back at him, she gave up and explained everything as detailed as possible because she knew if she left one thing out, her brother would not stop asking.
"I let you leave the country ONCE and you get bullied? You're never going too far places without being again. If I'm not there who is going to protect you?"
"Hey, I'm grown up I don't need your protection."
"You're still a baby." He mumbled in French.
"And so are you." She huffed and walked towards her bed, curling into a ball and covering herself with the fresh blankets.
It was disappointing because they smelled brand new and not like home.
James sighed.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Because I overreacted instead of comforting you."
"And…?"
"For ruining your mood."
"And?"
"For not enjoying the wall with you."
Aria humphed in response. "Mommy said I was mature for knowing what I did wrong, you're are very immature because you can't see what you did wrong."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pressured you to talk about something you don't want to talk about."
Aria hummed, and she lifted the covers of her face.
"Let's go look for mommy."
James nodded his head and helped her out of the bed. Since he's the taller one, he opened the door, and they walked out.
They both gasped when they met with stairs, leading to a living room downstairs that a beautiful view of the city.
Aria grinned, and she immediately ran down the stairs to go check it out.
"Hey, no running." Adriana looked up when she heard the noise of someone running down the stairs from below.
She and Caroline were in the kitchen talking about the new apartment and how things would play out as soon as she left Paris.
"Mommy!" Aria slowed down her steps but still was quick to get to the end.
James followed, walking down with his usual quiet and elegant nature.
Maybe it was because of the way his mommy raised him. James grew up treated a Young Master of the house and the son of a powerful woman who he looked up to a lot. His mother was always there for him, and it gave him the idea that he had to do the same for her without realizing that Adriana was only being his mother.
He tried to be perfect in every way and avoided disappointing her mother.
Aria only had two years of living with them, but she adapted quickly because of the lack of love she had before them. She was just an adopted mother or a grandmother that only meant harm.
Despite the harshness of a childhood she barely remembers Aria always remained bright, kind, and was consistent in her naughty personality. She was adorable, and she wasn't perfect academically or socially.
She's a selfish child, just like any other. And most of the time she didn't but tried to understand things around her. She's also naïve but full of love and compassion for everyone, and that's what made her special.
As soon as James had met his twin, he knew that it was his duty to protect her and with her; he learned to show his emotions better and speak about his feelings. At one point he had felt jealousy towards his sister.
After all, her innocence protected her from the harshness of the world. In his case, he matured very quickly, and despite his mother's efforts to give him a normal and happy childhood; it was just how he was.
He didn't understand playing around and neither did he get the concept of 'childhood' and he knew was doing what he loves.
1. Mommy 2. Sister 3.Computers 4. Learning 5. Reading
"How do you like the new place?" When he heard his mommy's question, he snapped out of his thoughts and smiled. "It's beautiful, I can't wait to paint on the wall." He responded with his usual calm tone.
Aria was over the moon about it and just like he had been thinking, she expressed herself better.
"Can you join us?" Aria asked and their mother nodded.
"Now, are you guys hungry? I made food."
"..."
"..."
Both Aria and James shared a glance.
Caroline appeared from behind and chuckled. "Don't worry, she made pizza and not what she calls 'food' pfft."
"Yay!"
"Mommy, your pizza is the best. I think you should stick to that." James told her with a smile after hugging her leg and rushing after Aria to go eat their pizza.
"I- was that a backhanded compliment???"
"I agree, pizza is your best skill." Caroline walked away as her laughter intensified.
"Am I that bad?" Adriana asked herself.
She then mimicked, "Don't worry, she made pizza and not what she calls foo blah!"
"It's hot don't touch it yet. I'm going to put in your plates." Caroline said, and she cut the pizza into slices.
Adriana walked towards them and since Carolien had already helped the twins sit on the highchairs, she took her own seta and helped Caroline put a slice in each person's plate after she would cut it.
…..
That night Caroline went back to the hotel and Adriana had given the twins a proper tour around the apartment. They were very disappointed when she told them they could only stay here for the night because they would go back home tomorrow.
But since she assured them they would come back, they went to sleep in their rooms peacefully.
Around midnight Adriana sat up from the bed and made space on her bed. She waited patiently for about 10 minutes until she heard the first knock on her door.
Every time they would sleep in an unfamiliar, the twins one by one would make their way to her bedroom and ask for cuddles in the middle of the night.
Her first visit was not Aria, but James. Carrying a blanket and a pillow with him.
"Can we cuddle?" He asked.
"Pfft-" She could only expect Aria to knock on her door a few minutes later.
Just like she predicted exactly 12 minutes later, there was another knock on her door.
"Mommy, can we cuddle?"
_____
(*A/N: This is it, just one more chapter and we are back in Paris! *Intensive screaming form the other end of your screen*)