Mr. Rodriguez walked back to the stairs, carrying his bag. He pointed out three doors on the side of the stairs.
"That's a comfort room. Feel free to use it anytime." He pointed to the first door they had passed. "That's the door if you want to go outside." He gestured to the farthest door from them before opening the door in the middle.
He entered the room and she followed. Mr. Rodriguez placed his bag on the bed. The room was small, but like the rest of the house, it was elegant. The window was large, extending to the floor, with a golden curtain that could be used to shield it from the outside. The walls were made of red bricks.
"You can use this room for now."
Confusion was written all over her face.
"I am not Helga," she said.
The man seemed surprised at her statement.
"I mean...I-I am Helga, but not the way you think," she quickly added. "I'm sure I don't have amnesia. I remember everything that has happened in my life. I'm not your wife."
The man nodded. "I know."
"You know?"
"You look too young to have these kids. How old are you?"
"Twenty-one."
The man's expression turned blank.
"I have no idea about you. But I have no choice but to keep you here with the kids."
"W-Wait, why me? Where is their real mother? Do I look like her, have the same name?" She managed to speak despite being shocked.
The man let out a sigh. He put both of his hands on his waist.
"It's hard to explain...but you're the mother of these two kids."
Her mouth trembled. She shook her head several times. Was Mr. Rodriguez teasing her? But he seemed serious.
"Did you see how sure Robin was to know that you are his mom?"
She felt like her chest was tightening. How was she supposed to accept what the man was saying?
"The same thing happened with Chelsea earlier when she first saw me. It was like she knew about me for a long time. But guess what? That was also the first time I saw her."
She stepped back and held onto the wall. Her knees felt like they were about to give in.
Mr. Rodriguez approached her promptly. He held onto both of her arms and guided her to the bed. They sat side by side at the edge of the bed.
"I have no choice but to tell you this. I know it's hard to understand. I, myself, have no explanation for what's happening. But since this involves both of us, I need you to help me clear up this mystery."
She couldn't look at him. Her mind was in disarray. She swallowed her saliva several times. She even pinched herself, hoping that this was all just a dream.
"Three weeks ago, I woke up with a kid outside of my room. He called me Daddy. I thought someone was playing a prank on me. You could imagine how confused I got. I asked for help from my friend who's an investigator to find anything connected to the kid. Maybe he's a lost child who mistook me for his father. But we didn't find anything. The kid is sure that I'm his dad. He even knows my name and always mentions that his mommy's name is Helga, and he has an older sister named Chelsea."
"Well, after searching for someone with those names, we still had no success. We've been looking for you for days. So when I received a call from the police station, I immediately went to see you."
She could sense that the man was also having a hard time explaining.
"We're trying to keep this thing a secret. If anyone finds out, we'll surely be the talk of the town."
"Who else knows about this?" She still stumbled on her words.
"My mom and dad, Yaya Luring, my friend, the private investigator, and you." The man looked intently at her.
She bowed her head again.
"What will happen to us?" Her thoughts seemed to have slowed down.
"For now, we have to live like a normal family until we get answers. Unless you have other suggestions."
She couldn't show her facial expression. What had she gotten herself into? She would now have to pretend to be the mother of two children. Well, it wasn't that hard, especially since Chelsea and Robin had easily warmed up to her.
Is it right for them to deceive these children?
After a moment of deep thought, he continued, "Do you think it's possible that their mother and father have the same names as us?"
Mr. Rodriguez's question left her speechless. "It's possible, but wouldn't it be strange for both parents to look exactly like us?" she finally replied.
"I don't know if this will help, but we had Robin's DNA tested," Mr. Rodriguez said, catching her attention. She stared seriously at the gentle face of the man.
"It confirmed that he is indeed my son," Mr. Rodriguez added.
Her jaw dropped upon hearing the news.
"If you're having doubts about being the mother of these two children, I can arrange for another test," Mr. Rodriguez offered.