Page 94 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

I understood that they wanted to help. Everyone wanted to help. My mom and Ciara included. It was as if I were incapable of doing it on my own. I wished they understood that I was still trying to process everything that’d happened last month. They shouldn’t expect me to be buddy-buddy with them immediately.

“I know,” I said, not looking at her.

“You’re family, Chloe. Please don’t hesitate to ask us for anything,” Nana said with a sweet smile that made the corners of her eyes wrinkle and exposed her smile lines.

“Yeah,” I said and stood up.

I walked to the twins and took them down from their seats. I asked Wanda to help me clean up the mess they had left behind and went upstairs to run them a bath.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to the twins after undressing them.

I left the tap in the bathtub running as I rushed to their room to grab a towel. I shared my bathroom with them. Only Tristan’s room and mine had bathrooms on this floor.

“Okay, time to—what the …” My eyes widened at what was in front of me.

I hadn’t even been gone for two minutes, and they had already messed up the place. The bathtub was overflowing with foam and bubbles that Kayla and Kayden were covered in. How had they even gotten into the bathtub, and how was there so much foam? I noticed the bubble bath bottle on the floor. I picked it up, and it was empty.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I sighed, staring at them.

They stared at me like they were innocent.

I turned off the tap and ran my fingers through my hair in exasperation. I didn’t know where to begin. The twins had gone back to ignoring me and playing with the foam.

“Tristan!” I called from the doorway.

He should be in his room. The door opened, and he walked out, only in his running shorts. I got distracted for a moment as my eyes wandered down the toned muscles of his shoulders and arms, his strong pecs and outlined abs.

“Did something happen?” Tristan asked, and I quickly got myself together.

“Come and see what your sperm did,” I said, and he snorted a laugh as he approached me with his long strides.

“What did my perfect and spectacular sperm—oh, I see,” he mumbled as he stared at the twins covered in thick bubble foam inside the bathtub.

“I was only gone for one minute—one minute,” I said, and he fought a smile from the way he was biting down on his inner lower lip which my eyes couldn’t help but stare at.

“I’m sure they were trying to help,” he said, looking down at me with his lips curled upward.

I scoffed and looked away from those eyes that were drawing me into a familiar world I was starting to crave.

Kayla pushed some foam to the marble floor like she was watering a plant. I heard Tristan laughing.

“How is this funny?” I sighed and walked to the bathtub to find a way to get rid of the foam.

“I’m sure you did far more awful things as a child. Remember the poor dog,” he said behind me.

I gasped and filled my palms with foam, and I threw it at him.

“I’m sure spitting into your cousin’s drink when they’re not looking is evil,” I retorted, and he laughed.

“Nice,” he said, walking to the bathtub. “Come on. Let’s go, muffins, before Mom burns down this place with her eyes,” Tristan said and scooped them in each arm, not caring about the foam.

“I will help give them a bath,” he said, stopping beside me. His tall and brooding form towering over me.

Kayla was removing the foam on her body and rubbing it on Tristan’s hair, as if she were washing it.

“Mommy will like that,” Tristan said to Kayden, who was gathering any foam he could find.

“No,” I said quickly when I realized what he meant.

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