30 Scandal

“Have you completely lost your mind?!” Vicky was yelling at me while Kirill stood there silently with his arms crossed over his chest. Turns out she missed the kids so much she cut their vacation short by a few days. “You made our children lie that their own mother abandoned them! Me?!!”

We had picked the kids up from my father and were now sitting in the living room of Kirill’s house. The ones “on the carpet” were me and the kids, sitting with their heads lowered. Of course, all the backlash was meant for me, but the younger twins were also sitting there, glancing sadly at their Sony PlayStation. Only Soli acted like nothing had happened, playing with a new doll their parents had brought from Japan.

“But it was just pretend,” I tried to justify myself, and the kids nodded in agreement. “It was like a game, and they agreed to help. Not for free, by the way!”

“Oh really? A pretend game?” Kirill snapped angrily. “And is that girl aware that this is just a game? She seemed pretty sincere and sympathetic to me! Fine, your temporary flings are one thing, but why drag a good girl into this? She genuinely wanted to help you with the kids, and you?”

Damn. I really have lied my ass off beyond belief. Looks like it’s time to come clean to her. But I have to do it myself. Maybe even today.

“Don’t drag her into this,” I step in defensively. “I’ll tell her everything myself. And anyway, it was a forced measure!”

“Oh really?!” Vicky hisses, ready to claw my eyes out. “What, were your pants itching that bad that you had to drag my kids into it?! I’m just shocked! I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you with them!”

“They’re not little kids anymore!” I snap back. “Yeah, they’re children, but not toddlers like you still see them! The boys already show serious business instincts and a strong grip! They’re perfectly capable of thinking clearly about a lot of pretty grown-up things!”

“Alright, you three—rooms, now, and don’t show your faces,” the blonde orders her kids, and they disappear instantly. Then she turns back to me. “I’m their mother, I know perfectly well what my children are capable of!” Victoria hisses at me.

“Oh really?! Then why don’t you let them near tech and gadgets?”

“It’s harmful!”

“Oh, come on! That’s modern reality! And the boys have real talent for it. I’m not just talking about games—they’re genuinely good with technology. But you’re not letting that potential develop. I’ve watched them, and I can tell you for sure—that’s their thing.”

“Of course! So they can grow up and create their own escort website and work there themselves!” my brother’s wife rolls her eyes sarcastically.

“Well, if I remember correctly, that’s exactly how we met,” I shoot back just as sharply. “If it wasn’t for that site, there wouldn’t be these kids, and none of your family happiness either…”

“That’s enough, all of you!” Kirill cuts in, finally reaching his limit.

“But he—” Vicky starts.

“I said enough,” my brother snaps, and I see Vicky’s face change as she takes offense. “We’ll talk to the kids later and figure something out about their ‘talents’ since we apparently missed it before. But Nazar, you do realize how messed up it looks that you used our kids for your pickup attempts?”

“They kindly agreed to help,” I remind him.

“But they’re kids! It’s not exactly hard to plant an idea in their heads,” my twin says skeptically.

“Oh, believe me! The PlayStation idea was completely theirs—and probably their long-standing dream.”

“Nazar, when are you finally going to grow up…” Kirill shakes his head tiredly.