Suddenly, they heard a knock at the door.
Aunt Veronicaâs voice echoed through the hallway. âBaber, Tristan, Layla, itâs dinner time. Tonight, we have your favorite barbecue ribs!â
Baberâs eyes lit up at the sound of barbecue ribs. He grabbed Tristanâs hand and excitedly said, âCome on, little bro! Letâs go get those barbecue ribs!â
Tristan looked at Baber, then at Layla.
He still didnât know how to respond to Layla. He hesitated to admit that he wasnât her brother because he was afraid that if he were found out, heâd be sent back home before he had the chance to enjoy himself.
So, he didnât answer Laylaâs question and followed his big brother, Baber, to open the door for Aunt Veronica and head downstairs for dinner.
Veronica watched the two boys rush off, shaking her head and muttering, âSlow down, kids. The ribs arenât going anywhere.â
The boys had disappeared downstairs.
Veronica turned to Layla, who was still sitting calmly on the side of the bed. She couldnât help but feel that no matter the age, girls were always more poised and elegant than boys.
âLayla, whereâs your mom?â
Layla hugged her doll and pointed towards the bathroom. âMommyâs still in there.â
Veronica entered the room and peeked into the bathroom to find Ellinor gathering the kidsâ dirty clothes, preparing to hand them over to the housemaid for cleaning.
âEllinor, letâs eat!â
Ellinor emerged from the bathroom, holding the pile of clothes. âAlright, letâs go.â
Veronica glanced at the clothes in Ellinorâs hands and noticed something odd. âHuh? Whose shirt is this?â
After hearing Veronicaâs question, Ellinor also looked down at the clothes in her hands.
She and Veronica were the ones who purchased the childrenâs clothes, and occasionally, Marissa would make some for the kids herself.
Every piece of clothing was familiar to her.
Ellinor and Veronica usually buy only a few trusted brands for the kids due to their good quality and hypoallergenic materials.
Boysâ clothing wasnât as varied as girlsâ. They were mostly similar.
The white polo shirt she now held in her hands was a style Adrian had several of, but neither she nor Veronica had ever bought that particular obscure brand.
Ellinor quickly realized that the logo on âAdrianâsâ white polo shirt was unfamiliar.
Veronica took the shirt and examined it more closely, asking in confusion, âEllinor, did you buy this for the kids? Iâve never heard of this brand before.â
Ellinor frowned slightly. She, too, had never heard of this brand âI didnât buy it.â
âIf it wasnât you and it wasnât me, then how did Adrian end up with this shirt? Iâll look up this brand.â
Saying this, Veronica pulled out her phone and searched the foreign brand name on the polo shirt.
The search results revealed that the brand was a niche one from M State. It was only available for sale within M State.
Veronica was even more puzzled. âOnly available within M State⦠We havenât been there recently, so how did this shirt end up on Adrian?â
Ellinor was also puzzled. She had been too focused on scolding Adrian for running around to notice these details. But what on earth was going on?
Why did a strange shirt suddenly appear on Adrian?