Ricardo, who had been maintaining his stern fatherly aura, instantly deflated. "Lilia, that's not funny. Is that really what you think of me?"
Lilia-Anne smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "I'm just talking. I didn't mean anything by it."
Seeing his wife's suspicion, Ricardo sighed. "If you don't believe me, we can do a DNA test. All three of us can get tested. I'll find one lab, you find another. We'll do them at the same time. When the results come back, you'll know I'm not lying."
"Since you're the one who offered... fine. I'll call the hospital right now to arrange the tests."
In just a few sentences, they had decided to get hair samples for a DNA test.
Grrrrl.
Maya's stomach suddenly growled loudly.
Alina looked down. "Are you hungry?"
Maya nodded timidly. "Yes... I didn't eat lunch. I'm so hungry."
She hasn't eaten since this morning? A child couldn't handle that; even an adult would be starving.
Alina led Maya to the dining table and sat her down, pushing her own bowl of rice in front of the girl. She also grabbed a small, rabbit-themed spoon for her. "What do you want to eat? Big sister will get it for you."
When Maya heard her mommy call herself "big sister," her eyes instantly welled up with a thin mist of tears. Her lower lip puckered, and she just stared at Alina, on the verge of crying. She refused to eat, afraid that if she ate this meal, she would really become a child nobody wanted.
Sigh.
Alina saw this and immediately changed her wording. "Mommy will get it for you."
A smile finally bloomed on Maya's face. "Mommy, I want the shrimp with tea leaves! And the beef! And a little bit of the spare ribs, too."
The child was already good at reading the room. She sensed that her grandfather and grandmother suddenly didn't like her. Their tone and expressions were cold. So, she didn't dare approach them, staying close to the mother she trusted. Even while eating, her left hand never let go, clutching the hem of Alina's shirt.
After making the call, Lilia-Anne also returned to the table. She gestured for Ricardo to eat, "Stop standing there. Let's eat first. After all this drama, I'm hungry too."
Ricardo gave a noncommittal grunt. He was clearly still bothered by his wife's accusation.
He sat at the head of the table, watching the two figures on the side—Alina and the strange little girl sitting together. They looked just like two sisters. He suddenly felt a lump in his throat.
"What is it? Thinking about Anna again?" Lilia-Anne saw her husband's expression and knew exactly what he was thinking. He was the one who drove Anna away, and now he's staring. As if staring will bring his eldest daughter back.
Ricardo quickly looked away, as if she had poked a sore spot. "Nonsense. Just eat."
The atmosphere at the table was awkward. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Alina silently drank her soup. Perhaps only Maya, the youngest, was able to enjoy the delicious dinner without a care in the world.
After eating her fill, Maya rubbed her round little belly and said in a milky voice, "I'm full. So full."
But the adults were still eating, so she didn't dare leave the table. She just rested her chin on the table, her big, round eyes darting around the room.
Ricardo felt a gaze land on him. He looked up. The owner of the gaze immediately shrank behind his daughter. He disliked timid children, so he ignored Maya and let her be.
"Grandfather..." A voice as small as a mosquito's sounded.
"I am not your grandfather. If you have something to say, say it clearly. Don't mumble," Ricardo replied without looking up.
Alina stopped eating, her chopsticks pausing mid-air. She looked directly at her father. "Dad, she's a child, not one of your employees. You don't need to use that tone with her."
In the past, Alina would never have openly contradicted her father. At most, she would have agreed to his face and then done whatever she wanted behind his back—something she learned from her sister. But today, for some reason, she didn't want to endure it. She just talked back.
Ricardo glanced at his daughter, and just then, he heard Maya speak up again, very cautiously. "Grandfather... are you still smoking? Mommy said your lungs aren't very good, and you should smoke less..."
Alina paused, glancing at the pack of cigarettes by her father's hand. He had been smoking more frequently lately; even her mother had commented that he was up to two or three packs a day.
Ricardo remembered his mid-year check-up. The doctor had warned him to cut back, noting that his blood pressure and blood viscosity were both significantly higher than other men his age.
He slid the cigarette pack away, his tone softening noticeably.
"I understand. Thank you... Maya."
After dinner, Alina took Maya to the living room sofa. The girl pulled her toys and a picture book from her backpack and sat obediently beside her mother, reading. When she came across a word she didn't know, she asked her mother.
The kindergarten materials hadn't changed much in fifteen years. They still taught basic life skills.
Alina looked at the cover of Maya's book. A name and class were written on it in crooked, penciled letters.
Kinder 1Maya Alcantara
She smiled a little at the messy handwriting. If Maya really was her child, transported back from fifteen years in the future, she would definitely have to teach her proper penmanship. She couldn't tolerate such messy writing. When she started elementary school, good handwriting would make the teachers happier when checking her homework.
I'll buy her some writing workbooks. You have to start them young.
Without realizing it, Alina had already naturally slipped into the role of Maya's mother.
Maya noticed her mother staring at her book. She felt her mother's gaze was a little strange and asked curiously, "Mommy, what are you looking at?"
Alina stroked her head. "Nothing. Keep reading."
Across from them, Lilia-Anne, who was also on the sofa, answered a call. Her expression immediately turned grave. She gave a few simple instructions into the phone and quickly hung up.
"What is it, Mom?" Alina asked.
"The DNA test results are back."
Alina held her breath. "And... what did they say?"
Lilia-Anne's expression was complicated. "She is related to us, but the percentage is low. Except for you, Alina. Your report shows that you are her biological mother."
This news absolutely could not get out. She had already given instructions to have the report destroyed.
Maya didn't know what her grandmother and mother were talking about. She just felt her mother's hand tighten on hers. She kicked off her shoes, snuggled into her mother's side, and looked up at her curiously.
"I know. I... I had a feeling," Alina said, not knowing how to describe her feelings. First, the awakening, and now a child literally falling from the sky. This absurd world was going to make her faint.
"There are still questions about Maya we need to answer," Lilia-Anne said. "Leave the rest to your father and me. You may be an adult, and a second-year university student, but this isn't something you can handle alone. We will take care of this."
Ricardo had also received a copy of the report. He came out of his study, standing at the landing of the stairs, looking down at the granddaughter who had appeared out of nowhere. His face was a mask of disbelief. But Ricardo had run a corporation for decades; he'd seen everything. He quickly composed himself. "Lilia," he called down, "bring Maya to my study."
Alina stood up, worried. "Dad, I'll go with her."
"That's not necessary," Ricardo said. "You go to your room and review your schoolwork. Your mother and I will handle this."