Chapter 315: The Circle of Life

"This is part of life, girls. Get used to it."

"Jackson, how could you…" Avery breathed out, her violet eyes shaking with alarm. "They're children. Good children. They understand when they are wrong. They listen when it's important. Besides, I'm positive the girls know more than enough that they can't always win."

This had gone too far. If Jackson truly had a problem, it should be between him and the couple. There was no need for him to drag the young girls. He should have known better. He knew the outcome would be like this. He had the advantage.

All of that… for the sake of a life lesson?

It wasn't worth it!

Her husband moved towards her, planting his hand on the metal rack that held the bowling balls. The frown lines between his brows deepened. "So you think I should let them go? And let Eve marry our son?"

"They love each other. Of course, they should!"

"But if you think about it…" Jackson paused. His head tilted to the side as he returned the same glare his wife directed at him. "If anyone should take responsibility for this outcome, shouldn't it be you?" 

Avery paled from his words. Her muscles slackened at the implication. What was he saying? How could this be her fault? To call off the engagement was entirely his choice—and so was playing against a pair of kids!

Despite her thoughts, Jackson ignored the horror on her face and continued talking. "After all, you are the one who started everything. You are the one who withheld this information from me. It's only fair game that I get to do something like it."

…

…

…

"What?" Avery blurted out, getting more confused by the second.

Eri and Ede slowly came forward and attracted everyone's attention. Eri wore a pained look, her entire face frozen in a scrunch. She mustered a shy smile and said, "Sorry, Aunt Avery. He bribed us with ice cream."

"It was all an act," Ede explained further. She also wore a sheepish expression. "For not telling Uncle Jackson about Eve. Fool you like you had fooled him because of the secret..."

Eve flinched from her spot. She squinted her gaze at the twins who felt her stare. They mouthed their apologies, making her flutter her eyes. Then, she shifted her attention to Jackson Hathaway. 

He began stretching his arms and nodded his head at Eri and Ede. "You did good, girls. If you want to try acting, let me know. I'll also buy you extra ice cream."

"Wait a minute..." Avery exclaimed, the gears in her head turning and enlightening her. She marched in her husband's direction. "So this is for you to get back at me?!"

Jackson merely shrugged. "More or less."

Then, a cheeky grin spread across his face.

She gasped and pointed a finger at him. "You—You—You better know how lucky you are that I love you!"

A setup! Kept from her! She knew there was something wrong. Everything was out of character. If he was truly angry, he wouldn't have accepted the challenge from the twins. It had been staring her right in the face.

But she had fallen for it—didn't even try to take a stand.

Jackson walked around the metal rack and hugged her from behind, kissing the back of her ear. "Like how you are also lucky that I love you?"

Avery pursed her lips. She channeled every ounce of willpower she had and did her best not to hit him for his terrible revenge plan. His muffled laughter near her ear didn't help.

Instead, she took a deep breath and changed the topic. "So when did you know that Eve is Evangeline?"

An epiphany crashed on Eve's head like a ton of pricks. She spun on her heel, searching for Ambrayn. He hadn't left his seat on the couch and watched things unfold in silence—as if trying to hide.

"It was you," Eve stated. It was a fact, not a question. That explained his calmness so much! 

Jackson heard her and turned his head towards the newly engaged couple. "Yan had told me about it when he expressed his intentions to ask your hand in marriage."

"Us, men, had to stick together somehow," Ambryan said, finally standing up. He wrapped his arms around his fiancée's shoulders. "You can't have all the fun now. We had to have ours too."

Eve rolled her eyes while Avery huffed. The women exchanged looks and held a silent conversation. Were they going to let this go?

Or were they going to plan a revenge on top of the revenge that just transpired? The men also did the same but only shared victorious smiles. Although it could have been better, it had worked out like they wanted.

And that became the answer to what the women contemplated about.

"So… can we go get ice cream now?" Eri asked, cutting in before things could get worse. 

The look on her older sister's said as much. 

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.

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Ambryan, Eve, Eri and Ede stayed in Hathaway Manor for the following days. They helped decorate the place for Christmas, pulling out ornaments from the attic and picking a tree from the nearby forest. 

It was the biggest Christmas tree the twins had ever had for Christmas morning. It had lots of room for presents and they couldn't wait to see how much Santa Claus would give them this year.

Unlike them, Ambryan and Eve spent the night before Christmas scrambling to get last minute work done. Eve had been relieved from modelling duties because of the holidays and helped Ambryan with troubleshooting.

The marketing for their winter special movies had fallen through—failing to accumulate enough hype and publicity. They stayed up late to help the marketing team come up with a backup plan.

Safe to say, they had fallen asleep hours after midnight. The idea of Christmas had flown out of their minds from exhaustion. All that mattered was rest—and plenty of it.

Unfortunately for them, that had to wait for another day.

"Eve, Eve, Eve!" Eri screamed as she ran down the hallway, looking out for the bedroom her older sister stayed in. "Eve, wake up! It's Christmas! IT'S CHRISTMAS! That means hot chocolate time!"

Her hand grabbed the doorknob and it turned without resistance. Ede reached her twin sister just in time the door opened. The both of them dashed inside and dived for the bed.

Two small figures crashed onto the sleeping forms of Ambryan and Eve. The latter pair grunted from the surprise attack, proving that none of the yells earlier had reached their sleeping consciousness. 

"Guys, it's time to wake up!" Ede insisted, shaking her older sister. "It's time to open presents! And we have to all be there. It's tradition so come on!"

Eve yawned and rolled to her side. She patted the bed and looked for Ambryan. When her hand touched his arm, she scooted closer and went back to sleep.

"Eve, come on!" Eri wailed. 

Next to her older sister, Ambryan also changed sides so he'd face Eve. He reached out to her and pulled her close. His arms went to her back, trapping her from leaving.

Eve sighed against his chest. 

"What are we going to do?" Ede whispered to Eri. She pouted at the couple and their lack of enthusiasm. How could they act like this on Christmas Day?

Eri rubbed her chin. 

Then, a light bulb appeared over her head.

She rose to her feet and bent her knees. Gasping for more air, she started to sing and mimicked the lyrics.

```

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed~

One fell off and bumped his head~

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said~

"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

```

Ede got the idea and joined her twin in jumping on the couple's bed. The mattress bounced from the force and their weight. The surface even rolled like waves near the beach.

But their plan wouldn't work.

The couple was too determined to stay in bed 

"Still not getting up, huh?" Ede mocked. She switched tactics and chose a different song.

```

Baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo~

Baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo~

Baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo~

```

Eri let her continue and dropped on all fours, creeping up to the couple. She hovered above their ears and said, "NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANTS INGONYAMAAAAAA BAGITHI BABA~"

"HOLY SHI—" Eve bolted upright, covering both of her ears. "We're up. We're up! We'll be down in a minute."

"Happy Christmas, Eve!" Eri giggled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "See you downstairs. Let's go, Ede."

"Ugh," Eve groaned as the twins left the room. Her shoulders slumped from exhaustion. "I think that jet lag hit me last night."

She checked on Ambryan but he continued to sleep peacefully beside her. 

"Wakey, wakey, Ambee." She slapped his butt. "Get up, lazy bum. If I'm going to suffer. You will suffer with me."

Shaking her head, Eve inched for the edge of the bed. A hand smacked her bottom when she shifted her weight on her hip.

Her brown eyes glared over her shoulder.

Ambryan cracked an eye open, a satisfied smile on his lips. "If I suffer, you suffer with me. But I do hope our kids won't be that energetic every morning."

"It's Christmas. What do you expect? It's the one time of the year when they could be exceptionally happy."

"What about birthdays?"

"Not as fun. There's only one person at the center of attention during birthdays. For Christmas, we all get to celebrate the occasion as we see fit."

Ambryan quirked an eyebrow. "Then, why can't we stay in bed?" 

"Because it's presents time! Weren't you listening?" Eve scoffed.

"What if I want my present in bed?" He smirked, peeking at the open doorway. "Plus a new lock on the door which no one has the key to except you and me."