27

"Want to tell me why you were in my bed last night, Zayed?" Ava asked, placing both her hands on her hips and staring at him with an eyebrow raised in enquiry.

"Our bed, darling!" Zayed purred, flicking her nose playfully.

"I did tell you yesterday to either use the bedroom upstairs or the couch in the living room, didn't I?" Ava reminded him about the message she sent last night.

"But you left the bedroom door open." Zayed said.

"I left the bedroom door open for my babies. Not for you, Zayed." Ava said with a glare.

"I can see that now," Zayed said dryly.

Ava's lips thinned in annoyance.

"Why do they have a separate room if they sleep with you every night?" Zayed asked in confusion.

"Just in case they wake up one night and decide that they are too big to sleep with their momma," Ava said with a shrug.

"You think they sleep with you because they are still babies?" Zayed asked and Aveline nodded.

Zayed realised that Aveline had no idea that the triplets had heard her crying to sleep. She doesn't know that her children sleep with her to protect her.

"I am going to get ready for the office. You can use the washroom upstairs," Aveline said walked back into her bedroom, shaking her head.

**

Ava hurried to the kitchen after her shower only to stop stunned at the sight of Zayed in her kitchen wearing her apron behind the kitchen bars.

That sight!

Man!! How can a guy look hot when he is wearing an apron with a floral pattern on it?

He should look ridiculous in it. But the damn man looks good enough to eat.

Ava shook her head again to dispel those inappropriate thoughts.

"What are you doing??" She asked and felt stupid for asking such an obvious question.

"Breakfast is almost ready. Why don't you set the table? I will finish this off by then," he asked casually, as though it is normal for him to cook in her kitchen.

"Listen, Zayed!! I don't know what is running through your head. You are a guest here. So, behave like a guest. So there is no need for you to prepare food here." Ava said, making him frown.

"I am not a guest here, Aveline. I am your husband. I am your babies' father. And it is normal for a couple to share the kitchen duties," Zayed said in a neutral tone.

"It's normal for normal couples, Zayed. We both know we are not a normal couple." Ava said and any further arguments were stopped as the triplets came into the kitchen one by one.

"Momma, hungry!!" Zahir said, rubbing his tiny tummy.

"Breakfast is ready little ones," Zayed said and did a dramatic bow in front of the triplets making little Zada giggle.

The boys glared at Zada as if to remind her that the man is bad.

"Come on get onto your seats. Momma will serve you. Seems like papa made some delicious eggs and toast," Ava said licking her lips playfully making her kids giggle.

Ava set the table for five and served everyone.

"The egg is too salty," Zahir said, making a yuck face.

"Too much pepper," Zian added, making a similar face.

"Toast is too hard. I can't bite," Zada added, supporting her brother.

Zayed frowned hearing the barrel of complaints coming his way.

Ava sighed knowing that her kids were simply trying to make their father feel bad.

"It is not at all hard. It is really soft. See," Ava said and bit on the toast proving to them that they are really soft.

"And salt and pepper is also fine. Not too much. Now, three of you stop fussing around and finish your breakfast soon," Ava said, giving them the strict Momma look.

The kids made a face and quickly finished their breakfast, without making any more fuss, and went to get ready for their school.

"Zian, don't forget your underwear," Ava called out, making Zayed chuckle.

"He forgets to wear his underwear?" Zayed asked with an amused smile.

"Everyday," Ava said, shaking her head.

"I used to forget too. When I was a kid," Zayed said, making Ava raise her eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Seems like Zian is taken after me," Zayed said.

"Yeah. He likes painting too. And he hates telling lies. He is so much like you. The only time he lies is when he joins hands with Zahir to prank others, confusing them by saying that either they both are Zahir or they both are Zian," Ava said, rolling her eyes.

"How?" Zayed asked

"How what?" Ava asked in confusion.

"How do you differentiate between them? They are too identical." Zayed said, frowning.

"Zahir is a bit taller than Zian. And where Zian has straight hair, Zahir's hair is slightly wavy in the end. And Zahir's left dimple is deeper than Zian's." Ava said with a soft smile while talking about her babies. She loves talking about her babies.

"How did you come up with the names? They are wonderful" Zayed said.

"Zahir means warrior or protector. Right from the ultrasound scanning he has been hiding his siblings behind him, protecting them. And he still does that" Ava said, chuckling.

"Zian means calm and composed. He is a very calm boy. He was the least demanding baby out of the three. He also acts very mature for his five years. Ah, when he gets angry, it's an entirely different story" Ava said smiling.

"Zada means a gift. She is my surprise baby. Up until she was born, no one had any idea about her. Not even the doctors. I was told that I was having twins. She was hiding behind her brothers for the whole nine months. Can you believe that," Ava said laughing out loud.

"And you gave them my surname. Thank you so much for that Aveline. You don't know how much that means to me." Zayed said, taking Ava's hands in his, and Ava sobered up.

"I didn't do it for you, Zayed. I did it for my babies. They deserved that." Ava said pulling her hands out of his hold.

"Yet you didn't think they deserve a father in their life," Zayed said, making Ava frown.

"Would you have ever told me about the babies, Aveline. Or better yet, would you have told them about me?" Zayed asked and the pain in his voice was palpable.

Don't fall for that Ava. It is nothing compared to the pain he made you go through, she told herself.

"I would have told them when they were old enough to understand everything. And I would have helped them get in touch with you, if that is what they wanted, Zayed." Ava said before walking out of the kitchen with her head held high.