The More The Merrier

Chapter 4 The Switch

“How long has Oliver been inside? Zachary, go check if he has diarrhea,” Arissa instructed her eldest son. She was concerned that her children could not acclimatize to the weather back home.

“Okay!” Zachary went off to rush his brother.

Arissa looked around for the aforementioned store, but she could not find it. “Jesse, where did Jasper go to buy cotton candy?”

“Mommy, it's over there! The one with a blue plane!” Jesse pointed toward a direction as she spoke with a missing front tooth.

Arissa scanned the surrounding for a bit before finally spotting the cotton candy store.

Nevertheless, there was no sign of Jasper, much to her dismay.

She could not see clearly as there was an influx of people moving around the airport. Arissa had no choice but to wait for Oliver's return before she could start searching for Jasper.

At last, Zachary came out of the restroom with Oliver. After waiting for a few moments, Arissa brought her three little ones along in search of Jasper while hauling their luggage.

When they arrived at the cotton candy store, however, there was no sign of Jasper.

Arissa could not help but worry for his safety. After all, her children were still unfamiliar with this place.

“Where is he?” she asked impatiently.

“Could Jasper have run off to buy something else?” Zachary frowned.

“Let's wait for him a little longer!” Arissa reassured her children while trying to convince herself that Jasper would return soon.

As time passed, he still did not show up.

Could it be that he went back to the restroom to look for us?

Just when Arissa thought about going back to search for Jasper, a familiar figure suddenly ran toward them. She breathed a sigh of relief and embraced the little boy tightly.

Gavin Graham froze in shock after getting hugged by an affectionate woman who was a complete stranger to him.

“Oh, my gosh! You almost scared your mommy to death! Didn't I tell you to wait for me? Why are you running around in a place like this?” Arissa reprimanded.

“That's right! We thought you had disappeared! If you still didn't return, Mommy was going to use the airport's public address system to find you!” Oliver chimed in.

Mommy?

This word caused a ripple in Gavin's heart.

He was shell-shocked when he saw Oliver's face. That was because they looked like carbon copies of each other.

Furthermore, there were two other children next to him. Both of them looked the same.

Who are they? And why do they resemble me so much? Could they be...

Gavin was rendered speechless at the sight of the three siblings. However, he managed to maintain an expressionless look.

Arissa thought she had frightened her son with her stern words just now. She immediately embraced the boy and stroked the top of his head fondly.

“Mommy was just scared that you had gone missing. Where did you go just now?” she asked in a much gentler tone.

“I...” Gavin stuttered in response as he had yet to recover from the shock.

“I couldn't find it just now...” Gavin had searched for a long time. He only found the location of the cotton candy store after some help from a passerby. Little did he expect to be hugged by an unfamiliar woman as soon as he came over.

Gavin's heartbeat quickened as he realized Arissa's doting gaze was on him.

Is she my mommy?

Gavin kept looking back and forth between Arissa and the three siblings, who resembled him. He was convinced that his instinct was correct.

That mom isn't my real mommy. This lady is the real one—I'm sure she's the one. Also, it looks like I have several brothers too.

Gavin felt a surge of surprise mixed with excitement within his heart.

Arissa did not notice the difference in the boy as she reached out and rubbed his head again.

“Okay, everything is fine now that you're back. Mommy will buy cotton candy for all of you!” she stated happily.

Arissa swiveled around and headed off to buy the confection for her children. However, the observant Zachary noticed a slight difference in his younger brother and scrutinized Gavin from head to toe.

Why do I get a feeling that this boy in front of me doesn't look much like Jasper?

Zachary was shocked as a thought dawned on him.

“Where did you go just now?” he whispered in Gavin's ears.

Zachary's suspicion grew ever since Gavin said he could not find the location of the cotton candy store,

“I... There were too many people!” Gavin had not calmed down from the earlier shock.

He was more cold and aloof than Jasper, who had always been lively and energetic.

Therefore, Zachary could not help but distrust the impostor in front of him.

The eldest brother narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Gavin as he noticed the different cartoon print on his shirt.

“You're not Jasper!” he whispered as he edged closer to Gavin. Previous

Both Oliver and Jesse followed Arissa to buy cotton candy. They were overjoyed to the point that they did not notice the odd conversation between the other two siblings.

Gavin's heart skipped a beat as he believed Zachary recognized him as a fake.

They must have mistaken me for someone else! This means there is another boy who resembles me, and he has disappeared for some reason. That's the reason why they think I'm him. We're quintuplets!

“Kids, come here! One for each of you!” Arissa handed out the cotton candies to the quadruplets.

Jesse immediately took a huge bite and chirped, “This is yammy!” The sticky cotton candy smeared all over the child's gleeful face.

Oliver could not help giggling at the silly sight of his youngest sibling. “Jesse, your face is a mess right now!” he teased.

“Eat slowly.” Arissa chuckled. She then wiped Jesse's face before giving the other children their treats.

Each cotton candy was in a different color.

“Hold it carefully!” she advised.

“Thanks, Mommy!” Gavin cheerfully exclaimed as he chose the blue-colored cotton candy.

“You're still being polite with me?” Arissa asked in surprise. She stroked his head and led them toward the exit.

Zachary glanced at Gavin again.

He knew Jasper's favorite color was green and that he disliked the color blue.

Why did he let me have the green-colored one?

Nonetheless, Zachary could not tell if the person was really an impostor after seeing the satisfied smile on Gavin's face.

This was because his smile looked exactly like Jasper's.

Anyhow, Zachary was still doubtful of the real identity of his brother. He had an inkling that something was amiss, so he approached Gavin while dragging the luggage.

“What happened to your shirt?” he probed again.

“I really like this design, so I exchanged my shirt with another person!” Gavin smiled through his lie.

He realized that all of them were wearing the same clothes. The only difference was the cartoon design. Also, he was the only one not wearing a hat.

“What about your hat?” Zachary continued with his questions.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“I decided to give that person my hat since he liked it a lot! Otherwise, he didn't want to exchange shirts with me,” Gavin explained.

Gavin took another bite of the cotton candy as he grinned in satisfaction, just like what Jasper would do.

Suddenly, a steely glint flashed through his eyes.

My bodyguards must have mistaken Jasper for me and brought him back home. He should be fine over there. I'll play along as Jasper for the time being.

Gavin wanted to find out if this woman was his biological mother.

Why did she take my four other siblings while leaving me with Daddy, if that is the case? Is it possible that my real mommy was replaced by that other one? Speaking of that other one, I really don't like her.

“You can touch my face if you don't believe me!” he added.

To dispel Zachary's doubts, Gavin shoved his face right in front of him.

Zachary looked at him intently while trying to sort out his thoughts.

Could I be wrong about him? There should be no other children who look so similar to us. Even his clothes and shoes are the same. This can't be just a coincidence.

However, looking at Gavin's familiar face, Zachary's doubts began to dissipate. And he figured that it would be inconceivable.