Seven Mothers: All Seven Of My Mothers Are Heavenly Goddesses?!

I sighed internally, already anticipating the chaos to come. It was inevitable. The moment she opened my phone, everything was bound to spiral out of control. And as if on cue, her soft voice broke the silence.

"Alright, let's see what's inside." She said cheerfully, holding up the phone like she'd just discovered a treasure map.

A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead. "You don't have to—"

"Shhh..." She cut me off, her eyes alight with mischief. "No interruptions, Luca. This is a motherly investigation."

I groaned, slumping into the couch as she ignored me entirely and swiped through the screen. Her focus was razor-sharp, her determination unwavering. She immediately searched for the contacts app, completely bypassing everything else on the phone.

"This is it...This is what I'm after even though I still want to snoop around the others apps on your phone as well." She announced triumphantly, opening the app. Her tone was so dramatic you'd think she was unveiling a grand mystery.

But then her victorious smile faltered.

She blinked. Then squinted. Her brows furrowed, and her lips parted slightly in confusion.

"Wait…What?"

I stayed quiet, watching her reaction unfold like a slow-motion car crash.

Her finger hovered over the screen as she scrolled down the contact list, clearly expecting it to be endless.

But it wasn't.

She scrolled once...Then twice...Then a third time, faster now, as if the speed might magically reveal more entries...But it didn't.

"Luca..." She said, her voice laced with disbelief. "Are you serious? This can't be right."

I didn't answer. I just stared at the TV, pretending to be engrossed in the movie.

She glanced back at the phone, her fingers scrolling frantically. But no matter what she did, the list stubbornly remained the same. She counted under her breath, her tone becoming more incredulous with each passing second. "One…two…thirty?! That's it? Thirty contacts?!"

Finally, she turned to me, her expression a mix of astonishment and confusion and said, "You really only have thirty numbers? Is this a joke?"

"It's not a joke." I shifted awkwardly.

Her jaw dropped. "But—how?! I was convinced you'd have hundreds—no, thousands—of numbers stored here! You're telling me this is it? Just thirty?!"

"I don't know what to tell you. I'm not exactly a social butterfly." I scratched the back of my neck, trying not to smirk at her exaggerated reaction.

"But…But what about all those girls I thought you knew?! All those numbers you supposedly had?!" She stared at me like I'd just told her the sky was green.

"Guess you overestimated me, huh?" I chuckled, finally looking at her.

She didn't seem to hear me. Her gaze flicked back to the phone, and she muttered under her breath.

"This can't be right...There's no way."

"Starting to think you doubted me wrongly?" I relaxed myself with a smug grin.

"I…Maybe?" Her wide eyes snapped to mine, and for the first time all evening, she looked genuinely stumped.

But just when she was starting to believe that she had been having a wrong image of me, I leaned forward and took the phone from her hands with a calm, almost nonchalant demeanor. "But the things is, Mom, you didn't doubt me wrongly, you know." I said casually, watching as her confused expression deepened. "You're just looking in the wrong place."

"The wrong place? What are you talking about?" Her brows furrowed, her confusion growing by the second.

I smirked, holding the phone as I quickly typed something in. The screen blinked, and I handed it back to her, the mischievous glint in my eyes growing stronger as I said,

"That first screen you saw? It's just a cover. A little failsafe, just in case a day like this ever came."

Her eyes widened, a mix of astonishment and indignation flashing across her face. "A cover? You mean…You actually have another layer hiding everything?"

"Yup." I said with a big smirk. "It's pretty basic, really. I set up the first screen to look normal—clean, minimal, and boring enough that no one would think to look further. But the real stuff? It's behind a second layer. You just need the right input to unlock it."

"You planned for this? You knew one of us would snoop?" Her mouth opened and closed as she processed my words.

"Well, let's just say I've been living with seven mothers my whole life. I know how persistent you all can be." I shrugged, trying not to look too smug.

She stared at me for a moment, her face caught somewhere between exasperation and admiration. "Unbelievable." She muttered, shaking her head. "You really are too much sometimes."

I chuckled, leaning back into the sofa with a relaxed grin as I said, "Anyway, here you go. Now you'll see the real thing."

Her eyes narrowed as she took the phone back, suspicion mingling with curiosity and said, "Wait…Are you serious? You're really okay with showing me everything? Why now? You could've just kept quiet, and I wouldn't have known anything!"

I shrugged, my tone light but sincere. "After seeing how far you're willing to go to know about my life, I figured you deserved to know. Plus..." I added with a playful smirk. "..I'm not afraid of anything you'll find."

"You're not afraid?" Her lips twitched, fighting back a smile. "You sound awfully confident for someone who just admitted to hiding things."

"Mom." I sighed, giving her a deadpan look. "I've survived your interrogation tactics for years. I think I can handle this."

"You're such a thoughtful kid, you know that?" She giggled, clearly amused, and reached out to ruffle my hair affectionately.

"Mom, you're messing up my hair." I groaned, batting her hand away half-heartedly.

She waved me off with a laugh. "Oh, please. You'll survive." Her smile softened, and she glanced down at the phone, her curiosity winning out. "Now, let's see what you've been hiding."

As she dove into the contact list, her excitement was evident. The corners of her mouth twitched upward, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. She scrolled slowly at first, her finger lazily flicking upward.

But as the list went on…and on…and on, her expression began to shift.

Her smile faltered, her brows furrowing. The glimmer of curiosity was replaced by an ever-growing look of exasperation. By the time she reached the M section the number list, her jaw had dropped slightly, and a bead of sweat seemed to form at her temple. She froze, staring at the screen as if she'd stumbled upon classified documents.