Too Late To Love Me I Already Left With His Twins (Lydia and Dave) novel Chapter 232

Lydia POV

It felt like forever before the front door finally opened again.

In reality, it had been thirty minutes.

Thirty.

I knew because Anna had checked the time twice, and because the children had managed to turn those thirty minutes into an entire lifetime of questions, whispered conversations, snacks, and increasingly dramatic theories about why adults took so long to argue and apologize.

I was sitting on the edge of the sofa with Eli tucked against my side when the door opened.

Theo stepped inside first.

He looked exhausted.

Not the polished, composed Theo who walked into boardrooms and made executives straighten their backs. This was different. His tie had loosened slightly, his sleeves were rolled up, and there was an unmistakable weariness around his eyes.

His gaze found me almost immediately.

“Lydia.”

I looked up.

He took a breath.

“I’m so sorry.”

I didn’t answer immediately.

He glanced toward Eli, then crouched so they were almost eye level.

“And for the record,” he said, “Eli, you are one of the coolest kids I’ve ever met.”

Eli’s eyebrows lifted.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“How many kids have you met?”

Theo paused.

“A lot.”

“More than a hundred?”

“Definitely.”

“More than a thousand?”

Theo smiled.

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“Probably.”

considered that carefully, as though he had just been handed a very important certificate.

“Okay. I believe you.”

I bit back a smile.

Theo looked toward Miriam.

“And Miriam agrees with me, right?”

Miriam had been standing slightly behind him, her fingers twisting together nervously.

She nodded.

“Hmm.”

Theo waited.

Miriam looked at Eli.

Then at me.

Then back at her father.

“Yes,” she whispered.

A tiny smile appeared on Eli’s face.

“See?”

I shook my head.

“You’re going to be impossible now.”

“I already was.”

That made Theo laugh.

I couldn’t help it.

A laugh escaped me too.

The heaviness in the room loosened by just a fraction.

I looked around at the children.

Then at Anna.

Then back at my twins.

“So…”

I clapped my hands once.

“What do we want to do?”

Ava immediately perked up.

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208g

20 agnus

2/11

“Continue.”

aised an eyebrow

“Continue what?”

“Everything.”

She pointed around the room.

“We haven’t finished.”

Eli nodded vigorously.

“Yeah. We still have things to do.”

I stared at them.

“You two aren’t tired?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

They answered at the same time.

I laughed.

“You’re both ridiculous.”

I leaned back against the sofa.

“Okay. Alternative plan. We could cancel everything, pack our bags, and book a flight to Disneyland.”

The silence that followed was almost insulting.

Both twins stared at me.

“No.”

I blinked.

“You don’t want Disneyland?”

Ava shook her head.

“We’re already here.”

Eli nodded.

“And there’s a treasure hunt.”

I looked at Anna.

She lifted both hands.

“Don’t look at me. I didn’t raise them.”

“You absolutely raised them.”

20 B

3/11

He waved the paper above his head.

grabbed it.

“Read it.”

He cleared his throat dramatically.

“Where water sleeps but fish don’t…”

He stopped.

Everyone stared at him.

“What?”

Ava sighed.

“It’s obviously the fountain.”

“Oh.”

He looked offended.

“I knew that.”

“Of course you did.”

They sprinted toward the fountain.

The next clue required them to solve a simple riddle about the planets before they could proceed.

Ava answered it almost immediately.

Eli insisted she had an unfair advantage because she had “a brain that stores space.

“That’s not a thing,” Ava protested.

“It is with you.”

Theo laughed.

“I’m beginning to understand why your mother drinks coffee.”

I pointed at him.

“Don’t encourage them.”

“I haven’t said anything.”

“You laughed.”

“I’m allowed to laugh.”

“Not at my expense.”

“I’m laughing because you’re outnumbered.”

I narrowed my eyes.

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He smiled.

air enough.”

By the time the final clue was discovered, the children were practically vibrating.

They tore open the little wooden treasure box together.

Inside were chocolate coins, tiny science kits, stickers, glow-in-the-dark stars, and little bracelets./

Ava gasped.

Eli immediately started counting the chocolate.

Miriam carefully picked up one of the glow-in-the-dark stars.

“This is pretty,”

I watched her turn it over between her fingers.

Then she looked up at me.

“Lydia?”

“Yes, princess?”

Her eyes were glossy.

Not crying.

Just shining with something fragile.

“Are you annoyed at me?”

My heart tightened.

I immediately crouched in front of her.

“Oh, no.”

I gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

“Come here.”

She stepped closer.

“Can I carry you?”

She nodded.

“Yes.”

I lifted her into my arms.

She settled against me almost instantly, her small arms wrapping around my neck.

“No, princess,” I whispered. “I wasn’t upset with you.”

“But my mommy was angry.”

20 Borus

6/11

“I know.”

And she said things.”

“I know.”

Miriam looked down at the glow-in-the-dark star in her hand.

“I didn’t want her to say them.”

My throat tightened.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.’

She looked at me.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Her arms tightened around my neck.

I kissed her forehead.

“I was just in my feelings for a little while. That’s all. Nothing too serious.”

She nodded slowly.

Then, as though she had suddenly remembered something infinitely more important, she lifted her head.

“Can you feed me chocolate strawberries?”

I laughed.

“That’s what you’ve been worried about?”

She smiled.

“Yes.”

“Come on, then.”

I carried her toward the kitchen.

She pointed at the plate.

“That one.”

“You’re very demanding.”

“That one has more chocolate.”

“You have excellent observational skills.”

“I know.”

I picked up the strawberry and held it toward her.

She took a bite.

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A little smear of chocolate appeared at the corner of her mouth.

iped it away with my thumb.

“Better?”

She nodded happily.

“Much better.”

And somehow, within minutes, we were talking about absolutely nothing.

She told me about her favourite colour..

Then her favourite animal.

Then how she thought dolphins were smarter than people.

I disagreed.

She argued her case.

I asked her what she would do if she could breathe underwater.

She immediately said she would build an underwater house.

I asked who would live there.

“My dad.”

She paused.

“Me.”

Another pause.

“And maybe you.”

I smiled.

“Maybe?”

She giggled,

“Okay. Definitely you.”

Something warm settled inside my chest.

C

• 20 Bonus

I had known this little girl for only a short while, yet there was something about her that made affection come easily.

Maybe it was the way she trusted without asking permission.

Maybe it was the way she looked at me when she spoke, as though every word mattered.

Or maybe children simply had a way of finding the softest parts of people.

By dinner, every child was exhausted.

The table filled quickly with food, laughter, and the occasional argument over who had received the bigger portion.

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Eli insisted that his chicken was smaller.

a told him he was imagining things.

Miriam quietly moved one piece from her plate to his.

Eli looked at her.

“You’re my favourite now.”

She laughed.

“You said Ava was your favourite yesterday.”

“I have many favourites.’

Theo looked across the table.

“Sounds like someone inherited that from his mother.”

I pointed my fork at him.

“Don’t start.”

He smiled.

Dinner continued like that.

And when we finally finished, nobody had the energy to pretend they were going home.

Anna announced that everyone was staying.

The children cheered.

I didn’t even argue.

By the time we settled upstairs, the house had gone quiet.

The kind of quiet that comes only after children have exhausted every ounce of energy in their bodies.

Dave’s call came later that evening.

The moment his face appeared on the screen, Eli immediately started talking.

“Dad!”

“Hey, buddy,”

“You missed everything!”

Dave laughed.

“I did?”

“Yes!”

Ava pushed closer to the camera.

“We had a treasure hunt.”

• 20 Bghus

9/11

“And Eli cheated.”

DID NOT!”

“You absolutely did.”

“I solved the clue.”

“After I solved it first.”

Dave looked between them.

“Okay, okay. One at a time.”

Nobody listened.

Both children started talking simultaneously.

Dave laughed so hard he had to move the phone farther away.

I sat back and watched.

Eli eventually managed to tell him about the treasure hunt.

Ava explained the riddles.

Then Eli remembered the argument.

“And Miranda got mad.”

The room quieted slightly.

Dave’s smile faltered.

But before he could ask anything, Ava jumped in.

“But everything was okay.”

She smiled.

“Mom made everything fun again.”

My eyes lowered.

Dave looked at me through the screen.

For a moment, neither of us said anything.

Then he smiled.

“Sounds like you all had a good day.”

“We did,” Ava said.

“A very good day.”

I glanced at the clock.

“Okay, everyone.”

20 8gnus

10/11

The children groaned.

‘s almost bedtime.”

“No!”