Too Late To Love Me I Already Left With His Twins (Lydia and Dave) novel Chapter 233

Your children have clothes.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Anna.”

“What?”

“Why do my children have clothes?”

“Because you didn’t pack enough.”

I opened one of the bags and pulled out a tiny outfit. Then another. Then another. Everything was beautifully made, perfectly fitted, and very obviously expensive.

I stared at her.

“You hired a designer?”

“She brought some options.”

“Anna.”

“Lydia.”

“I am reimbursing you.”

She nearly choked on her coffee.

“Reimbursing me?”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” She leaned forward, pointing a finger at me. “We don’t reimburse each other for things. That’s not how friendship works.”

I smiled despite myself.

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“You’re ridiculous.”

And you’re impossible.”

She reached across the table and squeezed my hand.

“Besides, what are friends for?”

That question softened something in me.

There were people you met throughout your life who stayed for a season, people who stayed because circumstances kept throwing you into the same rooms, and then there were people like Anna. People who somehow became part of the architecture of your life without asking permission. She had seen me at my worst) watched me build myself back up, watched me become a mother, watched me become a woman I sometimes barely recognized from the girl I used to be. 1

And somehow, through all of it, she had remained.

She was loud, dramatic, occasionally unbearable, and had the attention span of a butterfly after three cups of coffee.

But she was mine.

My person.

My soulmate, if friendship had soulmates.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

Her expression softened for half a second.

Then she ruined the moment.

“You’re welcome. Now hurry up because your son is trying to steal the chocolate.”

I turned around.

Eli was standing beside the breakfast table with his hand suspiciously close to the chocolate spread.

He froze.

I raised an eyebrow.

He slowly withdrew his hand.

“I wasn’t doing anything.”

“Your fingers are covered in chocolate.”

He looked down.

“…Evidence can be misleading.”

I laughed.

“Sit down.”

Breakfast quickly descended into the kind of chaos that made me wonder how five children could generate the noise of an entire classroom. Ava was explaining something about the schedule for the day while Eli kept

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interrupting with questions about whether a campsite had a lake, whether there would be animals, and whether here was a possibility of seeing an actual snake.

Miriam was sitting beside me, quietly eating her fruit, occasionally leaning over to show me something she had drawn on a napkin.

I noticed how easily she had settled around us.

How naturally she reached for my hand.

How she smiled whenever I looked at her.

It was strange.

Sweet.

And slightly dangerous in a way I couldn’t quite explain.

When breakfast finally ended, I went upstairs to collect my things. We had barely packed anything because the entire plan had been so spontaneous, and apparently Anna had decided that spontaneous meant we should simply trust her ability to provide whatever anyone needed.

As we headed outside, Miriam came running toward me.

“Lydia!”

I turned.

She wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Hi, princess.”

I bent down and kissed the top of her head.

“My dad said I should call you Auntie Lydia.”

I smiled.

“You can call me Lydia if you want. Or Auntie Lydia. Whatever feels comfortable.”

She considered that very seriously.

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