Too Late To Love Me I Already Left With His Twins (Lydia and Dave) novel Chapter 207

Normal routine.

At least externally.

Internally?

I was distracted beyond reason.

My executive team noticed immediately.

One manager was presenting a risk assessment during the morning review call while I stared blankly through the conference room glass thinking about whether six year olds understood emotional abandonment.

“Sir?”

I blinked slowly.

…Hm?”

“We were asking whether you approved the expansion proposal.”

Normally I would have shut the entire proposal down within thirty seconds.

The financial exposure alone was ridiculous.

But my mind genuinely had not processed half the presentation.

I rubbed my forehead once.

“Shift this meeting,” I said finally. “We’ll revisit later.”

The room went silent immediately because postponing strategy meetings without explanation was not something did.

One executive even asked carefully:

“Is everything alright?”.

And honestly?

No.

But obviously I could not exactly answer:

Actually I’m preparing for the emotional equivalent of a live grenade with my children this afternoon.

So instead I just nodded once and left.

The entire morning dragged strangely after that.

Every hour felt too fast and too slow simultaneously.

I kept reopening my notes.

Rereading them.

Editing sentences.

Removing words.

Adding reassurance.

Trying to sound emotionally honest without sounding emotionally unstable.

By noon, I finally left for Lydia’s house.

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Stupid?

Dave POV

Technically early.

Intentionally early.

Because I already knew I would not survive sitting still waiting for 2 p.m.

I told my driver to take me to a café first.

There was absolutely no way I trusted myself to drive afterward depending on how this conversation went.

The café smelled like roasted coffee beans and warm bread and somehow none of it helped.

I ordered latte after latte trying to calm my nerves while repeatedly rereading my notes like I was preparing for an oral examination.

At one point I actually caught myself whispering possible answers to imaginary questions.

What if they ask why I left? 3

What if they cry?

What if Eli jokes through the entire thing?

What if Ava already hates me?

What if Lydia was right and this destabilized them emotionally?

Because if anything went wrong, Lydia would absolutely destroy me.

And honestly?

She would deserve to.

By the time I finally reached the house, it was exactly 2 p.m.

The twins had apparently just returned from swimming classes because Eli’s hair was still damp and Ava was carrying her swim bag while lecturing him about something involving pool rules.

The moment they saw me, both of them paused.

Eli blinked first.

“Hi Dave.”

Then immediately:

“…Wait. I didn’t remember today being a meeting day.”

Ava turned toward him instantly.

“Eli.”

“What? I’m just asking.”

Then he looked toward Lydia suspiciously.

“Did you change the schedule without consulting us?”

Ddia pinched the bridge of her nose immediately like she had physically aged another year.

“No. He just came to talk to you both.”

I caught Ava rolling her eyes slightly.

Tiny.

Quick.

But definitely there.

Children truly believed adults noticed nothing.

We all went inside together.

The twins disappeared briefly upstairs to freshen up after swimming while Lydia remained downstairs with me in the kitchen.

And honestly?

The tension there alone could have powered an entire city.

She leaned against the counter with her arms folded tightly while watching me like I was carrying explosives.

“Dave,” she said quietly, “I promise you right now, if this conversation destabilizes my children emotionally, I will ruin you.”

Fair.

Completely fair.

“I know.”

“No,” she continued sharply, “I don’t think you do.”

Her voice stayed calm but her eyes did not.

“You keep approaching this like you’re trying to fix your guilt. I do not care about your guilt. I care about my children.”

I nodded once slowly.

“I know.”

She looked unconvinced.

“I’m serious. If you do not know how to explain this properly, let me handle it.”

“I researched it.”

That earned me an immediate stare.

“You what?”

“I researched it.”

“Dave”

“I’m serious.”

Actually pulled my iPad slightly from under my arm like evidence in court.

“Parenting forums. Child psychologists. Co parenting articles. Age appropriate communication frameworks.”

For the first time all afternoon, Lydia looked mildly surprised.

Then suspicious again immediately after.

“I’m watching you,” she warned finally before turning toward the stairs.

And honestly?

That somehow made me more nervous.

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