Too Late To Love Me I Already Left With His Twins (Lydia and Dave) novel Chapter 231

“I think so too.”

“And…”

She hesitated.

“…Mom?”

“Hm?”

“Do you think I’m cool?”

I gasped dramatically.

“Ava.”

She giggled.1

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“Yes?”

You seriously have to ask me that?”

She shrugged sheepishly.

“I just wanted to know.”

I cupped her face gently between my hands.

“I think you’re one of the coolest little girls I’ve ever met.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“You build robots.”

“You ask impossible questions.”

“You make homemade star maps.”

“You’ve convinced your brother that black holes are not actually giant vacuum cleaners.”

She laughed loudly.

“He still doesn’t believe me.”

“I know.”

“And…”

I tapped the tip of her nose.

“…you’re kind.”

“That’s the coolest thing about you.”

Her eyes softened.

Then, without saying another word, she leaned forward and hugged me.

Tightly.

I held her just as tightly.

Sometimes children didn’t need grand speeches.

They only needed to know someone saw them.

After a minute she pulled away.

“So…”

she whispered conspiratorially,

“…can I tell you another secret?”

I smiled.

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“I have a feeling I’m about to hear one anyway.”

nodded eagerly.

“I think Eli gets jealous whenever someone says I’m smart.”

I burst into laughter.

“Oh?”

“But….”

She looked guilty.

“…I think I get jealous too when people say he’s funny.”

That surprised me enough to pause.

“You do?”

She nodded.

“Everybody laughs around him.”

“And…”

she sighed dramatically,

“…I want people to laugh around me too.”

My heart melted all over again.

“Oh, sweetheart.”

I tucked another curl behind her ear.

“Do you know what’s beautiful?”

“What?”

“You don’t have to be the funniest person in the room.”

“You don’t have to be the smartest either.”

“You just have to be Ava.”

She frowned thoughtfully.

“But people like different things.”

“They do.”

“And that’s okay.”

I smiled.

“Your brother can make an entire room laugh in under thirty seconds.”

She giggled. 1

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“That’s true.”

And you can make an adult question everything they know about the solar system.”

She laughed harder.

“That’s also true.”

“You two aren’t competing.”

“You’re simply different.”

“And different is wonderful.”

She rested her head against my shoulder.

“I like being me.”

“I’m very glad.”

“Because being someone else sounds exhausting.”

Пlaughed.

“It absolutely is.”

She yawned suddenly.

A long one.

“There she is.”

“Who?”

“The little girl who’s pretending she isn’t sleepy.”

“I’m not-”

Another yawn interrupted her.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Mhm.

She surrendered.

“…Maybe a little.”

“A little?”

“…A medium.”

“Better.”

I took her to the bedroom and pull the duvet over herself before reaching for the bedside lamp.

Just before I switched it off, she reached out and caught my hand.

“Mom?”

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“Yes, baby?”

Thank you for coming home.”

Ifroze.

Those six words landed somewhere deep inside me.

Not because they were dramatic.

Because they weren’t.

They were simple.

Children had a way of making ordinary sentences feel extraordinary.

I bent down and kissed her forehead.

“There is nowhere in this world I’d rather come home to.”

She smiled sleepily.

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s always true.”

She closed her eyes with the tiniest smile still lingering on her lips.

Within minutes…

Her breathing became slow.

Steady.

Peaceful.

I remained beside her for another few moments, watching the rise and fall of her little shoulders beneath the blanket,

Then I quietly stood, switched off the lamp, and walked toward the door.

As I stepped into the hallway, I glanced toward Eli.

The little menace had apparently fallen asleep hours ago.

I smiled to myself.

One child had interrupted my evening because someone wanted to be her friend.

The other had probably gone to sleep dreaming about dinosaurs fighting astronauts.

Balance.

That was motherhood.

And somehow…

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I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.

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Three Days

Mia’s PON

Three days

That was exactly how long Anna allowed me to enjoy my peace before she came to collect the debt I apparently owed her.

I had barely settled into my office that morning when my assistant knocked twice before peeking her head through the door with the kind of expression that immediately made me suspicious.

“Ma’am…”

I looked up from the quarterly reports spread across my desk.

“Yes?”

She hesitated.

“You have… a visitor.”

I frowned slightly.

“I don’t remember scheduling one.”

“You didn’t.”

That earned her my full attention.

“So why do you look like you’re about to laugh?”

She bit the inside of her cheek, failing miserably to hide her smile.

“… You’ll see.”

Before I could ask another question, she stepped aside.

And in walked Anna.

Or rather…

A walking flower shop.

She was carrying the largest bouquet of flowers I had ever seen in my entire life. It was overflowing with white lilies, blush roses, peonies, hydrangeas and eucalyptus leaves wrapped in elegant cream paper tied together with a satin ribbon. It was so ridiculously huge that I genuinely wondered how she had managed to see where she was walking.

I blinked once.

Twice.

“Oh…”

I sighed dramatically.

“…God.”

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Anna lowered the bouquet with theatrical grace before spreading both arms wide like she’d just arrived on stage For the final act of a Broadway production.

“My beloved!”

My assistant immediately turned on her heels.

“I’ll… leave you two.”

Smart woman.

The door hadn’t even fully closed before Anna marched across my office, dramatically shoved the bouquet into my arms and gasped as though she had just reunited with a long-lost lover after decades apart.

“Lydia!”

I struggled to keep the flowers from swallowing my entire face.

“Anna…”

“How dare you!”

I laughed.

“We’re starting with violence today?”

“We’re starting with betrayal.”

She placed the back of her hand against her forehead dramatically.

“I have suffered.”

“Oh, please.”

“I have.”

“You’ll survive.”

She pointed an accusing finger at me.

“I rearranged my entire Friday night.”

“I even told my husband that if he wanted quality time with his wife, he would have to respectfully wait because I had plans with my soulmate.”

I stared at her.

“Your soulmate?”

“Obviously.”

“And then…”

She narrowed her eyes.

“…my soulmate abandoned me.’

I couldn’t hold my laughter anymore.

“Anna.”

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“No.”

She refused immediately.

“We’re not skipping over this.”

She walked around my office inspecting random objects as though she were conducting an official investigation.

“I deserve answers.”

“I deserve compensation.”

“I deserve emotional damages.”

I leaned back comfortably in my chair.

“You’re impossible.”

“No.”

She corrected proudly.

“I’m unforgettable.”

“That’s… unfortunately true.”

She gasped loudly.

“Unfortunately?”

I smiled sweetly.

“I chose my words carefully.”

Anna placed both hands on her hips.

“You know…”

she said with complete seriousness,

“…if anyone else had cancelled our virtual movie night, I would’ve accepted it.”

She leaned closer.

“But you?”

She dramatically poked my shoulder.

“You.”

“Do you know how serious I take girls’ night?”

“I do.”

“I literally told my husband no.”

“I know.”

“I told him my best friend required me.”

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“I know.”

And then…”

she threw both hands into the air,

“…where were you?”

I rubbed my temple dramatically.

“Working.”

“Business.”

“Meetings.”

She immediately held up a finger.

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“I specifically asked you not to come with business nonsense.”

She folded her arms.

“I heard something.”

My brows lifted.

“Oh?”

“I heard there was… company.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

“…Anna.”

“What?”

“Who told you?”

She smiled innocently.

“I never reveal my sources.”

“You don’t have sources.”

“I absolutely do.”

“You gossip.”

“I gather intelligence.”

I burst into laughter.

“Same thing.”

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She gasped dramatically.

is not!”

“It absolutely is.”

I sighed in surrender.

“Fine.”

She leaned forward eagerly.

“So?”

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…is probably correct

Lydia POV

I shook my head.

“Whatever you’ve heard…”

I reached for my laptop again.

“…is probably correct.”

Her mouth fell open.

“You admitted it?”

“I don’t have the energy to argue with you today.”

She clapped excitedly.

“I knew it!”

“I knew something happened.”

“Anna.”

“Hm?”

“I said you were probably right.”

“I didn’t say what you were right about.”

She blinked.

“…Oh.”

Then she frowned.

“Wait.”

“…You’re clever.”

“I’ve been trying to tell you that for years.”

She pointed at the bouquet still occupying half my desk.

“By the way.”

I looked down at it.

“What?”

“You’re welcome.”

I smiled softly.

“They’re beautiful.”

“I know.”

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“I picked every flower myself.”

You absolutely paid someone to.”

“…Details.”

I laughed before looking back at the enormous bouquet.

“Anna…”

“What?”

“Are you trying to court me?”

She didn’t even hesitate.

“I mean…”

She tilted her head thoughtfully.

“…I’m still deeply in love with my husband.”

“Thankfully.”

“But…”

she grinned mischievously,

“…if he ever annoys me, you’re my backup.”

I placed a hand dramatically over my chest.

“I’m honoured.”

“You should be.”

“Sadly…”

She sighed theatrically.

“…you’re also my backup.”

I shook my head.

“You are unbelievable.”

“I’ve been told.”

She finally dropped into the chair opposite mine and crossed one elegant leg over the other.

“So…”

she said.

“I’m thirsty.”

I blinked.

“…Congratulations?”

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“I’d like fruit tea.’

tared at her.-

“Anna.”

“Yes?”

“We don’t sell fruit tea.”

She smiled brightly.

“I believe in you.”

“I run a PR firm.”

“I know.”

“Not a café.”

“I still believe in you.”

I pressed the intercom.

“Grace?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Can we… somehow make fruit tea?”

There was a pause.

“I think so.

“Thank you.”

Anna beamed proudly.

“See?”

“I knew you could.”

I laughed quietly, wondering for perhaps the millionth time how one woman possessed the energy of an entire kindergarten class.

When the tea arrived, she took one sip, closed her eyes dramatically and sighed.

“This…”

she declared,

“…is why we’re friends.”

“Because I bribed you with tea?”

“No.”

She smiled.

“Because you always make impossible things happen.”

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For a brief second…

The jokes faded.

The sincerity in her voice warmed me more than the tea ever could.

Then, naturally, she ruined the moment.

“Anyway.”

She clapped once.

“This weekend.”

I immediately became suspicious.

“What about it?”

“My kids.”

She counted on her fingers.

“Your kids.”

“My husband.”

“You.”

“Me.”

“A full day together.”

I nodded slowly.

“…Okay.”

“Six in the evening.”

“We’ll spend the night.”

“The kids can play.”

“We’ll cook.”

“Watch movies.”

“Gossip.”

“Complain about adulthood.”

“Pretend we’re still twenty-two.”

I smiled.

“That actually sounds lovely.”

“I knew you’d say yes.”

“I wasn’t finished.”

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“You were.”

wasn’t.”

“You were going to say yes eventually.”

“…Also true.”

For another hour she stayed in my office, somehow turning every conversation into three different conversations. We started talking about business, somehow drifted into parenting, then into skincare, then into the questionable fashion choices we’d made in university, then into why she firmly believed expensive candles made stressful lives easier. She somehow managed to tell me about a supplier who nearly gave her a heart attack, one of her children insisting that broccoli was “tree-flavoured,” her husband accidentally shrinking one of her favourite sweaters in the wash, and a client who wanted luxury branding on what she described as “a budget that couldn’t even afford luxury punctuation.”

By the time she finally stood to leave, my cheeks actually hurt from laughing.

She hugged me tightly before walking toward the door.

“Don’t cancel on me again.’

“I’ll try.”

“No.”

She turned around.

“Promise.”

Mifted both hands.

“I promise.”

Only then did she seem satisfied enough to leave.

The office felt strangely quiet after she disappeared.

Anna had that effect on people.

She entered rooms like confetti and somehow left them feeling emptier than before.

The rest of my afternoon disappeared beneath meetings, strategy sessions and contracts that seemed determined to multiply every time I finished signing one.

By the time I finally arrived home, exhaustion had settled into my shoulders.

Thankfully…

The cure came running toward me.

“Mom!”

Two familiar voices echoed through the hallway before two tiny bodies crashed into me.

I laughed, steadying myself as Eli wrapped himself around my waist while Ava hugged my arm.

“Hello to you two as well.”

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“You brought bags!”

announced dramatically, already spotting the shopping bags hanging from my wrist.

“1 did.”

His eyes widened.

“For us?”

I pretended to think about it.

“Hmm…”

“Maybe.”

That was all the invitation they needed.

Within seconds we were gathered in the living room floor, colourful shopping bags spread between us as though Christmas had arrived several months early.

“I know…”

I laughed.

“…I’m probably creating little shopaholics.”

“Probably?”

The nanny muttered under her breath.

Lignored her.

The first dress belonged to Ava.

The second…

Also Ava.

The third…

Eli immediately held up.

“Mom.”

He looked at me suspiciously.

“Why are mine always so handsome?”

I blinked.

“… Because you are handsome?”

He nodded thoughtfully.

“Fair enough.”

Ava had already disappeared behind the sofa to change.

Less than two minutes later she came skipping back into the room wearing a soft lilac dress with tiny

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embroidered stars scattered across the skirt.

twirled unce

Then twice.

“Mom!”

She beamed.

“I look like a galaxy!”

“You absolutely do.”

Eli rolled his eyes dramatically.

“Girls always spin.”

“We do.”

“I don’t understand it.”

“You don’t have to.”

He shrugged.

“I guess.”

His own outfit consisted of beige chinos, white trainers and a forest-green polo shirt that somehow made him look both adorable and strangely responsible.

He adjusted the collar proudly.

“I look like I pay taxes.”

I laughed so hard tears gathered in my eyes.

“You most certainly do not.”

“I look like I own a company.”

“You look like someone who still needs help tying his shoelaces.”

He sighed.

“Details.”

After the fashion show had finally ended, I clapped my hands together.

“So…”

Both little faces looked toward me.

“Guess where we’re going this weekend.”

Anna’s house.”

I hadn’t even finished the sentence before Eli cheered.

“Yes!”

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“We’re sleeping over?”

We’re spending the evening there.”

“With Auntie Anna?”

“Yes.”

“And her kids?”

“Yes.”

Ava’s eyes suddenly widened.

“…Wait.”

The excitement returned almost immediately.

Plans began flying across the room.

Board games.

Movies.

Pillow forts.

Pancakes.

Cookies.

At some point Eli confidently announced he intended to beat everyone at every game regardless of whether he’d played it before.

Ava informed him that confidence wasn’t a strategy.

He disagreed.

Passionately.

I simply sat back on the sofa, watching the two of them talk over each other with the kind of joy that filled entire

homes.

Maybe Anna had been right.

Maybe we all needed a day that wasn’t about deadlines or meetings or responsibilities.

Maybe…

We simply needed each other

The next morning…

At exactly six o’clock…

I stood beside Eli’s bed.

“Goooood morning.”

A muffled groan answered me from somewhere beneath the blanket.

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“Eli…”

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I smiled

“No?”

“I’m retired.”

“You are seven.”

“I’m retiring early.”

I bit back a laugh.

“We’re supposed to leave soon.”

Another groan.

“I’m not going anymore.”

I widened my eyes dramatically.

“Oh?”

“It’s too early.”

“I see.”

I nodded thoughtfully before pulling out my phone.

“That’s okay.”

He peeked one eye open.

“Really?”

“Mhm.”

“I’ll just call Auntie Anna and tell her we’re not coming.”

There was complete silence.

Then…

The blanket flew off.

“What?!”

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Chaos

Lydia POV

“Mom.”

I had barely turned toward the door before Eli’s head appeared from underneath his blanket, his hair pointing in approximately seventeen different directions and his eyes suddenly wide with betrayal.

“Don’t call Auntie Anna.”

I paused.

“You just told me you weren’t going.”

“I changed my mind.”

“That quickly?”

He nodded with the seriousness of a man negotiating an international treaty.

“We’re ready.”

I folded my arms.

“Five seconds ago, you were retired.”

“I came out of retirement.”

Ava’s voice floated from the bathroom.

“He’s lying. He was never retired.”

Eli whipped around.

“Nobody asked you.”

“I heard you.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

I laughed under my breath as I watched him scramble out of bed and begin searching for the clothes we’d picked out the night before. The sudden transformation was almost impressive. One minute he had been buried beneath his duvet, threatening to resign from childhood because six in the morning was apparently an unreasonable hour for human existence. The next, he was hopping around his room with one sock in his hand, demanding to know where his other shoe was.

“I can’t find my shoe!”

“It’s beside the bed.”

He looked down.

“Oh.”

Ava emerged from her room already dressed, her hair neatly done and her little backpack hanging over one shoulder.

“You’re so slow.”

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“I’m not slow.”

You’ve been awake for four minutes.”

“Exactly.”

She rolled her eyes.

Then she smiled.

“Mom, you’re going to love what Auntie Anna’s daughter sent me.”

I looked at her.

“She sent me the schedule for today.”

Eli immediately abandoned his search for his second shoe.

“What’s on it?”

Ava’s face lit up.

“Okay, so first we’re doing breakfast.”

“I like that.”

“Then there’s a treasure hunt.”

Eli’s eyes widened.

“Where?”

“I don’t know. That’s why it’s a treasure hunt.”

“That’s not how treasure hunts work.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve watched movies.”

I shook my head.

“Continue, Ava.”

She counted on her fingers.

“After the treasure hunt, we’re doing a science challenge.”

Eli gasped.

“Can I explode something?”

“No.”

Ava continued as though he hadn’t spoken.

“Then there’s a baking competition.”

“Against who?”

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“Everyone.”

‘s expression became intensely competitive.

“I’m winning.”

“You don’t even know what we’re baking.”

“I don’t need to.”

Ava ignored him.

“Then we’re doing a movie.”

“Which movie?”

“She didn’t tell me.”

“Good.”

Eli looked relieved.

“I get to choose.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Why?”

“Because you always choose dinosaur documentaries.”

“Dinosaur documentaries are educational.”

“Last time you made us watch one for two hours.”

“It was fascinating.”

“You fell asleep.”

“I was resting my brain.”

I covered my mouth to hide my laugh.

“And then,” Ava continued, “there’s dinner, a pillow-fort competition, and Auntie Anna said we’re allowed to stay up late.”

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