The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 335

hapter 335 Man–to–man

Kyle’s POV

+25 BONUS

Thomas stared at me for a long moment, shock, anger, and something that might have been pity. The pity was the worst part.

“Jesus Christ, Kyle.” Thomas ran his hands through his hair.

I took another drag from my cigarette, tasting blood at the back of my throat. The nicotine wasn’t helping anymore, wasn’t providing the chemical calm it once had. Everything tasted like copper pennies and medical antiseptic now.

“I’m stating a fact.” I said, my voice carrying the rasp.

Thomas’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what? Tell the truth?” I flicked ash onto the sidewalk between us, watching it scatter in the wind. “You swooped in the moment I disappeared. How long did you wait, Thomas? A week? A month? Or were you already circling before I left?”

The streetlight cast harsh shadows across Thomas’s face, highlighting the tension in his jaw. He was bigger than me now. The kind of man who could lift Mia effortlessly, who could throw a football with Alexander in the park, who could be everything I’d never been able to be.

“That’s not how it happened and you know it.” Thomas’s voice dropped lower, more controlled. “I waited. I waited three years, Kyle. Three fucking years watching Mia raise those boys alone, watching her cry herself to sleep, watching Alexander ask every Christmas if his daddy was coming home.”

“How noble.”

“I was there because someone needed to be. I was there when Alexander had nightmares about monsters. I was there when Ethan stopped talking for two months after he started preschool. I was there when Mia collapsed from exhaustion trying to do everything alone.”

“You were there,” I repeated. “Playing house with my family.”

“They’re not your family anymore.” Thomas’s voice carried a finality that made my chest tighten.‘ You gave up that right when you disappeared. You don’t get to waltz back in now, dying or not, and reclaim something you abandoned.”

The lighter flame wavered as I tried to light the cigarette, my coordination failing me at the worst possible moment. The wind kept catching the flame, extinguishing it before I could connect it to the tobacco. Thomas watched this pathetic display with something that looked uncomfortably like compassion.

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Chapter 335 Man–to–man

+25 BONUS

“Kyle, put that thing away. You can barely breathe as it is.”

“Don’t.” The word came out sharper than I’d intended. “Don’t you dare stand there and pretend to care about my health. We both know you’d be happier if I just keeled over right here on the sidewalk.”

Thomas recoiled as if I’d slapped him. “Fuck, Kyle. That’s not true.”

1 finally managed to get the cigarette lit, taking a deep drag that sent fire through my compromised lungs. The pain was almost welcome, a distraction from the conversation we were having.

“Isn’t it?” I studied Thomas’s face in the orange glow of the streetlight.

“Nothing about this situation has ever been perfect. Do you think it was easy, Kyle? Do you think I enjoyed watching Mia mourn you? Watching those boys wonder what they did wrong to make their father leave?”

Thomas continued, his voice gaining strength. “After you left, Mia, the kids, and I have been living happily.”

The word “happily” sat wrong in my stomach, fermenting into something bitter and toxic.

“Happily,” I repeated, tasting the word like poison. “Right. That’s why you were skulking around outside her building at midnight.”

Thomas’s face flushed red in the harsh streetlight. “I was checking on Madison. She’s been through hell, and I wanted to make sure she had everything she needed.”

“At midnight.”

“Yes, at midnight. Because I have a job, Kyle. I have responsibilities that keep me busy during normal hours. I can’t just show up whenever I want and expect the world to revolve around my schedule.”

“Do you really think your words carry any weight,” I said, “after waiting here with me all this time?”

Thomas stared at me, his confusion evident. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You could have gone inside an hour ago. You could have delivered your little care package and left. But you’ve been standing out here in the cold, waiting for something.” I took another drag from the cigarette, feeling the familiar burn.

Thomas opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again. His silence was more damning than any defense he could have offered.

“You knew,” I continued, pressing the advantage. “Maybe not consciously, but some part of you been expecting this.”

has

“That’s not-”

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