The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 342

Chapter 342 Would you like to have dinner with us?

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Chapter 342 Would you like to have dinner with us?

Mia’s POV

The school hallway stretched ahead of us, lined with construction paper artwork and alphabet posters. This kind of cheerful educational décor that felt surreal after what had just happened. Kyle walked beside me, his footsteps uneven on the polished linoleum. I could hear the slight wheeze in his breathing.

“Their classroom is down here,” I said, though he hadn’t asked.

We passed a bulletin board displaying “My Family” drawings, stick figures holding hands under crayon suns. I wondered if Alexander and Ethan had contributed to this display, if their pictures showed a family of three. Mom, two boys, and a dog, or if they’d included the various adults who drifted in and out of their lives. Thomas. My mother. The memory of a father they barely knew.

Kyle’s reflection moved beside mine in the glass of classroom doors as we passed.

“Here,” I said, stopping outside Room 4B.

Through the window in the door, I could see Ms. Rodriguez reading to a circle of children seated crisscross on a colorful carpet. Ethan sat near the front. Even from the hallway, I could see the way his mouth moved slightly as he followed along with the story, the habit he’d had since he learned to read. Alexander sat three children to Ethan’s left, but his body was angled toward his brother.

Madison sat between them, her small frame dwarfed by the other children.

Kyle stepped closer to the window, his breath fogging the glass slightly. I watched his face as he studied the children.

As if summoned by my words, Ethan’s attention drifted from the story to the hallway. His eyes found the window, found me, and his face wrinkled. i guessed it’s because Kyle is here.

Alexander followed his brother’s gaze and spotted us. His wave was enthusiastic and entirely unsubtle, accompanied by a grin that showed the gap where he’d lost his first tooth the week before. Several other children turned to see what had captured Alexander’s attention.

Ms. Rodriguez glanced toward the window and smiled, giving us a small nod of acknowledgment before redirecting the children’s attention back to the book.

“Alexander never met a stranger,” I continued. “He assumes everyone wants to be his friend until proven otherwise. It’s wonderful and terrifying in equal measure.”

“And Ethan assumes the opposite,” Kyle said quietly. His voice was hoarse, but there was something in it that sounded like recognition.

Chapter 342 Would you like to have dinner with us?

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I looked at him.

Kyle was quiet for a moment, his eyes still fixed on Ethan. “He evaluates people before deciding whether to trust them. Watches to see if their actions match their words. It’s smart, but it’s also…”

He trailed off.

“Lonely,” I finished.

“I was like that as a child.” Kyle’s breath created another small fog patch on the glass. “Always watching, always calculating the risk before engaging. My mother used to say I was born old.”

“When did that change?” I said.

“I’m not sure it ever did, completely.” He moved his hand on the glass, leaving fingerprint smudges. “I just learned to hide it better. To pretend I was more like Alexander–confident, trusting. But the watching never stopped.”

Inside the classroom, story time was ending. Ms. Rodriguez closed the book and began directing the children toward their cubbies to gather their belongings. Madison stood first, her movements quick and efficient, already reaching for her backpack. The twins moved more slowly, Alexander stopping to help another child find a dropped crayon, Ethan waiting patiently for his brother to finish his good deed.

“There’s something else about Ethan,” I said, watching my serious son navigate the classroom’s end -of–day chaos. “He touches his left eyebrow when he’s nervous or thinking hard about something. Just a quick brush with his index finger, like he’s smoothing it down. He’s done it since he was tiny.”

Kyle’s hand moved unconsciously to his own left eyebrow, the same quick brushing motion I’d just described. His eyes widened slightly as he realized what he’d done.

“I used to do that too,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

We watched as Ethan, right on cue, performed the exact same gesture while waiting for Alexander to finish helping his classmate.

“He’s never seen you do that,” I said.

“No,” Kyle agreed. “He hasn’t.”

The classroom door opened, and children began streaming out, their voices creating a symphony of excitement and exhaustion. Madison emerged first, as always, her backpack clutched against her chest like a shield. She spotted me and hurried over, pressing herself against my side.

“How was your day, sweetheart?” I asked, running my hand over her hair.

“Good,” she said quietly, then looked up at Kyle with curious but cautious eyes. “Hi.”

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“Hello, Madison,” Kyle replied, his voice gentling in the way it had when he’d spoken to Emma

Hartwell earlier.

Madison nodded but didn’t say anything else, content to maintain her position pressed against my leg while she evaluated this unexpected addition to pickup time.

Alexander bounded out of the classroom like a golden retriever who’d been contained too long, his backpack already sliding off one shoulder, his coat dragging behind him.

“Mama!” He launched himself at me with the full force of his four–year–old enthusiasm, nearly knocking Madison off balance in the process. “We read a book about whales today and did math with blocks and Jeremy brought cupcakes for his birthday but they had nuts so I couldn’t have one but Ms. Rodriguez had crackers that were safe and-” He stopped mid–sentence when he noticed Kyle. “Oh! You are the Uncle!”

Uncle. Of course that’s how Alexander would remember him from their brief encounter in the park. The uncle who’d caught him when he fell, who’d bought expensive gifts, who’d seemed sad.

“Hello, Alexander,” Kyle said, crouching down to the boy’s eye level.

“Did you come to see our school?” Alexander asked, his natural curiosity overriding any awkwardness about unexpected adult appearances. “It’s really good. We have a library and a computer room and a gym where we play dodgeball except not the hard kind because that’s not safe for little kids.”

“I did come to see your school,” Kyle confirmed. “It seems like a very good school.”

Ethan emerged from the classroom last, moving with his typical careful consideration. He took in the scene, and approached slowly.

“Hi,” Ethan said to Kyle, his voice polite but reserved.

“Hi, Ethan.”

“Are we going home now?” Ethan asked me.

Kyle’s eyes followed the movement, and I saw recognition flicker across his face again.

“Yes, we’re going home,” I said, trying to shake off the feeling.

“I have mine,” Madison said quietly.

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