The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 364

Chapter 364 Kiss goodbye

Mia’s POV

+25 BONUS

The parking garage felt different with Thomas standing there, his presence shifting the air like someone had lit a candle in a dark room. He wore the same clothes from this morning, but they looked rumpled now, as if he’d been sitting somewhere for hours.

“How long have you been waiting?” I asked through the car window.

“Since you texted about leaving the restaurant.” His voice was soft, careful not to wake the children.” I wanted to be here when you got home.”

Alexander’s head had fallen against the car window, his mouth slightly open, the drone manual still clutched against his chest. Ethan slumped in his seat with his first–edition books balanced on his lap, while Madison curled up like a small cat, her art supplies arranged protectively around her.

“They’re exhausted,” I said, opening the car door quietly.

Thomas moved around to the other side without being asked, his movements efficient and gentle as he unbuckled Alexander’s seatbelt. The little boy stirred but didn’t wake, his small arms automatically wrapping around Thomas’s neck when he was lifted.

I gathered Madison, feeling how her small body relaxed into my arms.

Ethan woke up as Thomas was lifting him, blinking slowly in the dim garage light. “Are we home?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

“We’re home,” Thomas confirmed, adjusting his hold so Ethan could rest his head on his shoulder. ” You can go back to sleep if you want.”

In the elevator, the children’s breathing created a quiet rhythm. Thomas’s shirt collar was wrinkled where Alexander’s face pressed against it.

Once inside our apartment, we moved through the familiar choreography of putting overtired children to bed. Madison needed her face washed and teeth brushed, but she stayed mostly asleep through the process, mumbling quiet thank–yous when I helped her into pajamas.

Alexander roused enough to insist on keeping his drone manual on the nightstand, “in case I have dreams about flying,” while Ethan carefully arranged his new books where he could see them from his pillow.

When I emerged from their bedroom, Thomas was standing in my kitchen, his hands resting on the counter as if he needed the support. The afternoon light streaming through the windows caught the silver at his temples, making him look older than his thirty–three years.

Chapter 364 Kiss goodbye

+25 BONUS

“Would you like a drink?” he asked without turning around. “Wine, or something stronger?”

The question surprised me. Thomas rarely suggested anything that wasn’t carefully planned and appropriate.

“Wine,” I said. “Red, if you have any ideas where I keep it.”

He smiled slightly. “Third cabinet from the left, behind the olive oil you never use.”

I watched him pour two glasses of wine I’d almost forgotten I owned.

He set my glass on the counter and picked up his own, but instead of drinking, he sat down heavily in one of my kitchen chairs and looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.

“They went down easy,” I said softly, closing the bedroom door behind me.

“Good. They’ve been through enough.” He turned toward me, and I could see exhaustion written in the lines around his eyes. “How are you holding up?”

I leaned against the doorframe, feeling the weight of the last twenty–four hours. I stared into my wine, watching the dark liquid catch the light. “Relief. Gratitude.” I paused. “Other things I’m not ready to think about.”

Thomas nodded slowly. “I’ve been sitting in the hospital parking lot for two hours, trying to figure out all this.”

“Thomas.”

“No, let me say this.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I love those children. I love you. I’ve built my life around being here for your family.”

“You have always been here for us.‘

11

“But watching Kyle yesterday…” Thomas’s voice grew quieter. “I’ve been in love with the idea of being your family,” he said carefully. “But I’m not their father. I’m just… waiting.”

“We need to take a break,” he said finally. “From this.”

“Mia, I didn’t expect Kyle to come back. I especially didn’t expect him to come back dying.”

The honesty in his voice made my chest tight. “Thomas.”

“I’ve been in love with you since college, Mia. Ten years of watching you choose other people, other paths. And I finally thought…” He trailed off, shaking his head.

“You finally thought what?”

“That maybe it was my turn. That maybe I could be enough.” He looked up at me, and I could see the

Chapter 364 Kiss goodbye

particular pain.

+25 BONUS

He reached out across the small space between us, his hands warm when they found mine. “I have to admit, it’s not fair to Kyle. What I’ve been doing, staying close while he’s been dying alone.”

“Kyle chose that.”

Thomas’s thumbs traced across my knuckles. “I prayed. I prayed that if I could turn back time, I could win your heart before you ever met Kyle.”

I turned to look at him. “Thomas.”

“But I can’t turn back time.” He stood up slowly, moving toward me. “Because you don’t love me the way you love him.”

My tears hit the floor, and I could hear them.

When he reached me, his arms came around me with the desperate gentleness of someone trying to hold onto something that was already slipping away. I buried my face in his neck, breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne mixed with coffee and the particular sadness that clung to him like morning fog.

“I love you,” I whispered against his throat, and felt him tighten his hold. “I do love you.”

“I know.” He kissed my hair.

We held each other in my kitchen as the light shifted outside, sharing the particular grief that came from loving someone who couldn’t love you back the same way, no matter how much you both wished things were different.

When he pulled back to look at my face, his eyes were bright with tears he wasn’t quite letting fall.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You’re going to know.” he said. It wasn’t a question.

Before I could respond, he leaned down and kissed me. Soft, careful, tasting like sad wine. I kissed

him back.

“Mia?” The small voice made us break apart. Madison stood in the kitchen doorway, her hair tangled from sleep, holding her stuffed elephant against her chest. Her eyes moved between Thomas and me with the sharp awareness of a child who had learned to read adult emotions for survival.

“Hey, sweetheart,” I said, moving toward her. “Did you have a bad dream?”

“Are you sad?” she asked, her attention fixed on Thomas. “You look like when my daddy used to get sad about being sick.”

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