The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 372

Chapter 372 The last visit

Chapter 372 The last visit

Mia

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“You want to know the truth?” Victoria continued, her voice dropping to a hiss. “The truth is that Kyle Branson is dying. Dying! And when he’s gone, what do you think will happen to your precious little fairy tale? You think his money will keep protecting you forever?”

“That’s enough,” I said firmly.

“You’ll be just another single mother with too many kids and not enough money. And then maybe you’ll understand what it feels like to have everything taken away from you. Maybe then you’ll understand what I’ve been going through.”

The corrections officer was approaching our table now, but Victoria wasn’t finished.

“And you,” she said, turning back to Madison with wild eyes, “You’ll learn that people like them don’t keep people like us. We’re just entertainment to them. A charity case that makes them feel good about themselves.”

Madison’s chin trembled, but her voice was clear when she spoke. “I love Mia. She takes care of me.”

“Love!” Victoria’s laugh was like breaking glass. “You think she loves you? You think any of them love you? They feel sorry for you, Madison. They pity you because your mother is in prison and your father is dead. But pity isn’t love, and when the novelty wears off-”

“Stop it.” My voice cut through Victoria’s tirade like a blade. “That’s enough.”

Victoria’s attention swung back to me, and for a moment, I saw something that looked almost like satisfaction in her eyes. As if she’d been waiting for me to lose my composure.

“Truth hurts, doesn’t it?” she said softly. “Deep down, you know I’m right. Deep down, you know that playing house with someone else’s damaged child isn’t the same as having a real family.”

I stood up slowly, my hands flat on the table. The corrections officer was close enough now that I could hear his radio crackling with static.

“You want to know the truth, Victoria?” I said, my voice deadly quiet. “The truth is that Madison is one of the strongest, most compassionate, most resilient children I’ve ever met. The truth is that she survived you. And she still has the capacity to love and trust and hope.”

Victoria’s face went white.

The corrections officer reached our table. “Mrs. Whitmore, I’m going to need you to lower your voice and calm down, or this visit will be terminated.”

Madison wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Mommy.”

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Chapter 372 The last visit

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“I’m fine,” she said stiffly, though her voice still carried an edge. “I’m perfectly calm.”

Madison wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Mommy, I just wanted to tell you-”

“Not now, Madison.” Victoria’s voice was sharp.

Madison flinched but tried again. “I wanted to tell you about my art class. I painted a rainbow last week, and the teacher said-”

“I said not now.”

Madison’s small shoulders sagged. She looked down at her hands folded in her lap, and I felt my

heart break for her.

The silence stretched between us, thick and uncomfortable. Victoria stared at a point somewhere over my shoulder, her jaw clenched, arms crossed defensively over her chest. The corrections officer remained nearby, watching.

“She’s trying to share something with you,” I said quietly.

Victoria’s eyes snapped to mine. “Don’t tell me how to talk to my own daughter.”

“I’m not telling you anything. I’m just observing that Madison has something she wants to say to you.”

“Madison knows I’m upset. She should wait until I’m ready to listen.”

Madison looked up then, her small voice barely audible. “I’ll wait, Mommy. I can wait.”

“I am ready now,” Victoria said finally, her voice much quieter now.

Madison’s face brightened hopefully. “Can I tell you about my rainbow now?”

Victoria hesitated, glancing around the room again as if remembering where they were, what had brought them here. When she spoke, her voice was tired.

“Tell me about your rainbow.”

Madison’s whole body seemed to light up. “It had seven colors, just like a real rainbow, and I painted it over a field of flowers. The teacher hung it on the special wall where they put the best pictures.”

“That sounds nice,” Victoria said, but the words came out flat, automatic.

“And I’m learning to write my name in cursive. Look.” Madison grabbed a napkin from the dispenser on the table and began tracing letters with her finger. “M-A-D-I-S-O-N. The teacher says I have very good handwriting for my age.’

Victoria watched her daughter’s finger move across the napkin.

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Chapter 372 The last visit

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“Mommy,” Madison said softly, “are you proud of me?”

Victoria’s mouth opened, then closed..

She cleared her throat. “Yes. Yes, I’m proud of you.”

Madison beamed anyway, accepting her mother’s limited emotional availability with the grace of someone who had learned to be grateful for small gestures.

“I miss you, Mommy,” Madison said simply.

Victoria said nothing.

“Do you think about me when I’m not here?”

Silence again.

“I think about you too. And Daddy. I think about both of you together.”

Victoria’s eyes flicked to me, then back to Madison. When she spoke, her voice was barely audible.

“She’s… she’s good to you? Mia?”

Madison nodded enthusiastically. “She reads me stories every night. And she helped me make a memory book about Daddy with pictures and all my favorite things about him. And when I have bad dreams, she lets me sleep in her room until I feel better.”

Victoria just listened.

“And Alexander and Ethan, they’re like brothers to me now. They share their toys and they include me in their games even when I don’t understand the rules. And Kyle, he’s teaching me about art supplies and how different paints work differently.”

“That’s good,” Victoria said finally.

The corrections officer approached again. “Five minutes, Mrs. Whitmore.”

They sat in silence for a moment, mother and daughter looking at each other across a table that might as well have been an ocean.

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