The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 410

Mia's POV

I set my bag down.

Boys didn't finish. Alexander was too excited.

"We have the same name," Alexander said. "That makes us connected."

"Having the same name doesn't make you connected. That's not how genetics work." Ethan said from the couch.

"Maybe it's how magic works."

"There's no such thing as magic."

"You don't know that."

"I do know that. It's scientifically proven."

"Where's my dress shirt?" Alexander asked me, abandoning the argument. He spun again. Slower this time. "I can't find it anywhere."

"On your bed," my mother said without looking up from Madison's hair. Another pin went in. Madison's shoulders tensed. "Where I laid it out an hour ago."

"I looked there."

"Look again."

He disappeared down the hallway. I could hear him opening drawers. Closing them. Opening them again.

I crossed to Madison. Knelt down in front of her.

Her eyes met mine. Watery.

"Does it hurt?" I asked quietly.

She shook her head. Quick.

"What if we do something simpler?" I suggested.

Madison's face changed. Just a little. The tightness around her eyes eased. "Really?"

"Really."

I looked up at my mother. She handed me the hairspray and comb without a word. Relief crossed her face.

I gently pulled out the pins. One by one. My mother had used at least a dozen. Madison's dark hair fell loose around her shoulders. She let out a breath. Long. Like she'd been holding it for twenty minutes.

"How about braids?" I asked. "Two of them. One on each side."

"Like Elsa?" Alexander's voice came from the hallway.

I turned. He was standing there wearing his white dress shirt. The tag stuck out under his chin like a price tag. The buttons were done up wrong. The whole thing twisted sideways.

"Sort of like Elsa," I agreed.

"I like Elsa," Madison said softly.

My mother handed me two elastics and a comb. I sectioned Madison's hair. Left side first. My fingers moved automatically. Over. Under. Over. Under. The strands were soft. Still slightly damp from her bath.

The repetitive motion was calming. My hands knew what to do even when my brain felt like static.

"Alexander," my mother said. Her voice had that particular tone. Patient but final. "Your shirt is backwards."

He looked down. Lifted the hem. Squinted at it like it might tell him something useful.

"Oh."

He grabbed the bottom and started pulling it over his head. The fabric bunched. His arms got stuck halfway. He twisted. The shirt twisted with him.

"Help," came his muffled voice from inside the white cotton prison.

Ethan sighed. The kind of sigh that came from deep in his chest. He stood up. Smoothed his pants. Walked over.

"Hold still," Ethan said.

Alexander froze.

Ethan carefully unbuttoned the shirt from the outside. One button. Two. Three. Then pulled it off over his brother's head.

Alexander's hair stuck up in seventeen different directions. Static electricity.

"Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome." Ethan held the shirt right-side-out. "But next time, unbutton it first."

"I forgot."

"You always forget."

"That's why you remind me."

Ethan's mouth did something. Not quite a smile. But close. His fingers smoothed the fabric of Alexander's shirt before handing it back.

I finished Madison's left braid. Tied it off. Started on the right.

The doorbell rang.

"That's probably Scarlett," my mother said. She set down the hairspray. Headed for the door.

Alexander immediately started running.

"Walk," I said. Automatic.

He slowed. His version of walking looked like jogging in slow motion.

The door opened.

Scarlett stood there in a dress the color of wine. Deep burgundy. Almost black in the shadows. The fabric caught the light when she moved. Her red hair was styled in loose waves that fell over one shoulder. She looked like she'd stepped out of a magazine.

"Hi Auntie Scarlett!" Alexander crashed into her legs. His arms wrapped around her knees.

She caught him. One hand on his shoulder. The other in his wild hair. "Hi, buddy. You look very handsome."

"I can tie my own tie now!" He pulled back. Held up a clip-on tie. Navy blue with white dots. "See?"

"That's impressive."

"Ethan says it doesn't count because it's clip-on but I think it counts."

"It definitely counts."

Ethan made a sound from the couch. Soft. Could have been disagreement. Could have been nothing.

Morton appeared behind Scarlett. "Hi, Uncle Morton!" Alexander released Scarlett and grabbed Morton's hand instead. Both of his small hands wrapped around Morton's larger one. "Is your brother getting married today?"

"He is."

"To who?"

"To a woman named Grace."

"Does she like kids?"

"I think so."

"Good. Because kids are great." Alexander beamed up at him. His whole face bright. "Right, Uncle Morton?"

"Right."

I finished Madison's second braid. Secured it with an elastic. "There. All done."

She touched them carefully. Her fingers moving over the braids like she was checking if they were real. "Thank you, Mia."

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