The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 370

r 370 Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest of us all?

Chapter 370 Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest of us all?

Mia’s POV

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The morning light caught the dust motes that danced in the air like tiny fairies. Madison sat cross- legged on my bed, her small back straight and patient while I worked a wide–tooth comb through her dark hair.

I seem to have kept forgetting to mention this. Madison’s natural hair color is black, not blonde.

Victoria had dyed it before.

“How would you like it today, sweetheart?” I asked, sectioning off a small strand to work through a tiny knot. “Braids? A ponytail? Or maybe something special?”

Madison’s reflection in my dresser mirror showed me her serious face. “Could you make it look like a princess?” she asked finally, her voice small but hopeful. “Like the kind in the books Alexander likes, with the hair that looks like it’s made of sunshine?”

“I think we can definitely make you look like a princess,” I said, kissing the top of her head. “What kind of princess style were you thinking?”

Madison twisted around to face me. “Could you braid it? But not regular braids–the fancy kind that go around like a crown? I saw it in one of your magazines, the one with the lady in the pretty dress.”

“That’s a beautiful choice,” I said, already mentally breaking down the technique into steps I could manage. “It might take a little while, though. Are you sure you can sit still that long?”

Madison nodded, “If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Madison,” I interrupted, cupping her small face in my hands. “You are never too much trouble. I want to do it.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Really?”

“Really truly,” I confirmed, borrowing Alexander’s favorite phrase for absolute certainty. “Now, let’s make you the most beautiful princess this apartment has ever seen.‘

I started with small sections at her temples, weaving them back in the basic foundation of what would become an intricate crown. Madison sat perfectly still, her small hands folded in her lap.

“Mia? Do you think my hair looks like my daddy’s did?”

I paused in my braiding, studying her reflection in the mirror. Theo Whitmore had been a handsome man in the few photographs I’d seen–dark hair, gentle eyes, the kind of smile that suggested he’d been genuinely happy to be alive. Madison had inherited his coloring, his careful way of observing the world, his quiet intensity.

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Chapter 370 Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest of us all?

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“I think your hair is exactly the right color,” I said carefully. “Dark like a forest at night, but with these beautiful brown highlights when the sun hits it just right.”

“Daddy used to say my hair was like chocolate silk,” Madison said, her voice growing smaller. “But Mom never… she didn’t like to touch it.”

My hands stilled for a moment. We’d rarely mentioned Victoria these days.

“Your daddy sounds like he was very gentle with you,” I said, resuming my braiding with careful control. “I bet he loved taking care of your beautiful hair.”

“He did. He said it was important to be gentle with delicate things.”

“That’s exactly right,” I agreed, weaving another section into the growing crown.

Madison was quiet for several minutes, letting me work in peaceful concentration. The braid was taking shape beautifully, creating the effect of an elaborate tiara made from her own dark silk hair.

“Mia?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Is today the last time I’m going to see Mommy?”

I didn’t say anything. Madison is very sensitive. I only mentioned that we’d be visiting Victoria today. But she already knew what had happened.

“I don’t know, dear. The judge will decide what happens to your mommy based on what she did and whether she can learn to make better choices.”

“But you think it might be the last time.”

“I think,” I said slowly, “that we should treat today like it’s important. Like it’s a chance for you to say whatever you need to say, and to remember that you are loved no matter what happens.”

Madison nodded, her reflection serious in the mirror. “Will you stay with me? When I see her?”

“Every single minute,” I promised. “You won’t be alone.”

I finished the crown braid, securing it with small clear elastic bands that disappeared into her dark hair. The effect was stunning.

“There,” I said, turning her to face the mirror. “What do you think, Princess Madison?”

Her hands touched the elaborate braided crown with reverent fingertips. “I look like… like I’m really a princess.”

“You’ve always been a princess,” I said, smoothing a few escaped wisps.

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Chapter 370 Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest of us all?

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Madison turned around and launched herself into my arms. Her small body was warm and solid against my chest, and I could smell the lavender from her hair mixed with the particular sweetness that belonged only to her.

“Thank you,” she whispered against my shoulder. “Mia, what if Mommy doesn’t recognize me? What if I look too different now?”

I cupped her face gently, using my thumbs to catch the tears. “Your mommy will recognize you, Madison. You’re still you.”

“What if she’s angry?”

I kissed her forehead and said, “Today, you get to look however makes you feel happy.”

Madison considered this. “Okay,” she said finally. “I want to look like a princess when I see her. Because Daddy always said I was his princess, and maybe… maybe she’ll remember that too.‘

We finished getting ready in comfortable silence. Madison chose her favorite dress–a soft blue cotton with small white flowers that brought out the gray in her eyes. I helped her with her shoes, small white sandals that made satisfying clicking sounds on the hardwood floor when she walked.

As we prepared to leave, Madison stopped at the kitchen table where her backpack sat ready. Inside, I knew, she’d packed the few things that mattered most to her: a photograph of her father, her art supplies, the small stuffed elephant that had been her companion through everything.

“Are you taking anything for your mommy?” I asked gently.

Madison shook her head. “I drew her a picture last week, but I threw it away. I…I don’t think I want to give her presents anymore.”

“That’s okay,” I said. “You don’t have to give her anything except whatever you want to say.

“What if I don’t want to say anything?”

“That’s okay too.”

Madison looked up at me with those serious gray eyes. “Will you tell me a story? In the car? Something happy?”

“Of course, sweetheart. What kind of story would you like?”

“A fairy tale. But not the kind where someone gets locked in a tower. The kind where the princess

saves herself.”

The drive to the detention center took forty–five minutes through morning traffic that moved like thick honey. Madison sat in her booster seat, her princess hair catching the sunlight that streamed through the car windows, while I told her an improvised fairy tale about a princess who lived in a

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Chapter 370 Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest of us all?

beautiful castle with her three best friends and their magical dog.

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“The princess had hair like dark silk,” I said, glancing at Madison in the rearview mirror, “and she was so kind that flowers bloomed wherever she walked. But one day, a sad queen from another kingdom tried to steal the princess’s happiness because she had forgotten how to find her own.”

“What did the princess do?” Madison asked, her reflection in the mirror showing careful attention.

“She felt sorry for the sad queen, because she understood that people who steal happiness are usually people who have lost their own. But she also knew that she couldn’t give away all her happiness, because then there wouldn’t be enough left for her friends who loved her.”

“So what happened?”

“The princess built a beautiful wall around her castle. Not to keep people out, but to keep the good things in. And she planted a garden where the sad queen could come and learn how to grow her own happiness instead of trying to take it from others.”

Madison was quiet for a moment. “Did the sad queen learn?”

“Some queens do,” I said honestly. “And some queens choose to stay sad because it’s easier than doing the hard work of learning to be happy. But the important thing is that the princess stayed safe and kept blooming flowers wherever she walked.”

“I like that story,” Madison said softly.