The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 495

Mia's POV

"There was a birthday," I said. "A long time ago."

I wasn't looking at Kyle. I was looking at the crowd, at the families passing by, but I wasn't really seeing them.

"My mom had promised to take me to an amusement park. She'd been planning it for months. But then she got sick—really sick—and she was in the hospital for a long time. The day before my birthday, I went to visit her. I told her I didn't want to go anymore." I paused. "I was lying, of course. I wanted to go so badly. But I didn't want her to feel guilty."

The carousel music drifted over from somewhere.

"The next morning, Richard was home. He was supposed to be in Texas for another week, but there he was. Standing in my doorway. He said, 'Get dressed. We're going on an adventure.'"

"He took me to the park. We did everything. Every ride, every game. There was this one roller coaster—the big one, the one I'd been dreaming about—but I was too short. Just by a little." I held up my fingers, showing the gap. "Half an inch, maybe. I thought that was it. I thought I'd have to wait another whole year."

Kyle was quiet beside me. Listening.

"But Richard had brought these insoles. The thick gel kind. He'd packed them, just in case. He knelt down right there in the line, slipped them into my sneakers, and said, 'Try now.'" I shook my head slowly. "He'd thought of it before I even knew there was a problem."

"When the ride started, I was so scared. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might come out of my chest. But Richard held my hand. The whole time. So tight." I could still feel it, if I closed my eyes. The pressure of his fingers. The warmth. "He said I didn't have to be brave. I just had to hold on. So I did. I just held on and screamed."

Kyle's hand settled on my shoulder. Warm through the fabric of my jacket. I felt it spread down my arm, across my back. A small, steady heat.

"Only later I found out." I was still looking at the crowd. "My mom's sickness—the one that put her in the hospital—it was him. He'd already started by then."

It didn't hurt the way it used to.

"I just don't understand," I said quietly. "Why he would spend a whole day like that. Why he would try so hard to make it perfect."

I turned my head. Looked up at Kyle.

"I always thought that was the best birthday of my life." I paused. "Maybe it was actually the worst."

Kyle didn't say anything.

He just pulled me closer.

Then I felt his lips. Soft against my forehead. Brief. Gentle.

We stayed like that. The crowd moved around us, and the music played, and somewhere in the distance children were screaming with joy on a roller coaster.

But we were still.

"MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!"

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