The Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins (Mia and Kyle) novel Chapter 498

Mia's POV

I didn't sleep.

I tried. For the first hour, I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling and told myself that sleep would come.

It didn't.

So I got up. Made tea. Let it go cold on the counter. Made another cup. Let that one go cold too. I cleaned the kitchen even though it was already clean. I folded laundry that didn't need folding. I sat on the couch with Gas's head in my lap, her pregnant belly rising and falling with each breath, and I watched the numbers on my phone change.

3:47. 3:48. 3:49.

It came anyway.

The light crept through the curtains, gray at first, then that pale gold that means the day has started whether you're ready or not. I watched it happen. Watched the room transform from dark to light, shadow to color. My eyes were dry and scratchy from crying, the skin around them tight and swollen. I caught my reflection in the window glass and looked away.

Gas lifted her head when I stood up, her dark eyes following me across the room. She'd been restless all night too, shifting and sighing, unable to find a comfortable position with her swollen belly. I scratched behind her ears and told her to rest, that I'd be back soon, that everything was going to be fine.

The hallway was quiet in that early-morning way, the kind of quiet that makes you aware of your own breathing. I stopped at Alexander's door first and pushed it open slowly, wincing at the small creak of the hinges.

He was sprawled across his bed like he'd fallen from somewhere high, one arm hanging off the side, his blanket twisted around his legs. The dragon—the one Kyle had won at the amusement park, the one Madison had given to Alexander because "he needs a friend too"—was clutched against his chest, its purple scales bright against his pajamas.

I sat on the edge of his bed and touched his shoulder, gentle at first, then firmer when he didn't stir.

"Alexander. Baby. Time to wake up."

He made a sound that wasn't quite a word, more like a protest against the very concept of morning. His eyes stayed closed.

"Alexander. We need to go somewhere."

That got his attention. His eyes opened, blinked, focused on my face with that confusion that comes from being pulled out of deep sleep.

"Mama?" His voice was thick, groggy. "What time is it?"

"Early. I need you to get dressed, okay? Something comfortable."

He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes with his fists. The dragon tumbled into his lap. "Where are we going?"

I'd practiced this. In my head, during the long hours of the night, I'd practiced exactly what I would say. How I would keep my voice steady. How I would make it sound like nothing was wrong.

"We're going to see Daddy. He's at the hospital."

Alexander's whole body changed. He went from half-asleep to fully alert in less than a second, his eyes wide, his hands gripping the dragon so tight his knuckles went white.

"Hospital? Why is Daddy at the hospital? "

"Hey, hey." I caught his hands in mine. "Daddy's okay. He's not hurt. He just needs to have a procedure done, like a small surgery. Remember when you had your tonsils out?"

Alexander stared at me.

"The ice cream surgery?"

Despite everything, I almost smiled. "Yes. Like that. And just like you, he's going to be fine, and he's going to get lots of ice cream after."

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