Semua Bab Too Late To Love Me: I Already Left With His Twins: Bab 161 - Bab 170

Lydia POVThen immediately burst out laughing.I frowned.“What?”She pointed at me.“The girls’ trip.”I blinked.“What about it?”“Lydia.”She leaned back dramatically.“The girls’ trip did you good.”I laughed.“Did it show that much?”“You’re glowing.”“I always glow.”“You’re smiling.”I paused.Fair.That was unusual.“Okay,” I admitted. “It did me some good.”She grinned.“I knew it.”Then she handed me my tablet.“Now that you’ve returned to civilization, welcome back.”I looked at the schedule.Then looked again.Then looked one more time.“Good Lord.”She nodded sympathetically.“Exactly.”I sighed dramatically.“So much work.”“So much work.”I pointed toward my office.“Let’s get started.”“That’s the spirit.”“It is not spirit.”I continued walking.“It is survival.”The rest of the morning disappeared almost immediately.One meeting became three.Three became six.Client crises appeared.Problems needed solving.Campaigns required approval.Media statements needed review

Lydia povshe sat down.Just sat.No invitation.No permission.Nothing.The audacity.I stared at her.She stared back.Then somehow we both almost laughed.Because honestly?That was such an Iny thing to do.Still very cocky.Still very herself.I folded my arms.“You have two minutes.”She nodded.Fairly calmly.“Hi Lydia.”“Hi.”She took a slow breath.And for the first time, I noticed something unusual.Nervousness.Iny.Nervous.Now that was new.She clasped her hands together.“I’m sure you have a lot of negative thoughts about why I’m here.”I shrugged.“Not really.”That surprised her.I continued.“I assumed PR crisis.”The corner of her mouth twitched.“Fair.”“I also considered money.”That earned an actual laugh.Then she shook her head.“No.”“Good.”Another pause.Then her expression softened.And suddenly this stopped feeling like a business meeting.“Lydia…”Her voice became quieter.“I’m not here for any of those reasons.”I remained silent.She looked directly at me

Dave POVToday was my day with the twins.According to the co parenting schedule Lydia’s lawyer had sent over, I was supposed to spend the afternoon with them. A walk. Some time at the park. Nothing dramatic.Simple.Normal.The kind of thing fathers did every day.Which was precisely why I was nervous.Because normal was still new to me.I arrived at Lydia’s house almost an hour early.An hour.Ridiculous.The twins usually got home from school around two or two thirty.I knew that.I had their schedule saved.I had read it enough times to memorize it.Yet somehow my brain kept producing scenarios.What if school ended earlier today?What if they had a special event?What if traffic was lighter?What if they arrived before I did?So naturally I left early.Very rational behavior.I sat in one of the living room armchairs while the nanny moved quietly around the house. A financial journal rested in my lap while I skimmed through an article about emerging infrastructure investments.I

Dave POVAs I drove away from Lydia’s house that evening, I should have gone straight back to the hotel.That would have been the logical thing to do.Go back.Answer emails.Review reports.Pretend I wasn’t still smiling because Eli had bankrupted me in Monopoly and called it capitalism.A normal evening.A productive evening.Instead, I found myself driving toward one of the luxury shopping districts.The twins had spent the entire afternoon talking.And somewhere between discussions about dinosaurs, rockets, butterflies, and scientifically responsible tanks, I had learned more about their preferences than I had in six years.Ava liked soft colors.She preferred practical things over flashy things.She hated uncomfortable fabrics.She loved stars.Books.Anything astronomy related.Eli cared surprisingly little about clothes but had very strong opinions about shoes.Apparently shoes needed to be useful.Durable.Capable of surviving adventures.Whatever that meant.So naturally, I f

Dave POVI decided to message my lawyer that same night and told him to prepare Lydia’s and I divorce papers because that’s the best way to get Lydia to meet up with me and to also soften the blow I was about to deliver.The divorce papers arrived faster than they should have. Not legally faster. Not technically faster. Just emotionally faster than anything that significant usually is.My lawyer arrived in the hotel lobby looking like a man who had been personally offended by the concept of sleep. Which meant he had probably crossed at least two time zones and three levels of irritation to get here. I respected that. Loyalty like that is rare.I signed my portionAs I was about to sign it, it felt so weird.It felt like I was losing something very valuable and important.I was thinking of that night where Lydia and I were so chill, the way I found out about interest in PR and all.I was so lost in my thoughts that my lawyer said Mr Ashton?I raised my head up and signedHonestly, I ha