All Chapters of Too Late To Love Me: I Already Left With His Twins: Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

Lydia POVThe next morning started with a strong cup of ginger and chamomile tea.I stood by the kitchen island, one hand wrapped around the warm mug while the early morning sunlight filtered through the windows. The house was still relatively quiet, and for a few precious minutes, nobody needed anything from me.No emails.No meetings.No children debating whether dinosaurs would make good race-car drivers.Just me and my tea.I took another sip and mentally reviewed my schedule for the day.It was packed.Ironically, the thing I was looking forward to most wasn’t a business meeting.It was my assistant’s proposal.The thought immediately brought a smile to my face.Her boyfriend was persistent. I’d give him that.The previous weekend, he’d somehow managed to corner me in a grocery store while I was trying to buy vegetables.I had been comparing two brands of pasta sauce when a nervous-looking man appeared beside my shopping cart.“Ms. Lydia?”I remembered turning to look at him.“Ye

Lydia POVI slipped into my car and closed the door behind me.Honestly, I’d already overheard more than I should have.The last thing I wanted was to stand around eavesdropping on a private conversation. Whatever was happening between Theo, his lawyer, his ex, or the courts was his business, not mine.So I pushed the thought aside.At least I tried to.As the car pulled out of the parking lot, one of Drake’s newer songs started playing through the speakers. Normally, music helped clear my head after a long workday.Today, though, my mind kept drifting back to the parking lot.Theo had a child.That alone wasn’t surprising.Plenty of people had children.What surprised me was the custody battle.For some reason, he didn’t fit the image I had unconsciously built of him.He always seemed so composed.So confident.So annoyingly smooth.The type of man who walked into a room already knowing exactly how things would go.Yet the man I’d overheard sounded worried.Scared, even.And that did

Lydia POV“Mom.”I sighed.“What is it?”She folded her arms.“Why did Dad say not to ignore his messages?”I blinked.Then laughed.“Because your father enjoys causing trouble.”“Mom.”“I’m serious.”Ava continued staring at me.I raised both hands dramatically.“I haven’t ignored anything. Every message he’s sent regarding you two has been answered.”“Really?”“Really.”Ava’s expression softened.“Oh.”Then she immediately looked guilty.“I wasn’t accusing you.”“You sounded like you were.”“I wasn’t.”I pulled her into a side hug.“My sweet baby, I thought you were trying to blame me.”She immediately buried her face against my shoulder.“Never.”Then she looked up.“You’re my favorite parent.”Eli gasped from across the room.“What?!”Ava ignored him.“You’re my favorite parent in the whole world.”I laughed.“Let’s not start this emotional nonsense.”“No, seriously.”She pointed at me.“You stayed.”My smile faded slightly.Ava continued.“You didn’t have to. But you stayed.”Bef

Lydia POVTheo reached for the glass of water on my desk, but instead of drinking immediately, he simply wrapped his fingers around it. His grip tightened just enough for the tendons on the back of his hand to become visible. He wasn’t looking at me anymore. His eyes had drifted toward the floor, unfocused, as though the polished wooden tiles beneath us had somehow become a doorway into a life he hadn’t wanted to revisit.The office, which usually felt bright and energetic, suddenly seemed unusually quiet. The steady hum of the air conditioner faded into the background, leaving nothing but the silence between us.“…While my daughter was home,” he repeated quietly.The words lingered in the room.I didn’t rush to fill the silence.There are moments when people don’t need questions. They need space.Without thinking, I gently nudged the tissue box sitting on my desk a little closer to him. It wasn’t dramatic. I wasn’t assuming he was about to cry. It was simply instinct.His eyes droppe

Lydia POVTheo fell silent again.Neither of us seemed in any hurry to continue.Outside my office, I could faintly hear people moving about, printers humming, phones ringing, and heels clicking against marble floors. It was the usual rhythm of a busy workday, yet somehow it felt incredibly distant.Inside my office, it was just the two of us.One listening.One remembering.After a long moment, Theo finally broke the silence.“I thought the divorce would be the hardest part.”He gave a small shake of his head.“I was wrong.”His fingers absentmindedly rotated the wedding band that was no longer there, the habit clearly surviving long after the ring itself.“The divorce was painful.”“But it ended.”“The custody battle…”His jaw clenched.“…never seems to.”I frowned.“What happened?”He leaned back slowly.“Initially, we agreed on shared custody.”“Everything was surprisingly civil.”“I thought maybe…”He smiled sadly.“…maybe we’d at least be good parents, even if we weren’t good sp