All Chapters of Too Late To Love Me: I Already Left With His Twins: Chapter 191 - Chapter 200

235 Chapters

University lecture

Lydia POVThe moment I stepped out of the car, the familiar scent of freshly cut grass mixed with old brick buildings and roasted coffee drifted through the air.Universities had a smell.Not a perfume.Not something bottled.Just… possibility.Students hurried across the courtyard carrying laptops that looked far too expensive for people who claimed to be broke. A few sat beneath enormous trees rehearsing presentations, while others occupied every available bench, laughing loudly over conversations that probably felt life-changing in the moment.I smiled to myself.Some things never changed.There was always someone running because they were late.Always someone pretending to study while actually gossiping.Always a couple arguing quietly outside the library.Always someone convinced they were about to fail an exam they’d probably ace.It was strangely comforting.A young woman wearing a university volunteer badge hurried toward me.“Ms. Lydia?”I nodded.“Welcome. We’ve been expecti

Advice

Lydia POVThe lecture was supposed to end after ninety minutes.Nearly two and a half hours later, I was still standing at the front of the lecture theatre.At some point, the official Q&A had dissolved into something far less formal. The students had abandoned the microphones and gathered around the stage instead, some sitting cross-legged on the steps, others leaning against desks with notebooks balanced on their laps. The atmosphere no longer felt like a guest lecture. It felt like a conversation.I didn’t mind.In fact, these were always my favorite parts.Anyone could stand behind a podium and deliver a polished presentation.The real magic happened when curious people started asking difficult questions.A young man in the second row raised his hand.“Ma’am… what’s the biggest mistake young PR professionals make?”I smiled.“They think they’re being hired to speak.”Several students looked confused.I continued.“They’re not.”“They’re being hired to listen.”I stepped away from

More dangerous

Lydia POVTrue to his word, he was at the cafe thirty minutes later.Not twenty-eight.Not thirty-three.Thirty.I glanced up from my laptop He looked noticeably different from earlier that morning.He was still impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit, his tie perfectly straight, not a single strand of hair out of place. To anyone else, he would have looked exactly the same.But after today’s conversation…I noticed the things other people probably wouldn’t.The slight shadows beneath his eyes.The stiffness in his shoulders.The way he smiled before he’d even reached me, as though trying to reassure me that he wasn’t about to fall apart.It was the smile people wore when they were trying to convince themselves they were okay.“You’re punctual.”He chuckled.“I’ve been told that’s one of my better qualities.”I gestured toward the chair opposite me.“Sit.”He did.For a moment, neither of us spoke.The silence wasn’t uncomfortable.It was simply… thoughtful.Theo was the first to break

Little Scientists

Lydia POVSaturday mornings had always felt different.The city seemed quieter, the roads less impatient, and for once, my phone wasn’t vibrating every three minutes with another work emergency demanding my attention.After everything that had happened over the past few weeks—the endless meetings with Theo, crisis strategies, custody conversations, and trying to balance my company with motherhood—I desperately needed a day that wasn’t about fixing someone’s life.Today wasn’t about PR.It wasn’t about shareholders.It wasn’t about lawsuits or boardrooms.Today belonged entirely to my children.Ever since I’d told them about the playdate with Brooke, they had been counting down the days as though Christmas had arrived early.Mostly Ava.Eli simply enjoyed reminding his sister that if she annoyed the science girl too much, she’d probably invent a machine that launched people into another galaxy.Ava had immediately informed him that wasn’t how science worked.Eli, naturally, disagreed.

Experiment

Lydia POVBrooke’s mother wasn’t joking.I realized that exactly seven minutes after the girls disappeared upstairs.A loud pop echoed through the house.Not loud enough to be dangerous.Just loud enough to make every adult instinctively stop talking.Brooke’s mother slowly looked toward the ceiling.“…That’s the baking soda.”I blinked.“You knew what that sound was?”She sighed the sigh of a woman who had clearly lived through many science experiments.“They’re making elephant toothpaste.”“…Should I be concerned?”“Only if they come downstairs asking for more dish soap.”Almost on cue—“Mom!”Brooke’s voice floated down the hallway.“We’re out of hydrogen peroxide!”Brooke’s mother closed her eyes for a brief second before smiling.“I’ll be right there.”She stood.“Come on.”By the time we reached the upstairs activity room, I understood why Brooke’s television show was so popular.The room looked less like a child’s bedroom and more like a miniature science laboratory.There were

Friendship bracelets

Lydia POVNature had other plans.Within minutes, Ava rubbed her nose.Then again.Then again.I noticed immediately.“You okay, sweetheart?”She nodded.“I think so.”A second later—“Achoo!”Another sneeze.Then another.Brooke’s mother looked concerned.“Seasonal allergies?”I smiled apologetically.“Rhinitis.”“Oh.”Another sneeze interrupted us.Then another.Poor Ava’s nose had already turned pink.She looked genuinely annoyed.“I don’t like pollen.”“I know.”“It’s rude.”“I completely agree.”Brooke quickly disappeared inside before returning with tissues.“I get allergies sometimes too.”Ava accepted them gratefully.“Thank you.”“I still want to finish the experiment.”I gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from her forehead.“You can finish after antihistamines.”She sighed dramatically.“Fine.”“It’s not surrender.”“It feels like surrender.”“It isn’t.”“It emotionally is.”Even through her blocked nose…She somehow managed to sound offended by flowers.Lunch was se

Damage control

Lydia POVBy eight o’clock on Monday morning, I was already halfway through my second cup of coffee.Monday mornings had a personality of their own.Emails multiplied overnight like rabbits.Clients suddenly remembered “urgent” issues they’d apparently forgotten to mention on Friday.Assistants moved through hallways with the speed of people trying to outrun disasters.And somewhere, someone was always asking for a meeting that could have been an email.I wasn’t complaining.This was the life I’d chosen.The life I’d built.As I stepped out of the elevator, my assistant immediately fell into step beside me, tablet in hand.“Good morning, Lydia.”“Morning.”She glanced down at her schedule.“You’ve got the strategy session with Mr. Theo’s team at nine.”“I know.”“They confirmed everyone will be attending.”“Everyone?”She nodded.“The executive board. Legal. Marketing. Investor Relations. Human Resources. Digital Communications. Corporate Affairs. Operations. Even two outside consulta

Children before company

Lydia POVThe silence only lasted a few seconds.Then, just as I expected, someone broke it.The head of Legal, a silver-haired man named Mr. Wallace, adjusted his glasses and leaned forward.“I appreciate the sentiment, Ms. Lydia,” he began carefully, “but we still have to protect the company, sentiments don’t pay the bills.”I nodded.“Of course.”He looked relieved.“However…”His relief disappeared.“…protecting the company is no longer our first objective.”A few eyebrows rose around the table.“The company survives if people trust it again.”I folded my hands on the conference table.“And people won’t trust a company that spends more time protecting itself than protecting children.”Nobody interrupted.Mr. Wallace looked thoughtful.“The law exists to reduce liability,” I continued.“My job exists to rebuild trust.”“They’re different jobs.”The room remained quiet.“Legal should absolutely do its job.”I looked directly at him.“But Public Relations cannot sound like Legal.”Th

Virtual event

Lydia POVBy the time I finally pushed open the door to my office, I could feel every ounce of energy drain out of me.The silence was almost startling after spending the entire morning inside conference rooms filled with executives talking over one another, lawyers quoting policies, investors demanding reassurance, and journalists calling every five minutes.I shut the door behind me, leaned against it for a second, and closed my eyes.Today had been…A lot.Not bad.Not impossible.Just…Heavy.The kind of heavy that settled into your shoulders before slowly working its way into your bones.I loosened the top button of my blouse before walking toward my desk.Almost on cue, there was a soft knock.“Come in.”My assistant peeked her head inside.“I figured you hadn’t eaten.”I looked at the clock.Nearly three in the afternoon.“…You’re right.”She smiled knowingly.“I already guessed.”I laughed.“I hate that you know me this well.”“It’s literally my job.”“Fair.”She stepped fully

Acquisition

Dave POVBy the time the meeting entered its third hour, my migraine had evolved from a dull ache behind my eyes into something that felt dangerously close to a personal vendetta.I sat at the head of the polished walnut conference table, one hand resting against a stack of financial reports while the other absentmindedly tapped a fountain pen against my notebook. Around me, fifteen people occupied their respective seats, each representing a different part of the company that had consumed nearly every waking hour of my life for the past several weeks.The atmosphere inside the room had changed dramatically since I returned.A month ago, most of the conversations had revolved around whether I was even capable of leading the company again.Today…The conversations had shifted toward how quickly I could repair what had already been broken.Unfortunately, confidence did not magically erase problems.It simply meant more people expected you to solve them.The massive screen at the far end

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