All Chapters of Twice You: Chapter 111 - Chapter 118

The photograph is old now, worn at the edges from being handled too much.I keep it in my nightstand drawer, next to the ring I never take off. It was taken on the twins' second birthday. Declan is holding Rowan on one hip, Harvey has Nora on the other, and I'm standing in the middle, my arms around both of them. Claire is in front, laughing at something the twins did. The sun is bright, the garden green, and everyone smiling.Every time I look at it, I remember what it took to get there.Today, I'm sitting in the living room of the house we bought near the coast. The windows are open, letting in the scent of salt and wildflowers. It's summer. The twins are eight now, chasing each other through the garden with a ball. Claire is twenty-one—home from university, sprawled on the grass with a book she's not reading.I smile and look back at the photograph. Then I look at the room around me.The house is lived in. There are books everywhere, all in different languages—Declan's Irish poetry

The house was silent.Claire was spending the night with Maeve and Matthew. Harvey had traveled to Boston to sort out some company matters and wouldn't return until the next day. For the first time in a long time, the house was just ours again.Just Declan and me.I was on the porch, looking at the dark garden. My belly was big, heavy. I was wearing one of his loose t-shirts and nothing underneath. The night air was cool, but not cold. Declan appeared behind me without a sound. He wrapped his arms around my waist, his large hands resting on my belly with a delicacy he rarely showed in public.He rested his face against my neck and stayed there, just breathing.Neither of us spoke for a long time.Then he murmured against my skin:"Mo chroí."I placed my hands over his.Declan turned my face gently and kissed me. It was a slow kiss, calm, with no hurry to go anywhere. When he pulled back, his blue eyes were darker than usual."I want to enjoy this night with you," he said, his voice lo

We returned to the observatory on a clear winter night.The place was exactly as I remembered. The dome could still be opened, revealing the sky. The marble floor was still cold under bare feet. The walls still had those hand-painted star maps, and the small plaque with my initials was still there, a little dusty, but intact.Declan had kept the place secret all this time. After everything that happened, he'd never brought anyone here again. Until today.We three were alone.Claire was with Maeve and Matthew. The twins hadn't been born yet. The world outside was quiet. And for the first time in a long time, we weren't running from anything. Weren't fighting. Weren't surviving.We were just here.Celebrating.Declan was the first to open the dome. The ceiling moved slowly, revealing the starry sky above us. Sirius shone brightly in the upper corner, exactly as always. The same star he'd used to find me so many times. The same star that had become our symbol.Harvey was behind me, his a

The roof of Trinity College was silent.It was a clear autumn night, almost fifteen years after everything began. The air was cold, but not freezing. The city lights of Dublin flickered around us, but up here the sky seemed closer. The stars were sharp, bright, almost arrogant in their constancy.Claire was beside me.She was nineteen now. Tall, slender, with her father's blue eyes and a curiosity that never diminished. Her brown hair was tied in a messy bun, and she was wearing Declan's thick jacket that she'd "borrowed" three years ago and never returned. We were both sitting on the edge of the roof, our legs swinging over the void, as I used to do when I was younger.I pointed to the s