Too Late To Love Me I Already Left With His Twins (Lydia and Dave) novel Chapter 290

LYDIA POV

Dave seemed to realize what he had just done.

He blinked.

Then cleared his throat.

“Oh.”

He reached into his other pocket and pulled out his phone.

“Sorry. I was on a call.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“A call?”

“Yeah.”

He tapped the screen, and suddenly I could hear a man’s voice coming through his AirPods.

Apparently, he had been on a call with one of his assistants.

Something about his assistant sending over some documents, a meeting, a proposal, some figures that needed to be reviewed before the end of the day.

He even started speaking professionally, asking someone to resend an email and telling them he’d look at something once he got home.

I stared at him.

Then at Theo.

Then back at him.

Because, honestly, I could have sworn he wasn’t talking to a client.

Not with the way he’d suddenly yelled stop it when Theo and I were laughing.

But I had no evidence.

And considering I had only been awake for a day and apparently had ten years missing from my brain, accusing a stranger of lying about a business call probably wasn’t the smartest way to spend my afternoon.

So I laughed quietly and turned back around.

“Okay.”

Anna looked at me through the mirror.

I could see the corner of her mouth twitch.

She knew.

I knew she knew.

But nobody said anything.

And eventually, the rest of the drive continued.

The twins went back to discussing something about engines.

Theo occasionally joined in.

Anna kept driving and correcting their directions whenever they started arguing about which road was faster.

Dave stayed mostly quiet.

And I sat there listening to all of them, trying to understand how this had somehow become my life.

It was bizarre.

Six people in a car.

Apparently all connected to me.

Apparently all part of my world.

And I couldn’t remember all of them.

Yet somehow, the atmosphere didn’t feel completely foreign.

Maybe that was the strange thing about memory.

Perhaps the mind forgot things, but the heart kept little receipts.

I just didn’t know where mine were.

By the time we got home, I was already tired.

But the moment Anna opened the front door, I realized something was happening.

There were rose petals.

Everywhere.

Not an excessive amount, but enough to form a beautiful trail from the entrance into the living room.

There were balloons.

A huge arrangement of flowers sat on one of the tables.

A little welcome-back banner stretched across the wall.

And people were standing around the living room.

People I didn’t know.

People who apparently knew me.

I stopped at the entrance.

For a second, I couldn’t move.

Then everyone turned.

And suddenly, there was applause.

“Welcome back, Lydia!”

I blinked.

Someone laughed.

Someone else clapped harder.

And then a woman I recognized from the photographs I’d seen earlier stepped forward.

Madam Eloise.

Apparently my boss.

Apparently my mentor.

Apparently my mother figure.

Apparently my friend.

Apparently everything.

She walked toward me slowly, almost as if she was afraid I might be overwhelmed.

“Hi, Lydia.”

Her voice was warm.

Soft.

She smiled at me.

“How are you feeling?”

I stared at her.

“I don’t know.”

She laughed softly.

“That’s okay.”

She opened her arms.

Then stopped halfway.

“Can I hug you?”

That question almost broke something inside me.

Because everyone else had been acting like they already knew what I needed.

She was the first person who asked.

I nodded.

She stepped forward and hugged me gently.

Not too tightly.

Not too long.

Just enough.

I closed my eyes.

And there it was again.

That strange feeling.

Familiar.

Warm.

Like somewhere inside me, I knew this woman.

Not consciously.

Not enough to say her name and remember everything we’d done together.

But something.

Something small.

She pulled away and held my face between her hands.

“You don’t have to remember anything today.”

I swallowed.

“I’m trying.”

“I know.”

“I feel like I’m disappointing everybody.”

Her expression immediately softened.

“Oh, baby.”

She brushed her thumb beneath my eye.

Madam Eloise immediately protested.

“Don’t listen to her. I am perfectly easy to manage.”

Everyone laughed.

And I stood there in the middle of it.

Surrounded by people who knew stories about me that I didn’t know.

People who had memories of me that I couldn’t access.

People who loved a version of me I couldn’t find inside myself.

It was overwhelming.

But it was warm.

So warm.

And perhaps that was why I didn’t tell them to leave.

I just stood there and let myself be welcomed home.

Eventually, I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

Anna noticed before I even said anything.

“Okay, that’s enough.”

She turned to everyone.

“She needs to rest.”

Madam Eloise nodded immediately.

“Of course.”

She kissed my forehead.

“Go rest, sweetheart.”

I smiled.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For coming.”

Her eyes softened.

“We’re not going anywhere.”

I nodded.

Then I walked upstairs.

My bedroom was at the end of the hallway.

I stood outside the door for a moment before opening it.

And then I froze again.

This room…

It was beautiful.

It wasn’t extravagant in an obnoxious way.

It was just… me.

At least, apparently me.

Neutral colors.

Soft lighting.

A large bed.

A beautiful rug.

Books arranged neatly on a shelf.

Perfumes.

Candles.

Photographs.

A vanity table.

Clothes arranged in the wardrobe.

Jewelry.

Skincare.

Everything looked expensive.

Everything looked intentional.

I walked toward the bed and sat down.

My early-twenties self would have lost her mind seeing this room.

Actually, my early-twenties self would probably have looked around and said, Girl, what the hell happened to us?