Mia had spent practically the entire day getting to know her cousins’ families, who had been incredibly hospitable. The children were absolutely adorable, and the pink-haired girl had fallen in love with every one of them. The incredible thing was that both her cousin and his sister had had twins; Avery, Aurora and Ryan’s son, was the oldest, at only five years old, but there were also the three-year-old twins, Léo and Logan, who had been named after their paternal grandfather; Emma and Ezra were the same age as their oldest cousin, and were Noah and Anelise’s twins. The children were simply adorable, and every time they spoke to her, she imagined what it would be like if her own child had survived.
Every time she saw a child, especially one who was the same age her baby would have been—more specifically, four years old—she became deeply emotional. She imagined her life with him or her, the color of their hair, the color of their eyes, their sweet voice calling her “Mommy.” She allowed herself to get carried away, even if only for a moment, and as much as she knew it might not be good for her, she couldn’t stop herself from dreaming bigger and farther.
That day, surprisingly, she had reunited with her aunts and uncles, who showed her all their affection. For a moment, she became emotional, but much more because she missed feeling that kind of affection from her own father. The man she had loved so much during her childhood was like Oscar; the way Devlin treated both his children, the way he showed his love for his grandchildren, was the same love she had seen in her father’s eyes when she was younger. That was why she felt so emotional, sad, and a little anguished over no longer having that affection from the older man.
She focused on her aunts and uncles, refusing to think about her father. She had a chance to connect with the people her mother had loved most, and she wasn’t going to waste it thinking about the person who had hurt her most over the past few years—almost as much as the man she was going to marry.
That day, she learned the names of her aunt and uncle’s twins: Jamie and Charlie. She simply adored the two mischievous, incredibly strong-willed six-and-a-half-year-olds. They looked extremely similar to their mother, both in the color of their hair, which was blue-black, and in the color of their eyes, which their father had too: pearly. They were more playful than she had ever seen her uncle be, smiling and curious—but every child was curious—while also possessing a touching sensitivity. Even though they were only slightly older than their cousins, they were careful with each of them.
“You look so much like your mother,” Haley said with a smile on her lips. “You’re exactly like she was when she was younger.”
“My friend says that all the time, and she never even knew my mother when she was young.” She glanced at the pregnant blonde across the living room, chatting animatedly with Anelise Devlin.
“Oh, I remember how beautiful she was...” She touched Mia’s right hand. “Just like you, sweetheart.” She glanced at her husband for a moment. “Do you remember, Oscar, when Kiara dyed her hair pink?”
Mia immediately grew interested, and she was very surprised by the revelation. She hadn’t known her mother had once had the same hair color she did in her youth.
“Of course. She wanted to change her look to annoy her parents,” he said with a smile, lost in his memories.
“She dyed her hair pink?”
“Yes. Your father never told you?” The brunette furrowed her brow. “They already knew each other back then.”
“No, he never...” She paused briefly, showing her disappointment. “He never talked about Mom. He took all her pictures out of the house and said it was because I cried in corners. I tried to get him to talk, but...”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“Your father was never a very patient man.”
“Oscar,” his wife scolded him.
“Why did you never get along?” Mia couldn’t hold her tongue.
“I never had anything against him,” he said sincerely. “The problem was always your father.”
“What happened to make him so angry with you?”
The other man sighed.
“I don’t want to pressure you into telling me, but I’ve always been curious. My mother used to visit you in secret because he didn’t like it.”
“I’ll summarize it for you, Mia.” He felt his beloved’s eyes on him, but he didn’t stop. “Your mother and I were engaged because of a family arrangement.”
“What?” Her voice barely came out, she was so surprised. “Engaged?”
“Your father knew how I felt about her, and even so, he didn’t care about cautiously getting closer to her and winning her over little by little. By the time I realized it, she was already in love, so I decided to give her up. Out of love for her.”
“Around that time, my sister grew close to Oscar and supported him. She gave him some advice, and he decided to listen to her.”
“I’m the one who should have resented your father, Mia. That’s the truth. But I don’t.”
The pink-haired girl didn’t know him well because they had had so little contact, but she saw sincerity shining in his eyes.
“I fell in love with Hanna.” He gave a sly smile. “She was special in my life. And, magically, after she was gone, after I thought I’d never find anyone like her to fill the emptiness I felt, I ended up falling in love with her sister.” He looked into his beloved’s eyes. “Some people said it was because they looked so much alike, but...” He smiled. “They’re identical only in appearance. Anyone who doesn’t truly know Haley couldn’t see what I saw.”
“I think it’s beautiful...” She gave a faint smile because of what she had just heard. “The way you look at Aunt Haley. It’s real. And she shows and feels the same way.” She sighed. “It’s a shame my father didn’t choose someone better to replace my mother.”
“He’ll realize the truth eventually,” Oscar said firmly. “And believe me, remorse will eat him alive.”
His wife completely agreed with him.
“Especially after turning his back on the daughter the woman he loved so much left him as a gift.”
With tears in her eyes, the pink-haired girl smiled at him.
“I just don’t know if I’ll be willing to forgive him,” she confessed.
“Let’s not talk about sad things, sweetheart.” He smiled at her, taking both her hands. “What did you think of my grandchildren? They’re your family too, after all.”
“They’re so cute.” She looked toward the backyard, where all the children were, including her aunt and uncle’s twins. “So smart, even though they’re so young. And I’m still surprised by how many twins there are in this family.”
The other two laughed.
“Who knows? Maybe you’ll have twins too when you get pregnant.”
It was another comment similar to one she had heard from the couple’s oldest son. She didn’t blame them; they didn’t know about her pain, the most painful part of her story—even more painful than losing her mother. In truth, she couldn’t say when she had suffered the most. She had lost the two people she loved most in the world; she would have said three if she still felt even the slightest affection for her father.
“Did Haley say something wrong, Mia?”
The older man had noticed, and even though she didn’t like talking again about something that caused her such immense pain, she couldn’t help explaining.
“I lost a baby four years ago.” Her voice came out thick with emotion.
“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She gave a faint smile.
“Mia.” Luna suddenly called out, making the pink-haired girl look at her friend. “Come here. Anelise and Aurora are going to show us pictures of the children.”
After excusing herself from her aunts and uncles, the pink-haired girl promptly went over to where her cousin and friends were sitting together on the living room sofa, ready to look through the albums. She had noticed that her cousin was missing, but she didn’t dwell on it.
“Her fiancé abandoned her,” Noah revealed, approaching slowly so he wouldn’t draw the others’ attention—apart from his parents—to himself. “Pregnant and alone. If it weren’t for Conor and Luna, she wouldn’t have anyone’s support.”
“The Fitzgeralds told you that?”
The other man nodded at his father’s question.
“It’s a shame Mia has had to go through even more things that left deeper scars.”
The other two agreed with the brunette.
“I heard from Aurora that she’s unemployed.”
“Not for long, Dad.” He smiled at him, reassuring him when he noticed his concern. “Ryan got her a job.” He looked away, finding his cousin gazing at the photographs with a sparkle in her eyes. “I just don’t know if she’ll last very long there,” he confessed with a laugh.
“Why?” they both asked curiously.
“Because she’ll be Thomas and Natalie Kavanagh’s nanny,” he said with a smile. “That is, if she accepts, of course.”