lean, a sharp contrast to the messy

pale but smiling, a twin on eac

. Leo a

ve so strong it almo

side me, her hand clutchin

he whispered, her voice thick

ump in my throat. My life felt compl

s needs her rest. And the babies too.

ll waiting area just outs

was sligh

bbing her eyes, me g

room. Olivia's, and a man's.

d, his voice low, intimate. "Espec

ze. Mom tens

The DNA test confirmed it before they were even born. Max is yo

led with a possessive pride that made

sting. He'll raise Max as his own, and we can be together, discr

ilted. My b

asped, a strangl

ad been gripping

de, unseeing. Her face was

sideways i

shook h

e out. A thin line of drool tric

a doctor, for h

d in. A doct

cal terms I didn't unde

eeled h

f my sons shattered, replaced by Olivia'

n. An

echoed,

th tired eyes told me Su

heard, he said, was too mu

t just broken my heart,

' s room, a cold rage s

the small, almost invisible birthmark

s was

he asked, her smile radiant. "Is yo

an I loved, the mother of m

ons

my voice flat, devoid

red. "What? How? Oh,

or my hand. I

of my mother' s death, pre

but a vast, e

so new, so potent, wa