Amelia wrapped her arms around her kids tightly in front of the nursery. Maddie, her little girl, was round and chubby, full of energy, with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. Amelia couldn't quite figure out who Maddie took after—maybe some distant relative—but she was different from her brother Sean, who was lean, handsome, and strikingly similar to Amelia herself.
As they hugged, Maddie looked up at her mom with big, expectant eyes. "Mommy, I miss Aiden so much. When are we gonna see him again?"
Amelia hesitated, trying to find the right words. "Sweetheart, Aiden had to go back home to help his parents with the hospital. He's still a resident doctor, and there's a lot he needs to learn before he can become an amazing doctor who helps a lot of people."
Sean, always the inquisitive one, frowned. "Why don't we just go to where Aiden is?"
Amelia's heart skipped a beat, and she swallowed hard. She had chosen to stay in Massachusetts for a reason—to keep Nick from finding out about the twins. She couldn't tell Sean the real reason, so she forced a smile and said, "Well, this is our home now, Sean. We live here in MA, and we're going to stay here."
Maddie's face crumpled as she processed her mother's words, tears welling up in her eyes. She loved Aiden so much and didn't want to be away from him. Amelia quickly reassured her, "Hey, we'll visit Aiden someday soon, okay? I promise."
Sean, always quick with a comeback, smirked and teased his sister, "You like Aiden more than Uncle Aaron and Aunt Olivia or your Grandparents. You should care about family first, Maddie."
Maddie shook her head defiantly, her lower lip trembling. "I don't like Grandma and Grandpa. They always tell me I'm too fat and won't let me have ice cream or candy. They keep saying I should be like Lou."
Lou was Aaron and Olivia's daughter, and she was always being praised by their grandparents. She was beautiful, almost like a little princess straight out of a fairy tale, with her blonde hair and delicate features. Maddie's frustration with constantly being compared to Lou was palpable.
Sean continued to tease her, shrugging as if it was obvious. "Well, maybe if you went on a diet like they said, they wouldn't be so mean about it."
Amelia couldn't stand to see Maddie's tears any longer. She pulled her daughter close, shooting a disapproving look at Sean. "Maddie's not fat, she's just chubby, and that's perfectly fine," Amelia said firmly. She then scooped Maddie up into her arms, struggling a bit with her weight but managing to lift her off the ground. "And you're perfect just the way you are, sweetie."
Amelia's heart ached seeing her daughter so upset, and she did her best to comfort her. But as she turned around, her words caught in her throat. Standing not far away, eyes wide with shock, was Nick. He had been watching the whole scene unfold, and the look on his face said it all—he had just realized something earth-shattering.
"Amelia?" Nick's voice was hoarse with disbelief. "Are they... are they my kids?"
The world seemed to stop spinning for a moment. Amelia's breath hitched in her throat, and she instinctively pulled Maddie closer, as if to shield her from the inevitable storm that was about to break. She hadn't planned for this, hadn't expected to see Nick, much less have him discover the truth like this.
She looked up at Nick, her mind racing. What could she say? What could she do to protect her children from the man who had just barged back into her life without warning? She hadn't wanted him to know, hadn't wanted him to have any claim on Sean and Maddie. But now ...