Page 27 of Seeking Shadows

“That doesn’t exist.”

“Then you won’t need to use it.”

I roll my eyes. “You guys are so paranoid. I’m fine! Just enjoying the trip and married life.”

“Okay,” Laura mutters.

“You two together, that’s a surprise,” I say, steering the conversation away from me.

“Please. Seth comes over every time Pietro travels just to drool over Eleonora.”

I love how Laura is okay now. She had twins, which is honestlysocool—like, genetically, what are the odds? Her half-siblings are twins too, so maybe the universe just looked at her family and went,Yep, double everything.

I haven’t met them in person—only through pictures. But let me tell you, those babies?Top-tier adorable.Like, if I had a list of the cutest babies in the universe (which Ido), they’d be right up there with the ones I see on TikTok that make me irrationally emotional for no reason. They have the perfect chubby cheeks, the kind that make you want to poke themgentlybut also aggressively because they’re justthatsquishable.

And yet… I’ve never actually held them. Never smelled that weirdly specific baby scent that makes people get all soft and sentimental. Never got to poke their cheeks for real.

Maybe I never will. If things keep going the way they are, I might always be just a name they hear sometimes, a blurry face in an old picture. Which—ugh,existential crisis loading—but I shove that thought into the mental drawer labeledStuff to Overthink at 3 AM.

I hate my father. Period.

“I still can’t believe that baby doll is related to that jerk,” Seth mutters.

Laura shoots him a look. “Don’t talk about my husband like that, big brother.”

“So be it.”

“Guys, I’m still here,” I remind them, regretting it immediately. “I mean, yay, family bonding.”

“She’s hiding something, isn’t she?” Laura says.

Seth nods. Or at least, Ithinkhe does, since, you know—I can’t actually see him. But Ifeelthe nod through the phone, like some weird twin telepathy thing. Or maybe it's just my brain filling in the gaps, like when you misread a text and decide someone is mad at you for no reason.

“Did you just nod?” I ask, because I have priorities.

There’s a pause. “...Yeah?”

“Aha! I knew it!” I point at absolutely nothing in triumph. “Twin connectionconfirmed.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Seth mutters, but I swear I can hear the tiniest hint of amusement in his voice.

“Stop stalling,” Laura cuts in, all diplomatic but so onto me.

“Okay, fine. You caught me.” I throw my hands up in dramatic surrender. “I was having sex, and you guys totally cockblocked me.”

The room goes dead silent for a second, and then—

“Oh my God.” Seth groans like I just dealt him a gut punch. “Now I wanna shoot myself in the ear.”

Laura mutters something, her voice low and calculating, and before I can even process it, Seth’s already off to the races. “If I have to think about that fucker having sex with my sister, I’ll cut him in half.”

“That’s not how we solve things, Seth,” Laura responds, voice cool but precise. “We talked about this, remember?”

And they’re off—bantering back and forth like it’s nothing. It’s like their favorite hobby is roasting us, and yeah, I get it. But seriously—rude.

I amperfectlycapable of having a normal trip without dramatic events.

You are not in real trip Mia, and you are full of dramatic events on your plate.

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