Page 87 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

I tried to grab Kayden’s arm, but he ran to the other side, giggling. Kayla followed him, giggling too.

They ran to Tristan when they saw me coming their way. They were really enjoying this. Tristan woke up when Kayden fell on him.

“Come here, you muffins.” Tristan grabbed both of them. “Let’s go to sleep. Mommy is tired.” He pulled them closer, and they stayed quiet and lay next to him.

I sighed in relief and turned to leave.

“Chloe,” Tristan called, stopping me. “Come here.” He tapped the space next to the twins.

I climbed onto the bed and lay next to the twins. They were still awake but stayed silent. Tristan placed a kiss on their heads and a quick kiss on my forehead.

“Good night. I love you all,” he said and turned off the lights.

25

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Tension

We went to see Morris the next day. He was getting better. I’d really missed him, and I couldn’t wait for him to recover fully.

I dropped by the police station to ask about Mrs. Porter and if anyone had come to claim the body, but no one had come. I knew she didn’t have anyone. I went straight to speak to Tristan about giving Mrs. Porter a nice funeral. I knew she had been trying to play matchmaker, but I owed it to her after everything she had done for me.

I spent the next couple of days organizing the funeral and sending out invitations to family and friends and people from Mrs. Porter’s neighborhood.

Saturday morning, we gathered for Mrs. Porter’s funeral. I gave a speech directly from the heart, and I couldn’t hold back the tears when I finished my speech.

The days after the funeral went by quickly, and I was still staying at the Sanchesters’ estate. The apartment was still a mess, and I was terrified to go there even if Grey was behind bars. I had my room on the second floor, the twins’ room was right next to mine, and Tristan’s was down the hall.

He had set up their cribs yesterday, and Mrs. Sanchester had asked me how I wanted to furnish their rooms. She’d given me a bunch of home design magazines and her interior designer’s contact and told me to tell her all the details and she’d have it done. She’d assured me she only wanted her grandkids to have a place in the house.

It was a lot to take in. I didn’t know what was going through their heads—if they believed Tristan and I were back together or if they pictured me staying here because of the twins. Lately, I’d been stuck in this hole with a million thoughts in my head. I didn’t know how to move forward or the next step to take now that Tristan was back and the twins were reunited. It was hard to avoid the reality. I had to put the twins before me, and I was battling with making the right decisions.

I ran my palm down my waitress uniform. The short dress had a small white stain at the bottom, but it wasn’t noticeable. I was lucky to still have my job at the diner after missing work for weeks, but Mr. Klein knew my reasons.

I rushed down the stairs, my sneakers hitting the floor with every quick step. I heard giggles from somewhere in the big house. One could get lost in here. The ceiling was high, and the intricate attention to detail interior was a work of art.

Deep laughter echoed in the house. I could tell it was Tristan, and it was hard to fight off the tingles that ran through my body at the sound. I checked the living room and found them running around with Tristan chasing after them, trying to imitate a dragon while their tiny legs ran away from him. He grabbed Kayden and spun him around, pretending to eat his hand, while Kayden giggled. I stood at the corner and watched. He was so natural around them, as if he had taken a parenting class and gotten a PhD. He’d been working from home, so he could spend more time around the twins.

I felt awful all over again. I didn’t think the guilt would ever go away. Watching him with the kids always made me feel like a monster for trying to keep him away from them. He was so good with the twins—a better parent than I would ever be. He deserved to be in their lives. I still couldn’t believe we had gotten Kayla back.

“Chloe?”

I flinched at the sound of my name. I looked in front of me at Tristan, who was staring at me with a worried expression.

“Mommy?” Kayden called, tugging on the hem of my dress.

“Yes, baby?” I smiled, looking down at him and picking him up.

“Are you okay?” Tristan asked, and I nodded, unable to bring myself to look at him.

“I have an evening shift at the diner. I will be back late. Can you watch over the twins?”

“You don’t have to ask,” he sighed.

I held his gaze for a millisecond and looked away.

“Kayla is more comfortable, sleeping with her—”

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