The Mistress Who Ran Away With The Twins-Chapter 152: A Quiet Confrontation

"...Are you serious, Sylvia?"

Dave’s voice didn’t rise.

He didn’t lash out.

He didn’t accuse.

But somehow, that quiet disbelief hurt more than anger ever could.

The hallway stretched endlessly in both directions, empty and echoing. Yet in that long, silent corridor, it felt like the world had narrowed to just the two of us.

I swallowed hard and looked away. "Dave... I just need time. I’m not asking you to keep this forever."

"Time for what?" he asked softly.

There was no irritation in his voice just a quiet, unsettling patience.

Dave stood with his hands in his pockets, shoulders barely tense, as if he were trying not to overwhelm me. Yet his eyes... they were sharp, searching, like he wasn’t going to let me slip away with half-answers this time.

"Because I don’t understand what’s stopping you," he continued, his tone low and steady. "I know I’m just... a stranger to you. And I’m not your friend—let’s be honest about that."

He offered a small, almost awkward shrug, acknowledging the distance between us.

"But I am friends with Rome," he went on, voice quieter. "Close enough to see when he’s hurting. Close enough to know when he’s lying to himself."

His gaze flicked briefly down the hallway.

"I may not know everything that happened between the two of you," Dave admitted. "But I know enough to understand that something between you two was real. And whatever that was... it didn’t just disappear."

He looked at me again, steadier this time, not demanding but not retreating either.

"You both need to talk things out, Sylvia," he said gently. "Maybe not today. But running from it won’t make it any less real."

My hands curled into trembling fists at my sides.

"S-stop... I’m not ready to deal with him." I whispered.

Dave stared at me, not judging, not pitying, just searching. Trying to understand a woman he barely knew.

Somehow, that made everything even harder.

After a long breath, he stepped back and rubbed the back of his neck. "You know... you’ve had five years, but you never told him. Not even once."

"I—I know..." my voice barely held together.

"And it looks like," he continued, "you weren’t even planning to tell him in the first place." His tone wasn’t accusing, it was simply the truth he had put together.

I stiffened. "I never said that."

"But you didn’t deny it either."

My lips parted, but nothing came out.

Dave exhaled. "Sylvia... do you really hate him that much?"

"I don’t hate him..." I said quickly, then looked away.

The words echoed down the hallway.

Dave blinked. "Then why—"

"Because he ruined me."

The truth slipped out before I could stop it.

Dave’s breath caught. "Ruined you... how?"

My throat tightened. Old memories, ones I spent years burying pushed to the surface. Rome choosing someone else. His family tearing at me while I carried three lives inside me. Silence in place of comfort. A coldness that felt like abandonment.

But I shook my head weakly. "It doesn’t matter."

"It does matter," Dave replied quietly. "People don’t make choices like this without a reason."

I closed my eyes.

"It’s complicated. You’ll never understand." I whispered.

He let out a humorless laugh. "Everything about today was complicated."

A nurse passed by, her steps light against the floor before disappearing around the corner. Once she was gone, Dave spoke again, lower now.

"Sylvia... Rome isn’t perfect. I know that better than anyone. He’s reckless. He makes stupid decisions. But he deserved to know."

"He didn’t deserve to hurt me either," I murmured, my voice cracking. "I just want to protect my kids."

Dave went still. His eyes sharpened.

"Protect them from who? From him—from their father? I don’t understand."

Something shifted in his expression. It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t pity. It was the beginning of understanding.

He stepped closer, slower this time.

"What did he do?" Dave asked quietly. "I’m not trying to pry into your past. I just need to understand why you’re this scared."

"I’m not scared." I said—but my voice betrayed me, shaking at the edges.

He noticed.

"Sylvia," he said gently, "you are terrified."

My breath hitched. I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite the warm hospital air.

"It wasn’t supposed to happen," I whispered. "Any of it."

Dave didn’t rush me. Didn’t push. He just waited—like giving me space made the truth easier to touch.

"I was young. I was stupid," I said, hollow. "And I thought he loved me."

His eyes softened.

"He didn’t even try to understand me," I continued. "I was pregnant... and I didn’t know what to do."

Dave froze. "He didn’t understand you while you were pregnant?"

"No," I whispered. "Because he didn’t love me to begin with. He just... used me. And so I left."

Dave frowned. "Sylvia, as far as I know, he said you left him. He never said anything about—"

"Yes, I left him," I cut in quickly. "But you don’t know what pushed me to leave."

Dave fell silent, giving me the space I didn’t know I needed.

"You don’t owe me the whole story," he said quietly. "You don’t owe me anything. But it’s clear, you didn’t even look back."

I nodded, staring at my feet. "Because I was done being someone’s burden."

"He never treated you like a burden."

"No," I whispered. "But his family did. Everyone around him wanted us apart."

Dave shook his head. "Rome could’ve fought for you. I know him. He’s stupid sometimes—but he fights for the people he loves."

I let out a hollow laugh. "He didn’t. Not even once."

Dave stared at me, stunned. He looked like someone had just rearranged everything he thought he knew.

"He didn’t try to protect you?" he asked softly. "Not even a little?"

"No."

Silence swallowed the hallway.

Then he asked, almost in a whisper, "What about the Lincolns? Does Rome know about them?"

"No. He doesn’t know who I really am. He never knew my past."

Dave exhaled sharply and rubbed his forehead. "So he had no idea about you, and you had no idea how he truly felt. Sylvia... he loved you. He’s still bitter that you left him."

I shook my head. "It’s not as easy as talking it out and fixing things. If he knew about the Lincolms, he would’ve pitied me. Treated me like I was broken. I didn’t want that."

"You didn’t want him to see you as fragile."

"Yes."

"But now," Dave said slowly, "he’s going to see you as the woman who hid three children from him."

My chest tightened painfully.

"I know," I whispered. "But I’m not yet ready."

"You keep saying that," Dave murmured. "But what happens when he finds out? When he confronts you? When this becomes a legal mess?"

Panic surged in my chest.

"He doesn’t have proof yet..." I whispered.

"Sylvia," Dave said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "just because he has no proof doesn’t mean he hasn’t figured anything out. Rome is smart. Today alone was enough to make him suspicious."

"I’m their mother," I said. "He can’t take them."

"That’s not what I’m saying."

"Then what?" I snapped.

Dave inhaled slowly, steadying himself.

"I’m Rome’s friend. But I’m not blind. I don’t owe him loyalty over basic decency. But I owe you honesty."

My breath paused.

"Those kids deserve more than secrets," he continued gently. "They deserve the truth someday. And Rome deserves to know they exist."

My voice broke. "He’ll take them."

"He won’t."

"You don’t know that."

"I do," Dave insisted. "He’s impulsive, dramatic, volatile but he’s not cruel. And he’s not stupid. He won’t tear children away from their mother."

My eyes burned. "He might."

Dave looked at me with a shocked sadness. "You really think Rome would do that? To you? To his own kids?"

"You don’t know what he’s capable of when he feels betrayed," I whispered shakily. "When he learns I hid three children from him, Dave... three."

Dave closed his eyes.

"Yeah," he admitted softly. "That will break him."

My breath hitched.

"But you’re broken too," he murmured. "And in this mess... no one walks away whole."

I looked away as tears blurred the hallway.

"What do you want me to do? What do you expect from me?" I whispered.

"I want you to tell him," Dave said calmly. "Before he finds out on his own."

"I can’t."

"You can."

"I can’t," I insisted. "Not now. Not while Cairo is sick. Not while everything is falling apart. Not with the Lincolms—"

"Don’t tell me you’re afraid your family will turn against you this time.." Dave said softly, his eyes sharpening.

I froze.

"This isn’t just about Rome," he whispered. "You’re scared of them."

I swallowed hard.

"Sylvia... I don’t want to pry into your family. But right now? You need someone like Rome."

A broken sound escaped my throat.

Dave’s voice softened even further. "I won’t tell him today. Not about Cairo. Not about Paris. Not about Egypt. And not about the Lincolms."

My eyes widened.

"But I need one thing," he said firmly. "Promise me you’ll tell him yourself."

"I..." My voice faltered. "I don’t know if I can."

"Then promise me something else," he said. "Don’t run again."

His words cut deep.

"I’m not planning to leave.." I whispered.

"But you’re thinking about it."

I froze.

Dave stepped back, giving me space. "I’m not your enemy, Sylvia. I’m just trying to understand all this before Rome walks into it blind."

Then he asked the question I feared most.

"Do you still love him?"

My breath stopped.

"...That’s not important."

"That’s not an answer."

"It doesn’t matter what I feel. Only what’s best for my kids."

Dave nodded slowly. "And what’s best for them... is the truth."

I looked down. "I can’t give them that yet."

He nodded—not agreeing, but accepting. "I’ll give you time. But not forever."

He stepped aside so I could return to Cairo’s room.

Before I passed him, his voice followed quietly:

"Sylvia... whatever you’re running from, Rome, the Lincolms, your past—you don’t have to face it alone. And if you think no one will stand with you... you’re wrong."

I couldn’t answer.

I walked back toward Cairo’s door. Behind me, Dave stayed in the hallway, silent, patient—the only witness to secrets I was never ready to confront.