Chapter 410 Morton’s baby brother
Mia’s POV
I set my bag down.
Boys didn’t finish. Alexander was too excited.
“We have the same name,” Alexander said. “That makes us connected.”
“Having the same name doesn’t make you connected. That’s not how genetics work.” Ethan said from the couch.
“Maybe it’s how magic works.”
“There’s no such thing as magic.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do know that. It’s scientifically proven.”
“Where’s my dress shirt?” Alexander asked me, abandoning the argument. He spun again. Slower this time. “I can’t find it anywhere.”
“On your bed,” my mother said without looking up from Madison’s hair. Another pin went in. Madison’s shoulders tensed. ” Where I laid it out an hour ago.”
“I looked there.”
“Look again.”
He disappeared down the hallway. I could hear him opening drawers. Closing them. Opening them again.
I crossed to Madison. Knelt down in front of her.
Her eyes met mine. Watery.
“Does it hurt?” I asked quietly.
She shook her head. Quick.
“What if we do something simpler?” I suggested.
Madison’s face changed. Just a little. The tightness around her eyes eased. “Really?”
“Really.”
I looked up at my mother. She handed me the hairspray and comb without a word. Relief crossed her face.
I gently pulled out the pins. One by one. My mother had used at least a dozen. Madison’s dark hair fell loose around her shoulders. She let out a breath. Long. Like she’d been holding it for twenty minutes.
“How about braids?” I asked. “Two of them. One on each side.”
“Like Elsa?” Alexander’s voice came from the hallway.
I turned. He was standing there wearing his white dress shirt. The tag stuck out under his chin like a price tag. The buttons were done up wrong. The whole thing twisted sideways.
“Sort of like Elsa,” I agreed.
“I like Elsa,” Madison said softly.
Chapter 410 Morton’s baby brother
+25 BONUS
My mother handed me two elastics and a comb. I sectioned Madison’s hair. Left side first. My fingers moved automatically. Over. Under. Over. Under. The strands were soft. Still slightly damp from her bath.
The repetitive motion was calming. My hands knew what to do even when my brain felt like static.
“Alexander,” my mother said. Her voice had that particular tone. Patient but final. “Your shirt is backwards.”
He looked down. Lifted the hem. Squinted at it like it might tell him something useful.
“Oh.”
He grabbed the bottom and started pulling it over his head. The fabric bunched. His arms got stuck halfway. He twisted. The shirt twisted with him.
“Help,” came his muffled voice from inside the white cotton prison.
Ethan sighed. The kind of sigh that came from deep in his chest. He stood up. Smoothed his pants. Walked over.
“Hold still,” Ethan said.
Alexander froze.
Ethan carefully unbuttoned the shirt from the outside. One button. Two. Three. Then pulled it off over his brother’s head.
Alexander’s hair stuck up in seventeen different directions. Static electricity.
“Thanks,” he said.
“You’re welcome.” Ethan held the shirt right–side–out. “But next time, unbutton it first.”
“I forgot.”
“You always forget.”
“That’s why you remind me.”
Ethan’s mouth did something. Not quite a smile. But close. His fingers smoothed the fabric of Alexander’s shirt before handing
it back.
I finished Madison’s left braid. Tied it off. Started on the right.
The doorbell rang.
“That’s probably Scarlett,” my mother said. She set down the hairspray. Headed for the door,
Alexander immediately started running.
“Walk,” I said. Automatic.
He slowed. His version of walking looked like jogging in slow motion.
The door opened.
Scarlett stood there in a dress the color of wine. Deep burgundy. Almost black in the shadows. The fabric caught the light when she moved. Her red hair was styled in loose waves that fell over one shoulder. She looked like she’d stepped out of a magazine.
“Hi Auntie Scarlett!” Alexander crashed into her legs. His arms wrapped around her knees.
She caught him. One hand on his shoulder. The other in his wild hair. “Hi, buddy. You look very handsome.”
“I can tie my own tie now!” He pulled back. Held up a clip–on tie. Navy blue with white dots. “See?”
Chapter 410 Morton’s baby brother
+25 BONUS
“That’s impressive.”
“Ethan says it doesn’t count because it’s clip–on but I think it counts.”
“It definitely counts.”
Ethan made a sound from the couch. Soft. Could have been disagreement. Could have been nothing.
Morton appeared behind Scarlett. “Hi, Uncle Morton!” Alexander released Scarlett and grabbed Morton’s hand instead. Both of his small hands wrapped around Morton’s larger one. “Is your brother getting married today?”
“He is.”
“To who?”
“To a woman named Grace.”
“Does she like kids?”
“I think so.”
“Good. Because kids are great.” Alexander beamed up at him. His whole face bright. “Right, Uncle Morton?”
“Right.”
I finished Madison’s second braid. Secured it with an elastic. “There. All done.”
She touched them carefully. Her fingers moving over the braids like she was checking if they were real. “Thank you, Mia.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
She stood. Walked to the mirror hanging by the door. Her reflection looked back. She tilted her head left. The braids swung slightly. Then right. Then left again.
A smile. Small but real. “I like it.”
“Good.”
Scarlett crossed the room to Madison. She knelt down. Eye level. “You look beautiful.”
Madison’s cheeks went pink. Her fingers found one of the braids again. “Thank you.” “Alexander,” my mother called from the hallway. “Come here. Your shirt is still wrong.” “But I put it on the right way this time!” His voice carried. Indignant.
“The buttons are off by one.”
“Oh.”
Footsteps. Heavy. Trudging.
Morton moved further into the apartment. His attention swept the room. Took in the chaos. The scattered hair pins. Alexander’s dinosaur shirt on the floor. The chair in the middle of the living room that didn’t belong there.
His eyes found me.
“You look tired.”
I felt my jaw tighten. “Thank you for that observation.”
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“I didn’t mean- working hard.”
He stopped. His hand went to his tie again. Loosened it slightly, “I just meant you look like you’ve been
“I have been working hard.”
“On the house?”
“Yes.”
He nodded. Didn’t push. Didn’t ask for details. Just stood there. Patient.
Scarlett was watching me. Her head tilted slightly. “We should probably go soon,” she said. Her voice was gentle. “The ceremony starts at three and you know how traffic gets.”
“I know.”
Alexander emerged from the hallway. Third time. The shirt was correct now. Buttons lined up. Tag hidden. Tucked in. He looked almost presentable. Except for the hair.
“Better?” he asked. He spun. Arms out.
“Much better,” my mother confirmed.
Ethan stood. His movements were careful. Deliberate. He smoothed down his pants. Checked his collar one more time. “I’m ready.”
“Me too!” Alexander bounced. “I’m so ready! Are we going now? Can we go now?”
Madison looked at me. “Are you coming, Mia?”
“Yes, baby. I’m coming.”
Her eyes moved down. Taking in my clothes. “You need to get dressed though. You’re still wearing work clothes.”
I looked down. Jeans. Sweater. The sweater had a coffee stain on the sleeve I hadn’t noticed before.
“Give me five minutes.”
The drive took forty minutes. Maybe longer. Traffic was thick.
“Uncle Morton,” Alexander said suddenly. The kind of suddenly that meant he’d been thinking about something for a while. “Is your brother nervous?”
Morton’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror. Found Alexander’s reflection. “Probably.”
“Why?”
“Because getting married is a big deal.”
“But he loves Grace, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would he be nervous? If you love someone, you should just marry them. That’s what makes sense.”
Morton’s eyes found mine in the rearview mirror. Just for a second. Something passed between us. Recognition maybe.
Then he looked back at the road.
“It’s more complicated than that,” he said.
Chapter 410 Morton’s baby brother
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“Why?”
“Because life is complicated.”
“That’s a grown–up answer.” Alexander’s voice had that edge to it. The one he got when he knew he was right. “That doesn’t actually explain anything.”
Scarlett laughed. Soft. She turned her head to look at Alexander. “He’s got you there.”
Morton’s jaw worked. He took a breath. Let it out slow.
“Fine,” he said. “When you love someone, you want everything to be perfect. You want to make them happy. You want to do everything right. And that’s a lot of pressure. So even when you’re sure about loving them, you might still be nervous about whether you’ll be good enough.”
The car went quiet.
Alexander processed this. His face serious. “Are you nervous about Auntie Scarlett?”
“All the time.”
“But she loves you.”
“I know.”
“So you don’t need to be nervous.”
“That’s not how it works, buddy.”
“Grown–ups are weird.”
“Yes,” Morton agreed. His voice was tired. “We are.”
The venue appeared ahead. White columns. Manicured lawns. Gardens with geometric hedges. The kind of place that had been designed to make you feel small. Insignificant.
Cars lined the circular driveway. People in dark suits and bright dresses. Moving in clusters. Laughing. The kind of laughing that sounded performative even from a distance.
Morton pulled up to the valet. A young man in a vest approached. Opened the door.
“Everyone out,” Scarlett said.
Alexander scrambled out first. His feet hit the ground before the car had fully stopped. Then Ethan. Slower. More careful. Then Madison. She took her time. Made sure her dress didn’t catch.
I climbed out last.
The afternoon air hit my face. Cool. Not cold. But enough to make my skin prickle. I should have brought a jacket. Why hadn’t I brought a jacket?
My arms crossed automatically. Rubbing warmth into my biceps.
“Here.” Scarlett appeared beside me. Her wrap–soft cashmere, probably expensive–draped over my shoulders. Her hands smoothed it down. Making sure it stayed. “You look like you’re about to freeze.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re shivering.”
Was I? I looked down at my hands. They were shaking. Small tremors. I hadn’t noticed.
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Chapter 410 Morton’s baby brother
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“Thanks,” I said.
She smiled. Linked her arm through mine. Her elbow hooked around my elbow. Solid. Warm. “Come on. Let’s go watch Morton’s baby brother get married.” 1
