I Raised His Dead Mistress's Twins - Chapter 1: Chapter 1

The wedding venue was all lace and roses when Theo dropped the bomb. Cradling his late first love's twins in his arms, he gave me that pleading look I'd come to know too well. "Mira died bringing these kids into the world. They need us, Zara. You of all people understand family, don't you?"
On our livestream, I forced a nod, my face bloodless.
Cut to a year later: my hand resting on the gentle swell of my belly, watching Theo's expression curdle like spoiled milk.
"Get rid of it. I made a promise to Mira—no kids of our own for three years." His voice softened into that patronizing tone. "You're young. We'll try again later."
"Later" never came. Eight years passed without another pregnancy.
I poured everything into raising those twins as my own. Until the day I came home early to prep for their birthday and found Mira—very much alive—nuzzled against Theo's chest.
"Thanks to Theo swapping her birth control," Mira giggled, "we got a free nanny for nine years."
Their laughter wrapped around me like barbed wire as Theo caressed her pregnant belly. "Karma's a bitch for stealing your engagement."
"Nine years of romantic getaways while she played house," Mira sighed contentedly. "And now baby number three on the way."
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, their silhouettes merged in the moonlight. I spent that night shivering on the doorstep, phone pressed to my ear.
"Draw up the papers. I'll sign whatever you want."
The house fell dead silent when I walked in. Their stares made me feel like I'd crashed someone else's family reunion.
Theo recovered first. "You're back? Perfect—go make up the guest room." He gestured to Mira like presenting a prize. "Turns out her accident wasn't fatal. Sisters reunited, right?"
The chorus came fast:
"Come on, sis-in-law, you stole the engagement. You're not gonna make her homeless now, are you?"
"Everyone always knew Mira was the real Mrs. Arden. Without her 'death,' you'd still be that country mouse nobody wanted." Their eyes snagged on the ruined cake in my hands.
"Classy. Shows how much she cares about 'her' kids."
Mira chose that moment to collapse at my feet in a performance worthy of an Oscar. "I know you hate me," she sobbed, all trembling lips and doe eyes. "But I just want to be near my babies..."
Theo's jaw tightened. "Zara, enough! The past is the past!"
The past. I repeated it like a curse climbing the stairs.
The past where she starved me down to ninety pounds in high school.
The past where she plagiarized my thesis and got me expelled.
The past where she framed my adoptive mother for embezzlement, leaving her drowning in debt.
I pushed open the bedroom door—and nearly had a heart attack. The twins were shredding the last photo I had of Mom.
"Zayn! Zane! Stop!"
I lunged, but one stuck out a foot. As I hit the floor, I watched them stomp the fragments to dust.
"Yucky old mommy! We want the new one!"
My Beaufort pilgrimage charm swung mockingly from my neck as Zane sprayed me with rose perfume. Instant fire spread across my face—my throat swelling shut.
Through blurring vision, I saw Zayn dangle my EpiPen. "Please..." I wheezed, fingers scraping carpet.
His grin turned feral. With a magician's flourish, he tossed it into the toilet.