The Mistress Who Ran Away With The Twins-Chapter 160: One Step From Breaking

I stayed silent, my grip tightening around myself as if that alone could keep everything from spilling out.

Rome took my silence for what it was an answer without words.

"So they’re asleep..." he said quietly, more to himself than to me. His shoulders sagged, like the tension he’d been holding had finally found somewhere to rest. "I won’t wake them. I swear."

"That’s not the point," I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. "You shouldn’t even be thinking about them."

His brows drew together, confusion flickering across his face before something darker settled in. "You keep saying that," he murmured. "Like you’re trying to keep them away from me.

My heart stuttered.

"I am.." I said simply.

The porch light hummed faintly above us.

Rome shifted his weight, rocking slightly on his heels like he didn’t quite know where to place himself.

"Sylvia," he said softly, using my name like it meant more than just a sound. "I’m not here to take anything from you."

I almost laughed.

"You don’t get to decide that," I said, meeting his gaze fully now. "You never did."

The words landed, putting tension between us. His jaw tightened, and for a moment I thought he might argue. That familiar Rome, the one who always had an answer, always knew how to steer things back in his favor—hovered just beneath the surface.

But it didn’t come.

Instead, he exhaled slowly. "You’re right," he admitted. "I don’t. That’s why I’m standing here instead of knocking on your door."

I glanced at the door behind me, at the thin wall separating us from the children. Cairo’s small cough echoed faintly from inside, and instinctively my body angled toward the house, shielding it without me even realizing it.

Rome noticed.

His eyes followed my movement.

Something unreadable crossed his expression, something that made my chest tighten despite myself.

"You’ve changed so much.." he said quietly.

"So have you.." I replied.

A corner of his mouth twitched, but there was no humor in it. "Yeah. I guess I have."

We stood there like that, two people circling words neither of us dared to say.

The afternoon air grew cooler, brushing against my arms, but I barely felt it. All my focus was on him—on the way his hands flexed inside his pockets, on the tension in his shoulders, on the way his eyes kept drifting back to the house like it held answers he wasn’t allowed to ask for yet.

"I won’t stay long," he said finally. "I promise."

"That’s not reassuring." I said.

A ghost of a smile appeared.

"I know."

He hesitated, then took a small step back, putting a bit more space between us. The gesture surprised me more than if he had moved closer.

"I just needed to see you," he repeated. "To know you’re still here, that you not leaving is real. That I didn’t imagine everything..."

I froze, my fists clenching at my sides. We were the same. I also felt like I was still trapped in a dream, and having Rome here wasn’t helping at all.

"Y-you’ve seen me now, and this is all real," I said. "Now you can go."

"I could," he agreed. "But I don’t want to."

Of course he didn’t.

"Rome... don’t start with me," I warned through gritted teeth. I couldn’t face him. Please—not now.

He lifted his hands slightly, palms open. "I’m not asking to come inside. I’m not asking for answers tonight. I just..." His voice faltered, and that alone made my breath catch. "I need to know if my presence still matters to you—even just a little."

A heavy silence hung between us.

I looked away.

Once, long ago, the answer would have come easily. Once, I would have crossed the space between us without thinking, wrapped my arms around him, let him pull me close, let him decide what came next.

But that version of me didn’t exist anymore.

"You mattered before," I said carefully. "But I can’t remember all that now. It’s all in the past now."

He flinched as if I’d struck him.

"I figured you’d say that," he murmured. "Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt."

"That’s not my responsibility." I said, even as guilt twisted sharply in my chest.

"I know," he said again. "But it still hurts."

Silence settled once more. I didn’t know why, but the silence between us made my entire body tense instinctively.

Rome glanced past my house, and I caught the sadness that crossed his eyes.

"Are they okay?" he asked softly.

"Yes," I answered too quickly that it surprised even me. "T-they’re fine."

"T-that’s good to know..." The words slipped out before he could stop them.

My heart slammed violently.

I stared at him, every instinct screaming at me to shut this down, to end this conversation before it went somewhere I couldn’t control.

He studied my face, eyes sharp despite the exhaustion weighing them down.

I swallowed. "Y-you should leave now... please. Just leave. Now."

He stayed quiet, looking at me like he was searching for something in my eyes. I immediately looked away, afraid he might see straight through me.

Another pause.

Then, unexpectedly, he let out a soft, humorless laugh. "You know what’s funny?"

I didn’t answer.

"I spent years telling myself I’d moved on," he continued. "That whatever we had ended for a reason. I built a life around that idea. Made plans. Followed them."

His gaze flicked briefly to the sky, then back to me. "And then I saw you again, and suddenly none of it felt real."

I clenched my jaw.

"That’s not my fault. And please stop saying nonsense—just leave already.." I said.

But instead of stopping, Rome looked at me with quiet pain in his eyes.

"I’m not blaming you," he replied. "I’m blaming myself."

That caught me off guard.

"I d-don’t understand why you’re saying that. It’s too late for this," I said, forcing myself to look unaffected.

Calm down, Sylvia. He’s just trying to sway you.

"Yeah... I know," he said quietly. "I just want you to know that I thought I had everything under control. For thinking I could lose you once—and survive it again."

The honesty in his voice made my chest ache.

"Rome," I said more softly, "you can’t say things like that."

"Why?" he asked. "Because it makes you uncomfortable? Or because it makes you remember?"

I didn’t answer.

"I won’t push," he said again. "I swear. Just... don’t completely push me away, because it’s hurting me. It’s hurting me deeply."

Even though his voice weakened toward the end, his words were painfully clear.

I looked away. I didn’t want to hear that from him. He wasn’t even sorry—not really—yet he was hurting? He had no right. He wasn’t there when I was hurting the most.

So why couldn’t I stand seeing him like this?

I turned my gaze back to the door behind me, to my locked house, to the life waiting on the other side.

"I don’t want to hear this anymore," I said quietly. "Please just go home. You’re wasting your time here. And if there’s anyone who should hear how you’re hurting, it’s the family waiting for you at home."

"I-I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have said that," he replied. "I was just scared that if I didn’t tell you now, I’d never get the chance again. I already expected that you’d hate me."

"Tsk. You’re talking too much.." I muttered, trying to stay calm before my emotions broke loose.

His gaze sharpened instantly.

"Y-yeah... thank you for your time.." he murmured.

I cursed myself silently.

"This doesn’t mean anything," I said quickly. "It doesn’t change anything."

"I know," he replied. "But seeing you still means something to me."

Before I could respond, a soft voice drifted from inside the house, Paris, sleepy and small.

"Mom...?"

Every nerve in my body went on high alert.

I turned halfway toward the door without thinking. "I’m here," I called softly. "Go back to sleep."

A pause. Then faint footsteps. Silence again.

When I turned back, Rome was staring at me, something deep and unnameable in his eyes.

"... is it Egypt?" he repeated under his breath.

My stomach dropped.

"No," I said quickly. "It’s Paris."

"Paris and Egypt... even now I still can’t tell them apart.." he said gently, letting out a heavy chuckle.

I felt the weight in his tone especially in his laugh and suddenly I felt cornered.

"P-Paris is more mature for her age," I said without thinking. "And Egypt—she’s the energetic one. But they’re both sweet and kind."

I froze.

I hadn’t meant to say that. It always slipped out whenever someone asked—but I hadn’t meant to say it to him.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah," he said. "They are."

Something shifted then, not just in him, but in me.

I realized, with sudden clarity, that this moment was inevitable. That no matter how many boundaries I set, how carefully I planned, Rome would keep circling the truth until he found it.

And when he did—

I wasn’t sure any of us would come out unscathed.

"I need you to leave..now" I said quietly.

His eyes searched my face, trying to read something I was desperately hiding.

"Okay," he said. "I’ll leave. But please—don’t leave again. Don’t run away."

"I’m not leaving," I replied. "I don’t have anywhere left to run."

He hesitated, then nodded. "Okay."

He took a step back, then another, creating distance even as his gaze stayed locked on mine.

"I won’t disappear either," he said. "Even if you want me to."

"I don’t care whether you disappear," I snapped. "Just leave already."

A sad smile curved his lips. "Okay," he agreed. "I’ll leave now. But I’ll come back again soon."

He turned slowly, as if giving me time to stop him.

I didn’t.

At the edge of the darkening street, he paused.

"S-Sylvia?"

"What now?"

"Please wait for me," he said quietly. "I’ll come back. I hope next time... you’ll open your heart enough to talk to me."

My throat tightened.

"That’s far from happening.." I replied.

He looked back one last time, eyes dark and unreadable.

"Okay. I’ll wait for that time."

Then he walked away, his figure slowly swallowed by the dim streetlight.

I stood there long after he was gone, heart pounding, thoughts tangled and loud.

Inside, the house was still quiet.

I closed the door softly behind me and leaned against it, pressing my forehead to the cold wood.

"This can’t happen..." I whispered to the empty room.

But deep down, I already knew—

It already was.