Lovely Hues | Fillie AU

Chapter Twelve

As scared as Millie had just been at James's latest attempt to court her, she felt like she had never heard anything quite so amusing in her entire life.

Charlie—her husband.

Finn thought Charlie was her husband. How anyone could possibly think that was beyond Millie's comprehension. They looked so much alike. Talked alike.

The idea that someone had been thinking she and her brother were actually husband and wife was more comical than the time Noah was sitting at the dinner table and somehow got his legs so tangled in his chair that they had to dismantle it to free him and she struggled to keep herself from laughing as hard as she had that day because she didn't want to wake up Phillip sleeping in her arms.

"Charlie is my brother." she said, "You really thought I was married to him?" she asked.

Finn's jaw looked stuck open, "I-I—" he stuttered, "I only assumed because—" he snorted out his nose and started rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, who is your husband then?" he asked with what looked like hope in his eyes.

"Oh, um. . ." Millie said, coming down a bit, "He—well, they—have passed."

Finn blinked rapidly, "They?"

"Louisa's father passed away in forty-three." she paused as she saw Finn's eyes widen. She always felt weird about explaining her life to people because having one husband die and leave you a widow is stigmatized enough, but two—well two was an enigma in its own right. It made her seem cursed. Broken without a fix. But Finn wasn't looking at her with judgement. On the contrary, he was eyeing her with something she felt was more akin to sympathy, maybe even empathy. It occurred to her that maybe he had lost people too, and maybe he understood her better than she thought.

"The boys' father died two years ago." She shared, and Finn took in a long slow breath before responding with, "I'm so sorry, I had no idea." Then his head swivelled and his brow furrowed, "Wait—Caleb. He said his partner died and—"

"Yep." Millie said, hoisting Phillip up her body because she felt her arms going numb, his little head turned and he released a sleeping breath onto her neck, "Louis was Caleb's partner on the farm."

Finn nodded, "And the boys' father—" he pointed toward town, "Gaten said his friend was—" he stopped, looking to Louisa, and Millie was thankful he did. He must have heard about Noah and by his reaction, Millie could tell that he knew Louisa was witness to the tragedy.

"Again, I'm sorry." he said, "I hope I haven't ruined your day by making you think about it."

Millie shook her head, "They're always on my mind but. . .but you've made my day better, actually." a little startled by her words that sounded dangerously close to flirtatious, she added, "James likes to sniff around and this is the first time I was practically alone so you kind of saved me from—well I don't know what, but I didn't want to find out."

Finn looked contemplative as he bit his lip, "Guys like him are like sharks." He finally said, "They're predators that are constantly vigilant and looking for prey with perceived weaknesses." he shook his head, "He sees your losses, and sees your children, and assumes you're weak. . ."

Millie can't disagree. She did often feel too weak. Too beaten down and ragged to have faith that she'd pull through. She was tired. She was sad. She often felt like she wasn't a good enough mom.

"But I can see that you're anything but weak." Finn said, shocking her out of her disparaging thoughts, "I only met you yesterday but I can already tell how strong you are. It radiates from you like waves of might and your kids seem to only fortify that power."