CHAPTER 5

HAZEL COLLINS POV

The landing at JFK International Airport was flawless. Trust Caleb to always be perfect at his job. But as the commercial aircraft finally came to a complete halt at the private VIP terminal gate, the smooth, predictable ride ended. The real turbulence of my life was waiting for me right outside my private suite door.

I tightened my grip on the expensive leather strap of my designer handbag, taking a slow, steadying breath to calm the sudden racing of my pulse. "Leo, Luna, do you have your small backpacks ready?"

"Yes, Mommy," Luna chirped instantly, already standing perfectly by the suite door in her bright pink travel jacket. "I packed my coloring books, my box of crayons, and my stuffed bunny. I didn't leave anything behind."

Leo just gave a quiet, solemn nod, adjusting the heavy straps of his dark blue backpack. He stood incredibly close to me, his tiny shoulders squared with an intense, unyielding posture, looking less like a typical five-year-old child and more like a miniature bodyguard. He always took his self-assigned role as the man of our small family very seriously, a trait that both broke my heart and made me incredibly proud.

Julian stepped into our private passenger pod, offering me a reassuring, grounded pat on the shoulder. "The airport ground crew has already cleared our private tarmac exit, Hazel. We get to completely bypass the main customs line inside the terminal. The black Escalade is waiting right outside the tarmac lounge doors."

"Good. Let's get this over with," I said, offering him a grateful, tightly controlled smile.

We stepped out of the private suite and moved in a unified line toward the forward aircraft exit. The first-class cabin was completely empty now, the other high-profile passengers having already disembarked minutes ago. But as we approached the main exit door where the heavy jet bridge connected to the terminal building, a tall, imposing figure stepped out from the narrow cockpit corridor.

Caleb.

He had removed his captain’s hat, leaving his thick dark hair slightly messy from the long hours of the transatlantic flight, but he was still wearing his full, commanding pilot uniform. He was standing directly by the exit door, casually pretending to check some final flight paperwork with the lead purser. The exact moment we walked out of the passenger cabin, his eyes snapped directly to me with an intense, magnetic force.

I kept my chin up, staring straight ahead, fully intending to walk right past him as if he were just an inanimate piece of the airplane's interior machinery.

"Mommy, look! The sky looks so bright and big here!" Luna suddenly giggled, pulling tightly on my hand as she pointed through the thick glass window of the jet bridge.

Caleb froze instantly. The flight paperwork in his hand crinkled loudly as his grip tightened violently around the board. His dark eyes darted from my face down to the little girl attached to my right hand. And then, slowly, his stunned gaze shifted to the little boy holding my left hand.

I felt the exact, microscopic moment the entire ground shifted beneath his feet.

Leo looked up at the sound of his sister's excited voice, his sharp, silver-gray eyes instantly scanning the exit path. For a long, suffocating second, Leo’s gaze locked directly onto Caleb’s. The resemblance was terrifyingly absolute. Leo had the exact same striking gray eyes, the same sharp, aristocratic nose, and the same dark, thick eyebrows that I had spent the last five years trying to erase from my memory. He was a perfect, undeniable carbon copy of Caleb Anderson. Even Luna, with her softer, delicate features, shared those unmistakable, piercing eyes.

Caleb’s breath hitched audibly in his throat. He dropped the heavy clipboard completely. It hit the carpeted floor of the jet bridge with a loud, dull thud, loose papers scattering everywhere across the floor. The surrounding flight crew looked at him in absolute shock, but he didn't care. He couldn't even see them anymore.

"Hazel..." Caleb whispered, his voice trembling so hard it barely carried over the low, ambient hum of the terminal's air conditioning system. He took a stumbling, unstable step forward, completely blocking our path to the exit doors. "Hazel, who... who are they?"

"They are my children, Captain Anderson," I said, my voice cutting through the warm air of the bridge like dry ice. I didn't stop walking until I was just a foot away from his chest, forcing him to either step aside or physically restrain us in front of his employees. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a very tight business schedule to maintain."

"No. No, wait," Caleb stammered, his eyes darting frantically between Leo and Luna, his face completely pale under the harsh fluorescent lights. He was clearly calculating the exact timeline in his head. Five years. The twins looked exactly five years old. The unique silver-gray eyes that ran exclusively in the prominent Anderson bloodline. The realization hit him like a physical blow to the chest, completely breaking through his usual arrogant, untouchable exterior. "They're mine. Hazel, they're my kids, aren't they? You... you had my babies."

Before I could even formulate a cold, biting rejection to push him away, Caleb did something I never thought the proud, billionaire heir of Anderson Airlines would ever do in his entire life.

He dropped to his knees.

Right there on the floor of the jet bridge, in front of his subordinate crew and my own corporate team, Caleb sank heavily to his knees so he could be at exact eye level with the twins. His hands were shaking violently as he reached out toward them, his chest heaving with a sudden, suffocating wave of pure emotion. Real tears actually welled up in his dark eyes, threatening to spill over his cheeks.

"My god... look at you," Caleb choked out, his voice thick and completely broken, reaching a trembling hand toward Leo's small shoulder. "You're my son. You're my little girl..."

But before his fingers could even brush the soft fabric of Leo’s travel jacket, my five-year-old son stepped firmly in front of me and his sister.

Leo pushed Caleb’s hand away with surprising, solid strength for a child, his tiny face twisted into a harsh, protective scowl. His gray eyes flashed with an icy intensity that mirrored my own hardened expression. He didn't look even remotely afraid of the giant, powerful man kneeling in front of him.

"Mister, don't touch my mommy," Leo said, his voice loud, clear, and dripping with absolute hostility. He stood his ground firmly, shielding Luna behind his back. "Don't bother our mommy, or I'll call security right now."