Chapter 4: Five Years Later, He Sees Them

“Mommy! Noah took my dinosaur!”

“I didn't take it! You left it on the sofa!”

“I did not!”

“You did!”

Ava closed her eyes for one brief second.

She had been awake since six that morning, had answered twenty-three emails before breakfast, prepared three different lunches, found a missing shoe, settled an argument over a dinosaur, and somehow still had to make it across the hotel lobby before her ten o'clock meeting.

“Enough,” she said, turning around.

The three children immediately fell silent.

Lucas stood on one side, clutching the offending dinosaur to his chest. Lily was beside him with her arms folded, her expression deeply offended. Noah, the youngest by only a few minutes, looked ready to continue arguing his case.

Ava looked at all three of them.

Three pairs of dark eyes stared back.

Three completely different personalities.

One endless source of chaos.

She sighed.

“Mommy has a meeting in less than ten minutes. Can we please survive the elevator ride without another argument?”

Noah raised his hand.

Ava stared at him.

“What?”

“Can I have ice cream after the meeting?”

Lily immediately added, “Me too.”

Lucas nodded solemnly.

“We all want ice cream.”

Ava couldn't help laughing.

“You three planned this, didn't you?”

Noah grinned.

“Maybe.”

Ava shook her head.

“Come on.”

She turned toward the elevators, and the children hurried after her.

For a moment, everything felt normal.

This was her life now.

Not the Blackwood mansion.

Not expensive dinners where everyone watched her as though she didn't belong.

Not waiting for Ethan to come home.

Not wondering whether her husband would ever look at her and see something more than an obligation.

This.

Three noisy children.

Three school bags.

Three little voices calling her Mommy.

Five years had passed since she walked away from Ethan Blackwood.

Five years since she had left behind the woman she used to be.

The first year had been the hardest.

She had cried more times than she could remember.

She had woken in the middle of the night wondering whether she had made the right decision.

She had been terrified about raising three children alone.

But fear had eventually given way to determination.

She learned how to work while exhausted.

How to smile when she wanted to cry.

How to protect her children without becoming bitter.

How to build a life that didn't depend on anyone choosing her.

And somewhere along the way, Ava had changed.

She no longer needed Ethan to love her.

She no longer waited for him to come home.

She no longer measured her worth by the attention he gave her.

She had learned something far more important.

She was enough.

The elevator doors opened.

The children rushed inside.

Ava followed, reaching for the button.

Then a familiar voice came from behind her.

“Ava?”

Her finger stopped.

Every muscle in her body went rigid.

No.

It couldn't be.

For five years, she had imagined this moment.

Sometimes in nightmares.

Sometimes in dreams she hated herself for having.

But never had she believed it would actually happen.

Slowly, Ava turned around.

The hotel lobby seemed to blur.

And there he was.

Ethan Blackwood.

Standing only a few meters away.

For one impossible second, the five years between them disappeared.

She was twenty-five again.

Standing outside his study.

A pregnancy test trembling in her hand.

Listening to the man she loved say he had only married her because he had no other choice.

Then came the suitcase.

The wedding ring.

The hospital.

Three tiny heartbeats.

And the promise she had made to herself.

Ethan would never know.

Never.

Yet now he stood in front of her.

Older.

More composed.

Even more intimidating than she remembered.

His black suit fit perfectly against his broad shoulders, and his expression remained controlled.

Until his eyes met hers.

Then the control disappeared.

“Ava?”

She forced herself to breathe.

“Yes.”

Her voice sounded calmer than she felt.

Ethan stared at her as though he was trying to convince himself she was real.

“You're alive.”

Ava's brows drew together.

“Of course I am.”

“I looked for you.”

The words struck somewhere she hadn't expected.

Ava tightened her grip on her handbag.

“I know.”

Ethan took a step closer.

“Where have you been?”

She glanced toward the elevator.

“I have a meeting.”

“Ava.”

“I really have to go.”

She turned.

“Ava, wait.”

She kept walking.

She couldn't let him see what his voice was doing to her.

She couldn't let him know that five years hadn't completely erased the effect he had on her.

And she certainly couldn't allow him to look too closely at the children.

But then Lily's little purse slipped from her shoulder.

It hit the floor.

“Mommy!”

Ava turned.

“Lily, pick it up.”

“I can't reach—”

“I'll get it.”

Ethan bent down before Ava could move.

He picked up the small pink purse.

Then he looked at the child standing in front of him.

And froze.

Lily stared back at him.

She had thick black hair and dark, intelligent eyes. Her small features were delicate, but there was something unmistakably familiar about them.

Something Ethan couldn't explain.

The little girl reached for her purse.

“Thank you.”

Ethan didn't respond.

He was still staring at her.

Ava's heart began pounding.

“Give it to me.”

Ethan finally looked at Ava.

Then back at Lily.

“What's her name?”

Ava reached for the purse.

“Lily.”

“Lily what?”

“That isn't important.”

She took it from his hand.

“Come on, Lily.”

But Ethan didn't move.

His gaze remained fixed on the child.

Then another little voice called out.

“Mommy!”

A boy came running across the lobby.

Ava immediately recognized the sound.

“Lucas, slow down!”

The boy ignored her warning and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Ava bent down instinctively.

“Careful.”

Lucas looked up at her.

“Mommy, Noah said I can't have the dinosaur.”

“I heard you.”

Then another child came running toward them.

“Mommy, wait!”

Noah stopped beside his brother.

Ava reached for both boys.

“Everyone stay together.”

Ethan stared.

His eyes moved from Lucas to Noah.

Then back to Lily.

Three children.

Three dark-haired children.

Three faces he had never seen before.

And yet something about them felt disturbingly familiar.

His chest tightened.

“Who are they?”

Ava's fingers curled around the children's hands.

“My children.”

Ethan stared at her.

“Your children?”

“Yes.”

“How old are they?”

Ava knew exactly where this was going.

She should have walked away.

She should have taken the elevator.

She should have ignored him.

But the answer escaped before she could stop it.

“Five.”

Ethan went completely still.

Five.

The word seemed to echo inside his head.

Five years.

His gaze dropped to the children again.

Then something clicked.

The pregnancy test.

The night Ava disappeared.

The unanswered calls.

The wedding ring he had found beside the pregnancy test.

His child.

Or...

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

“How old did you say they were?”

“Five.”

He looked at Ava.

“You had them five years ago?”

Ava's heart pounded.

“That isn't your concern.”

Ethan's expression changed.

He looked at the children again.

“Who is their father?”

Ava stepped in front of them.

“That isn't your concern either.”

“Ava.”

“Don't.”

Her voice was quiet, but there was a warning beneath it.

Ethan stared at her.

For five years, he had imagined what he would say if he ever found her.

He had imagined anger.

Accusations.

Questions.

But none of those things mattered now.

Because he couldn't stop looking at the children.

Lucas looked up.

Noah was staring at him.

Lily was clutching her little purse.

Ethan's gaze settled on Noah.

The boy's eyes were almost identical to his.

Same dark color.

Same shape.

Then Noah turned slightly.

The collar of his shirt shifted.

Ethan's breath stopped.

A small, dark birthmark appeared just beneath the boy's collarbone.

Ethan knew that mark.

He had seen it every morning of his life.

The exact same shape.

The exact same place.

His fingers went cold.

He looked at Lucas.

Then Lily.

Each child carried something familiar.

His eyes.

His features.

His expression.

Pieces of himself scattered across three small faces.

Ethan looked at Ava.

She was watching him carefully.

Almost defensively.

And suddenly, the truth he had spent five years never allowing himself to consider became impossible to ignore.

“Ava.”

She didn't answer.

His voice dropped.

“Are they mine?”

Ava's heart slammed against her ribs.

She reached for the children's hands.

“We're leaving.”

She turned toward the elevator.

Ethan followed.

“Ava.”

She kept walking.

“Ava, stop.”

She didn't.

Then he said the one word she never expected to hear from him.

“Please.”

Her feet stopped.

Ava slowly turned.

Ethan stood several steps away.

The ruthless businessman who had terrified boardrooms and competitors alike was gone.

In his place was a man who looked completely lost.

His gaze moved from Ava to the children.

Then back to her.

“Five years ago, you disappeared.”

Ava remained silent.

“You left without telling me where you were going.”

Still nothing.

“You left your wedding ring behind.”

Her eyes flickered.

“And now you have three children.”

Ethan's voice shook slightly.

“Three children who look like me.”

Ava swallowed.

“Ethan—”

“Don't lie to me.”

She stiffened.

He stepped closer, but stopped before he reached her.

“I spent five years wondering what happened to you.”

Ava looked away.

“I survived.”

His jaw tightened.

“That's not what I asked.”

“It doesn't matter.”

“It matters to me.”

The words escaped before he could stop them.

Ava's eyes snapped back to his.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Noah tugged on her dress.

“Mommy?”

Ava looked down.

“What is it?”

Noah pointed at Ethan.

“Why does that man look like me?”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Ava's blood ran cold.

Ethan slowly turned toward the little boy.

Noah's innocent expression held no understanding of the storm he had just created.

Ethan looked at Ava again.

She couldn't hide it anymore.

Not from him.

Not after that question.

His voice was barely audible.

“Ava…”

She stepped backward.

“We need to go.”

Ethan didn't move.

“Are they mine?”

She said nothing.

“Are they my children?”

Still nothing.

His eyes became glassy.

For the first time since Ava had known him, Ethan looked afraid.

Not angry.

Not cold.

Afraid.

He looked at the three children again.

Then at Ava.

And when he spoke, his voice broke.

“Tell me the truth.”

Ava's lips parted.

She wanted to deny it.

She wanted to take the children and disappear again.

But five years ago, she had run because she believed Ethan didn't want her.

Now he was standing in front of her, looking at three children who carried his blood.

And she realized something terrifying.

She could no longer protect the past by pretending it had never happened.

Ethan took one final step toward her.

His eyes locked onto hers.

“Are those my children?”

Ava couldn't answer.

And that silence was all the confirmation he needed.

Ethan's face went pale.

He looked at the three children again.

Three.

His children.

He had missed their first steps.

Their first words.

Their birthdays.

Every fever.

Every nightmare.

Every smile.

Five years of memories he could never get back.

His hand slowly curled into a fist.

Then his eyes returned to Ava.

There was pain in them now.

But beneath the pain was something even more dangerous.

A question.

One that Ava had spent five years trying to forget.

“Why didn't you tell me I had three children?”