006:

Lily's POV

The gate rolled open with a soft creak, revealing the mansion that had cost me years of blood, sweat, and sacrifice. I sat still for a second in the backseat, staring at the place I now called home. Tall, white walls. Big windows that caught the afternoon sun. A wraparound porch. The garden was still bare, but the landscapers were scheduled for next week. Nathan was bouncing beside me, practically vibrating with excitement, but I couldn’t move.

Not yet.

Not when my heart was still thudding from what had just happened back at the airport.

Ashton.

Seeing him again felt like a car crash I hadn’t braced for. One second, I was walking out of the terminal, head held high, and the next, my past slammed into me face-first. He looked… different. Sharper. More successful than before, if that was even possible. But that wasn’t what rattled me.

It was the way he looked at Nathan. The way his eyes shifted from me to my son. He’d done the math.

I didn’t know what he’d do now, but I knew I needed to stay ahead of him.

“Mommy!” Nathan shouted, tugging on my sleeve. “We’re here! Look! That’s our house?”

I finally smiled, swallowing the unease building up in my chest. “Yes, baby. That’s ours.”

He gasped like he couldn’t believe it, pressing his palms against the window. “It’s huge! Can I pick my room? Please, can I pick first?”

“You already did, remember?” I teased, brushing some curls from his forehead. “The one with the balcony and the tree outside the window.”

He grinned and threw his arms around my neck, planting a sloppy kiss on my cheek. “You’re the best mommy ever.”

My heart twisted. I kissed his head, whispering, “You’re the reason for everything.”

The driver opened the door, and Nathan jumped out, his tiny sneakers crunching against the gravel driveway. I stepped out more slowly, smoothing down my blazer, trying to keep the anxiety tucked neatly behind my ribs. It wasn’t the time to fall apart.

Two moving trucks were already parked along the curb. Workers carried in boxes, furniture, rolled-up carpets. My assistant, Dana, was waiting on the porch, clipboard in hand, phone wedged between her shoulder and ear.

“Yep, the office furniture goes upstairs. Living room layout was emailed yesterday...check your inbox!” she barked, then saw me and waved. “Hey! We’re making great progress. Want a quick walkthrough?”

“In a bit,” I said, my voice a little hoarse. “Let me get Nathan settled first.”

He had already run up the porch steps, his backpack bouncing behind him. “Which one’s the bell? Do I ring it?”

“You don’t need to, baby. It’s your house. Just go in.”

He gasped again like he couldn’t believe it, then darted inside.

I followed slowly, my heels clicking against the floorboards. The place smelled new...paint, wood, lemon polish. The walls were bare for now, but I had plans. Photos of Nathan. Artwork. Maybe even a piece or two from our old apartment, if I felt brave enough to dig them out.

The living room was already half-furnished. My cream-colored couch was being positioned near the bay windows. Nathan’s toy boxes had been placed in the corner beside his bookshelf. Everything looked like it belonged to someone who had made it. Someone who had built a life from nothing.

And I had.

I stood in the center of it all and tried to breathe. Deep, even breaths. I should’ve been proud. I was proud. But all I could think about was the way Ashton looked at me.

And more than that…the way he looked at Nathan.

That look told me he suspected. Maybe he didn’t know for sure. Maybe he needed confirmation. But if I knew Ashton...and I did...he wasn’t the type to let something like this go.

“Moooommy!” Nathan’s voice echoed from upstairs.

I climbed up, heels in one hand, trying not to think too hard.

He was standing in his room...his perfect room...spinning around in the middle of the floor like he couldn’t believe it was all real. The balcony door was already open, letting in sunlight and fresh air.

“This is the coolest room ever! Look, Mommy! I can see the neighbor’s pool!”

I laughed, walking over to stand beside him. “That means you have to behave or they’ll see you being naughty.”

He gasped. “I’m never naughty.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Okay… only sometimes,” he said with a sheepish smile.

I hugged him tight, and for a second, I let myself forget. Forget the airport. Forget Ashton. Forget the way my stomach twisted when Nathan looked up at him.

But Nathan didn’t forget.

Later that evening, when the movers had left and the house was quiet, we were curled up on the couch eating pizza from the box...our first dinner in our new home...when he looked up at me.

“Mommy?”

“Mmhmm?”

“That man today…”

I stiffened, mid-bite. “What man, sweetheart?”

“The one at the airport. The one who said your name.”

I swallowed the food in my mouth, forcing a calm tone. “Oh, him. He must’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

Nathan frowned, chewing thoughtfully. “But you looked at him like you knew him.”

I shrugged. “I’ve met a lot of people, baby. I used to work in that city, remember?”

“But he looked at me weird,” Nathan said slowly, like he was putting the pieces together.

I smiled softly, brushing his hair back. “People look at cute kids, you know. You’re very handsome.”

He tilted his head. “He looked like me.”

My fingers froze.

Nathan’s big brown eyes stared up at me, full of curiosity. Not suspicion. Not anger. Just that innocent wonder that always came before one of his many questions.

“Do I know him?” he asked.

I sat straighter, putting my pizza down. “No, baby. You don’t.”

“But I thought maybe he was...”

“No.”

He blinked.

“No,” I repeated, softer this time. “You remember what I told you, don’t you?”

He nodded slowly. “That my daddy left.”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

I sighed, pulling him into my lap. He curled against me like he always did, small arms hugging my waist.

“Sometimes grown-ups make choices that don’t make sense. And sometimes, people leave when they shouldn’t. But that doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

“Did he not want me?”

My chest ached. I kissed the top of his head. “He didn’t know you, baby. He didn’t even get the chance. But you have me. You’ve always had me.”

He was quiet for a long time.

“I don’t need a daddy,” he finally said. “I just want you.”

Tears stung my eyes, but I held them back. “And that’s all I need, too.”

He nodded against me. “Okay.”

After a while, he fell asleep in my arms. I sat there, staring at the soft rise and fall of his chest.