The air in the city felt colder than usual in the morning, or maybe it was because Mia held her daughter's small hand as they walked through the glass doors of the preschool. Her heart was beating so fast that it felt like a drum ringing through her body. Today wasn't just the first day of school.
Today, fate stopped acting like she had gotten away.
Luna skipped after her, her small ponytail flowing and each step bouncing with light. "Are there snacks inside, Mama?" she whispered, as if the teachers might take her idea away.
Mia made herself smile. "Maybe. But you have to be good if you want some."
"I'm always good," Luna said, puffing out her small chest with pride.
Yes, she really was. Too good. Too patient. Too brave. Mia often wondered how such a small person could carry so much sunshine, especially since she still felt shadows that she couldn't shake.
The receptionist took them down the hall to show them the classrooms, the art walls, and the playground outside. Mia tried to understand the information, but her mind kept drifting.
What will happen if he comes?
No. She quickly put the idea out of her mind. At this school, Adrian Black did not have a child. He didn't even know that Luna was real. He was probably in a boardroom, ruining markets and scaring CEOs with his cold, soulless stare.
She was worried about nothing.
At least that's what she would tell herself.
The receptionist softly called out, "Miss Mia?" "Over here."
They walked into a small play area full of picture books, toys, and tiny tables. Luna gasped and ran to the shelf with all the building blocks on it.
"Look, Mama!" she yelled, grabbing some colorful pieces. "I can make a castle!"
Mia chuckled softly. Yes, you can. "You can make anything."
She bent down and fixed Luna's jacket, pushing a stray curl out of her forehead. Mia sometimes thought that Luna was her whole world in one small, hopeful body.
A friendly and cheerful teacher came up to them. You must be Mia and Luna! Hello! "
The teacher's voice faded away as the door behind Mia opened with a soft click.
She felt a strange tightness in her chest.
She didn't understand why she turned. The reason for her turn could have been instinct, fear, or the invisible rope that she believed she had severed years ago.
But she stopped when she turned.
The whole world stopped with her.
Adrian Black was standing in the doorway, looking around the room with a stern and angry look that she knew.
She had no breath left at all.
He looked older—more threatening in his fitted suit and sharper around the edges—but he was still the same person. His dark hair was neatly styled, and from across the room, his tall body scared me. His hard, piercing eyes reminded her of the ones she had drowned in.
And when they hit her, they got a little bigger, just enough for her to feel like she had been punched in the chest.
Mia felt her blood leaving her body.
Not today. Not here. Not like this.
Not with Luna in the room.
Her heart was pounding so loudly that she thought everyone in the school could hear it.
He shouldn't be here. She thought he didn't have any kids or a family. He didn't have anyone.
He clearly didn't have her.
His brows furrowed, and horror flashed behind his normally calm face. "Mia?" He asked, "What?" in a voice that was almost too quiet for her to hear.
But Luna heard him. She stopped in the middle of the building and turned to look at the tall stranger, her small fingers grabbing a block.
Her eyes got bigger, brighter, and scared, as if she were about to understand something her small mind couldn't yet.
Mia stepped forward and stood between them. "Luna," she said softly, her voice shaking, "stay close to Mama, okay?""
Luna looked up, confused by the sudden tension. "Did I do something wrong?""
"No, sweetheart." "Not at all."
As she straightened up, her hands shook. Adrian was now slowly and carefully moving toward them, each step controlled, but she could see cracks in his determination. He looked like a man who had just seen a ghost he never thought he would see again.
"Hey, Mia." His voice was rougher and deeper than she remembered. "What are you doing here?""
Her throat tightened. "I guess you're the same thing."
He looked at her face, his breathing uneven and his eyes wide with surprise. "You left."
Yes, she did. And she never wanted to open the wound again.
She lifted her chin and said, "People move on."
His jaw tightened. "Do they?""
She wouldn't break down in front of him. Not now. Not in front of Luna.
"Adrian, what are you doing here?" she said, this time with a stronger voice.
He blinked slowly, as if he were trying to remember why he was in the building. "My nephew," he finally said. "I'm here for his orientation." "My sister told me to take her place."
Mia let out a breath, and a small sense of calm washed over her, even though she didn't understand why she cared.
Sure. His nephew.
He wasn't here because of her.
But he still looked at her like she was the only thing in the room.
He looked behind her at the young girl who was holding her leg. "And who is—"
"No," Mia said quickly, cutting him off.
He stopped moving.
"You don't get to ask," she said softly, her heart racing so fast it hurt. "Not right now."
Luna looked out from behind her leg and watched Adrian with interest. She looked at him with a sweet, innocent, and sadly familiar look.
She has your look.
Mia pushed the thought away before it could choke her.
Adrian bent down a little so that he was at Luna's height but still kept a respectable distance. He quietly said, "Hi there," in a voice Mia had never heard directed at anyone but herself years before. "What's your name?"
Luna pushed her body against Mia's thigh.
Mia swallowed hard. She couldn't say anything to him. Not like this. Not today.
"Finally, she said, "This is Luna." "We—I'm signing her up."
Adrian's eyes moved back and forth between them, showing how confused he was. He said "Luna" softly, as if it meant something he didn't understand yet.
His voice broke on the second phrase, making it difficult to hear.
The teacher clapped her hands to get the parents' attention before anyone else could say anything. "Everyone! Please take a seat for the welcome meeting!"
The best or worst timing. Mia didn't know what to do.
Adrian slowly stood up straight, never taking his eyes off of him. "We'll talk," he said in a calm and confident voice.
Mia's voice shook. "There's nothing to say."
"Don't lie to me." His eyes briefly fell on Luna, and they softened in a way that made Mia's stomach turn. "Clearly, there is."
She felt her breath getting weaker.
No. She couldn't let him get too close. She couldn't let him see how similar they were. She couldn't let the past happen again, pulling her and Luna into a tornado that she had just escaped from.
But Luna, sweet and innocent, smiled out of nowhere and waved at him with her tiny hand.
"Hi," she said in a shy voice.
Adrian's whole face changed.
It was quick, weak, and difficult to see, but Mia saw it.
The cold CEO has a crack in him.
A brief moment of warmth.
A softness he couldn't help.
She remembered seeing a softness when Luna was made.
At that moment, panic crept up her back.
If he kept looking at Luna like that...
He kept looking at her like he knew something was missing.
He would figure it out.
Mia wasn't ready, though. Not right now. Maybe never.
She held Luna's hand gently. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's go sit down."
Adrian, on the other hand, got closer.
In that deep, strong voice she had never forgotten, he said softly, "Mia, don't run." "Not this time."
Her heart broke a little. "I'm not running," she said quietly.
He looked at her like he knew every lie she ever told him and every truth she never said.
"Then stay," he said under his breath.
She couldn't promise that.
Not when she thought everything was falling apart around her.
Not when Luna's tiny fingers held hers tightly.
Not when Fate walked into a preschool classroom wearing a $3,000 suit and had the same eyes as her child.