Chapter 6

Ava's eyes widened in shock as she locked eyes with Caleb's equally stunned face, her world coming to a sudden halt.

"Mama!" Aurora called to her mother, arms outstretched, snapping Ava out of her frozen state.

Walking towards her daughter, Ava's expression quickly shifted to relief. She leaned forward, gently retrieving Aurora from Caleb's arms and securing her in her own before taking a few steps away from the still stunned Caleb.

"You had Mommy worried sick," Ava said, pinching Aurora's cheek gently. "Don't ever go off on your own again, okay?" she scolded gently. Aurora nodded in response.

"I made a new friend, Mommy," Aurora said, pointing towards Caleb and bringing her mother's attention back to the man she was desperately trying to avoid eye contact with.

"Thank you for finding my daughter," Ava said quietly to Caleb, avoiding his eyes as she mumbled her words.

She quickly turned around and left with Aurora, not wanting to be in the same space as Caleb for even a second longer. She caught a glimpse of his lips moving before leaving but had no interest in hearing his voice or what he had to say. She couldn't help but blame her bad luck for running into him.

Why couldn't the heavens just be on her side for this trip, just for this one trip? She released a small sigh to calm herself when she saw Chris approaching her with a relieved look.

"You found her," Chris said, ruffling Aurora's hair as she giggled in excitement at seeing him. "Where did you run off to?"

"I was chasing after the balloons, but then I got lost," Aurora explained, her forehead furrowing in a frown before relaxing. "But I made a nice new friend who brought me to Mama."

"Is that so," Chris said, his eyes settling on Ava's slightly pale face.

He couldn't help but wonder if something else had happened while she was searching for Aurora, but he decided to ask her about it at a later time.

Back at the immigration office, Caleb still stood in the same position, unable to react after seeing Ava.

She was the last person he thought he would ever run into, but there she was, right in front of his eyes, much to his bewilderment.

Finally snapping out of his dazed state, he hurriedly stepped out of the immigration office, hoping to catch up to Ava, but to his disappointment, he couldn't even catch a glimpse of her.

After scanning the area with his eyes for a few more minutes and still not finding her or her daughter, he decided to give up the search. He called for his driver to pick him up and drop him off at his company, as he had some things to take care of at the office.

Finishing up his work, Caleb leaned back in his seat, his head thrown back and his eyes shut tiredly as a weak sigh escaped his lips.

He couldn't shake the image of Ava standing just across from him in the immigration office, holding her daughter in her arms.

She hadn't changed at all. She was still as beautiful as he remembered, or even more so – surpassing any previous image he had of her in his mind.

Was she married to another man now? Caleb thought to himself as Aurora came to mind. If she was married, did she arrive in the country with him? What kind of man was her husband?

Caleb frowned, his brows furrowed, as these train of thoughts ran incessantly through his mind. He sat up abruptly, his eyes snapping back open.

Why was he even thinking about her and what her life was like now? He had no right to entertain such thoughts, especially after what he put her through four years ago.

The sound of his phone ringing interrupted his thoughts, and he quickly glanced at the screen. His frown deepened when he saw the name displayed on the screen.

He made no attempt to answer the call until the ringing stopped. The call came again immediately after, and this time Caleb begrudgingly answered it.

"Hey babe," Sophia chirped from the other end of the line.

"Hey," Caleb responded, the lack of enthusiasm apparent in his tone.

"Why didn't you pick up the first time I called?"

"I'm sorry, I was busy," Caleb replied, not wanting her to drag on the conversation any longer than necessary.

"Ok. I'm making dinner tonight. I'm taking my time to prepare your favorite, Beef sauce."

"Hmm. Great. Can't wait to get back home."

Caleb knew she was lying about cooking since Sophia couldn't cook, which was a known fact to him. She was just going to ask the chef to make the meal and lie about preparing it, as she always did.

"Ok. I love you, bye," Sophia said, to which Caleb responded with a small, indifferent 'hm' before hanging up the call.

He dropped his phone back on his desk before running his fingers through his slightly disheveled hair, making it even more messy.

After letting out a frustrated groan, he stood up, picked up his phone, and exited his office.

With her phone in one hand and a towel in the other, drying her damp auburn hair, Ava sat on the bed scrolling through her phone.

After she and Chris checked into the hotel, they both went to their separate rooms. Aurora had been energetically running around the room and even playing on the bed, but after taking her bath, she immediately fell asleep on her mother's lap.

Ava glanced towards her tired, sleeping daughter's face, her small lips parted as her chest rose and fell in rhythm, causing a small smile to creep onto Ava's face.

She sighed as she recalled what happened at the airport. To think she would run into Caleb just after entering the country. Leaning forward, she placed a light, gentle peck on Aurora's forehead.

She hoped she would never run into him again until her movie shoot wraps up, but of course things were not going to go the way she wanted it to.