Private

"Mila!" I called out in panic as I looked down at my baby girl and her eyes slowly fluttered open. I placed the back of my hand on Mila's forehead and found that she was burning up.

When did she get sick? I didn't even notice that she was coming down with something.

Mila's eyes suddenly widened and her hands clenched into fists. Her body stiffened and my eyes widened in shock. "Uncle Charlie! Get the car!" I yelled before I picked Mila up into my arms. I carried her outside before I jumped into the passenger side of the car.

"What's going on?" Uncle Charlie asked me in panic.

"I think she's having a seizure," I told Uncle Charlie, and he started speeding down the road.

"We're going to the hospital right?" He asked me and I nodded at him. "Good cause that's where I was heading anyway." He told me as he stepped on the gas.

I looked down at Mila who's body was still stiff. I started crying while I rubbed the side of her face.

"Mila- look at mommy," I told her through tiny sobs. "We're almost at the hospital; come back to me, baby," I told her.

"Please, Mila! Come back to me." I said, and her body went limp in my arms, and her eyes slowly fluttered shut. Her seizure is over. "Good girl, Mila. Thank you so much, my love." I told her before I placed a kiss on her forehead.

After driving for a few more minutes Uncle Charlie stopped in front of the entrance to the hospital. He honked three times and three nurses and one paramedic came running out of the hospital.

I climbed out of the car and the paramedic picked Mila up into his arms before he gently placed her on a gurney.

They ran into the hospital and I followed behind them. They ran into a ward that was labeled as the emergency room, and a nurse placed her arm around me before she led me into the ward.

"Are you the little girl's mom?" The woman asked me so I nodded at her. "Can you tell me her name?" She asked me and I nodded at her.

"Mila Delacruz," I said while nodding and the nurse rubbed my arm in a comforting manner.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I think she had a seizure."

"Doctor the patient might have had a seizure! How long did this last?" The nurse asked me.

"About two minutes, maybe three," I told her, and she nodded at me.

"Did you get that doc?" The woman asked the doctor and he nodded at her.

"Take a seat, sweetheart." The nurse told me and I took a seat while watching them help Mila.

The nurse went over to the doctor and I started crying in my hands. This is all my fault- if we stayed in Hollowfalls maybe she wouldn't have gotten sick.

I sniffed sadly before I wiped my cheeks dry with my hands.

I felt a large hand resting on my back and I instantly calmed down. It's probably Uncle Charlie. I sniffled sadly as the person knelt in front of me.

I slowly looked up and my breath got stuck in my throat when I saw Mateo's face in front of me.

"Captain." He uttered in a greeting tone and my blood ran cold. He took my chin between his fingers before he made me look into his deep ocean-blue eyes.

"Mateo," I breathed out in shock and my heart started beating faster and faster in my chest.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" I asked him and he smiled at me.

"I'm here to take my daughter home, Hera." He told me and a nauseating feeling settled into the pit of my stomach.

"You're not gonna take her from me, Mateo," I told him and he clenched his jaw at my words.

"Nothing stopped you from taking her from me, Hera. So now nothing will stop me from taking her from you." Mateo told me and I looked over at Mila.

"She's sick Matteo. You can't take her from me, she doesn't even know you." I told him and he flared his nostrils in anger.

"And whose fault is that?" He angrily asked me.

"Mateo, please," I begged him, but he got back up on his feet before he walked over to the doctor.

"I'm Mila's father. How's my daughter doing?" He asked the doctor.

"She's doing better. Sir, your daughter had an extremely high fever and that is what caused her seizure. It is very common in children her age; she does have the flu, so keep her in bed for the weekend. The seizure that she had won't have any long-term effects, but in a very rare case where she does have them again. And as you know, the patient has diabetes so just keep a close eye on her blood sugar from now on." The doctor told Mateo and he angrily glared at me over his shoulder.

"She'll be okay?" I asked the doctor and he nodded at me.

"She'll be fine, miss. You may take her home in two hours after her IV runs out." The doctor told me before he rubbed my arm in a comforting manner and Mateo pulled me into his chest.

"I've got you," Mateo whispered into my ear in a comforting manner and I cried into his shirt as his cologne filled me up with comfort and consolation.

He placed a kiss on my forehead before he held me against his chest, and I cried for Mila's sake because I knew that no matter what- both our lives were going to change today.

"Doctor!" Mateo called and the doctor stopped in his tracks. "I would like my daughter to see a specialist and prepare her for the transfer." He told the doctor and I frowned at him.

"Mateo, what transfer? You're not taking her anywhere."

"I have the best doctors in the country, Hera. And my daughter deserves the best medical treatment so I'm taking her. You can join us if you want or you can stay here." He pointedly told me, and I signaled for the doctor to leave, and he nodded at me before disappearing down the hallway.

"The days where I obeyed you are long gone, Mateo. I don't need you or your doctors." I angrily told him and he quietly watched me through narrowed eyes.

"Walk with me." He instructed before walking ahead of me and I hesitantly followed him down the hallway. We quietly stepped into the elevator and he punched in the button to the top floor. His delicious and familiar cologne filled my nostrils.

I looked over at him and examined his beautiful face. His deep blue eyes were reading the time on his watch and his eyebrows were perfectly pulled together. My eyes sinfully roamed over his lips and his neatly trimmed beard. I felt my ears heating up and quickly looked away from him before he could notice that I was staring at him.

He looks and smells exactly like he used to. He hasn't changed one thing about himself. And why would he? He's always been perfect and he knows it.

I saw him turning to face me out of the corner of my eye but I didn't dare look up at him. He didn't look away he just kept staring at me.

I finally mustered up all my courage to face him and looked up at him. I found him biting into his bottom lip while staring at my legs and only then did I realize that I was still wearing my skimpy waitering uniform from the diner. He even adjusted himself against the armrest in the elevator to get a better look at me and I felt my cheeks turning red.

He took in a deep breath before removing his gaze from me and I just quietly watched him in confusion. The elevator made a dinging sound before it stopped at the top floor and Mateo and I walked out together.

He led us to a remote room at the end of the hallway and I frowned at him. We entered a dark room that turned out to be an empty office once Mateo switched on the light.

"Where are we?" I asked him.

"Somewhere private." He muttered under his breath and I felt nervous butterflies in my chest as he closed the door behind us.

What does he want from me? And why can't I say no to him or just scream for help? How does he still have this effect on me? After everything that he's done to me. After all these years.