5. I found her

Jensen POV

It was really hard to believe that I had just met Lilian Smith, after I had been thinking about her and looking for her all this time. But there she was, as beautiful and adorable as ever, and despite being away from her for so long, she still made my heart almost fail just by looking at her.

Five years had passed, but she didn't seem to have changed at all, her black, wavy hair still fell heavily over her shoulders, and her penetrating dark almond eyes that always looked at me with such scrutiny were the same—every detail of her face. The small nose and full but small mouth, the angelic and natural face that made me fall in love with her from the moment I met her. But I had lost it because of nonsense… I had lost my treasure.

“I didn't know you moved to Rustburg,” I commented as she and I were alone in that flower shop after her kids and the kids' nanny had gone upstairs.

“I had to start over somewhere, right?” She responded in a simple way, shrugging her shoulders. It was true that after our divorce, perhaps she had felt suffocated in Richmond since everyone had been against her.

That had been bad—very bad. The way I got back at her was ruthless. People plotted against her, making me believe that she had betrayed me, while in reality, it was nothing more than a lie invented by my ex-secretary, who, driven by greed, wanted to separate me from Lilian so she could marry me for my money.

But the point wasn't even all that, the point was that I hadn't believed her word. I preferred to believe that she had betrayed me than in all those years that we spent together living our love, and because of anger, I demanded a quick divorce. After seeing her for five years, I realized that I had made the wrong decision of my life when I divorced her.

“I think the kids liked me. I'd like to take them to the park tomorrow, if you don't mind, of course,” I hesitated with a smile.

But to my surprise, she nodded, giggling too. “Of course, it’s okay,” she replied.

I opened a relieved smile. “It's going to be great,” I added, and then turned to leave, but it was as if my soul wanted to stay, a desire to come up with a thousand excuses to stay close to her a little longer. Damn! So much time had passed, and she was the woman of my life. But I had no more arguments, I had literally been caught off guard there without even considering that she was in that little town, so I just turned around and left.

When the flower shop door closed behind me, I had to put my hands and my knees forward and bend my body forward for a moment to be able to control the release of pressure I felt at that moment. Holy shit, I had just seen Lilian... That had really happened, I wasn't having one of those delusional dreams where I always found her. This time, it was as real as the ground beneath my feet.

"Holy crap! I'm going to end up dying this way…” I stammered to myself, and then, still not believing it, I straightened up and hurried away from her to think more clearly about it and create a strategy to get her back. However, I ended up bumping into a stranger who was in my path. “Ouch! Watch where you’re going, man!” I squeaked nervously.

The guy, a uniformed police officer, raised his palms. “Are you crazy?” He was suspicious, but I just ignored him and hurried to my car, where I climbed in and breathed more calmly, lighting a cigarette and smoking slowly. I picked up my cell phone and immediately called my friend.

“Hello, Jensen? Where are you, dude?” he asked as soon as he answered.

“I found her, Philip,” I sobbed, unable to take it any longer. “I found Lilie.”

Lilian POV

I was still holding my hand on my chest, sighing after my ex-husband left my flower shop, my thoughts distant, giving in to the euphoria of the moment. There was a kind of magic in that, and seeing someone again that we had platonic love for but also intense resentment.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, announcing that someone was entering the flower shop. My heart raced in alarm. Was it he again? Had he come back to say he loved me...? But when I turned around expectantly, I noticed it was just Officer Finn walking in.

“Miss Lilian, I'm glad you're here,” the man said, approaching. “I'm afraid I don't bring good news. Your boys aren't at the lake like I thought they would be, but I've already left a patrol searching the neighborhood further. I’m here to comfort you.” Then I remembered that I had called him moments ago, worried about my boys being missing. "Are you well?" He had a hand on my elbow, his black eyes full of concern.

“Oh my God… Yes, I'm fine. The boys are back, they’re upstairs,” I said.

"Really?" He had a confused look.

“Yes, they hadn’t gone very far. Um… A friend of mine found them and brought them home.”

“A friend of yours? That unhinged man I bumped into outside?” he asked, connecting the dots in his head.

I chuckled. “Yes, Jensen is really unbalanced sometimes,” I commented, clicking my tongue. Jensen was so unbalanced that he kicked me out of his life without giving me the chance to explain myself properly. “Anyway.” I sighed and looked at Finn again. “Thank you for worrying so much, but I shouldn't have rushed in and called you. I'm sorry, Finn. You must have so many important things to do at the police station…” I apologized, feeling a little embarrassed. He must have thought I was crazy.

"No, no. It’s okay,” he replied gently. “This town is quiet, and nothing is interesting. It was an honor to be able to serve you.”

Smile at him. Finn was always great to me, always courteous and protective. He was tall, young, and handsome with a dark and attractive skin color. He was the kindest police officer I had ever met. “Thank you again.”

“You don't need to thank me,” he said, already leaving. “Tell the children to behave. And as for you, Miss Lilian, please take care of yourself,” he smiled beautifully and then left.