Together

Lucas regards her in the car, sparing glances at her every once in a while.

She catches wind of it. "What is it?" She asks him, not grabbing her children's attention.

He shrugs. "What? I didn't say anything."

She's pretty much lost in her thoughts after that. Alicia? A fashion designer that's flying someone down for her show? After backstabbing and bringing her own life a standstill, she had the guts to go and make it? Mika scoffs out loud unconsciously.

Luc looks right at her. "Something funny?"

Mika just throws him a glance and says nothing.

It's a long drive from the airport to wherever they were going.

She snaps out of her head and watches Maya as she paints something on her brother's face, both of the bursting into laughter. She also smiles.

"Wow. I didn't think you were ever going to smile, figured you were an ice queen or something."

Everything in her body unwilling to show any ounce of friendliness to him, moreover, he's still in a way a complete stranger to her. All she knows about him is that he's the father of her children and he's Lucas Santinello, the richest bachelor in all of New York, if not all of the entire country. "Where are we going right now?"

Luc considers her with slit eyes. "Is that even a question? Obviously, you're all going to my house."

Mika becomes defensive. "What? Why? Just lodge us in an hotel, won't we be going back soon anyway? Why don't you just let go of us and live your life? Much happier with a single and pretty woman, who probably has made it?"

"You still think I brought you here for a short term stay? That I would let my children live in such a place?"

"There's nothing wrong with that house. They've been living there since they were conscious. Nothing is wrong now. Could where you're taking us be any possibly better than the home the grew up in..." Her voice dies in her throat as they drive into a very large estate. On every side as the car drives by, there's rows and rows of flowers, different men and women working there in the field. "Is this the way home? It's beautiful." Mika smiles, putting her hands on the window and peeking out like a small child.

Lucas chuckles. "Everywhere from the gate, belongs to me."

Mika turns in surprise. "What? All these flowers? All these staff? They are yours?"

Lucas smiles. "Yes, they are all under my pay. Why are you surprised?"

Mika shuts her mouth, recognizing an argument she can't win. He smirks at her defeat and that feeling of wiping the smirk totally returns. She just rolls her eyes and goes back to the window, biting on her lower lip.

After about three minutes of driving through a large expanse of land, flowers, fruit trees and a lower garden, they finally come through and looming in front of them is a building that takes her breath away.

She gasps in surprise.

"You came from a pretty wealthy family, I don't know why you're so surprised by all this." He states sarcastically as she goes red in the face.

"Fuck you." She says, unable to stop herself.

He regards her with slit eyes and heads out the door. "Oh, I'd love to." He looks away from her like what he said was just another simple thing like a thank you. "Come on Maya, Miles. We're home."

The place is like the perfect definition of home. On the outside, it has every detail of what a real home entails, it has a patio, it has hanging tires and chairs... Just perfect for her children to have fun outside.

Even though it had all of this homely features, it's still taller than most and looks a bit intimidating. She tries to count the windows but she gets lost counting up.

Lucas suddenly shows up behind her. "I have an elevator inside. You can see how many floors and how many rooms I've got in here. Come on, I would love to show you... Well, and the children."

Miles whoops happily, grabbing his hands like it's been petting him to sleep every night for five years.

*

Back at the airport after trying and begging the man from the previous episode but it all fell on deaf ears, Alicia fishes out her phone from her animal skin bag and dials a number feverishly, her hand trembling.

"Hello?"

"Yes? What do you want?"

"Mika is back!"

Lily screams. "What? Are you sure? Where are you? Did you see her? Did you talk to her? Where the hell did you see her?"

Alicia sighs. "I saw her about an hour ago. She was here at the airport. She entered a limousine that drove her away. I can't believe she came back here, that slut."

"Don't call my sister names like that. You don't know where she had gone?"

"I have absolutely no idea about that. I just wanted you to know, something about her seemed... How should I describe it? I'll say intimidating but it's way more than that. Oh, her hair's longer. Wayyy longer than it used to be. She's a little bigger than before too, though not too much, I think she got taller too." Alicia gives her all the tea, trying hard to remember all of the details.

Lily gives a sly laugh all over the phone. "I think it's time to remind all of Brooklyn that the woman who broke the internet then is now back. I don't think she was even here to witness all that happened... Ah, she had been in jail. And don't worry, I'm sure the limo belongs to maybe one of her sugar daddies. I mean, she wants desperately to have something to do with us again. She's to weak to take revenge. I'm sure she wasn't able to get a job because of her criminal record..."

Alicia tuts. "I guess but something about her is quite confident and I don't like it."

"Yeah right. You get paranoid about a lot of things. She's just been gone for five years, what could have possibly changed?"

If only the duo knew... Everything... Every single thing about Mikayla Anderson had changed in the last five years and she's about to bring them all to her knees, groveling at her feet.

Lily sighs. "I have to go now. Carl just arrived and is crying for lunch. Don't call me again today. I have to make a lot of calls, especially reporters and most especially..." She pauses for effect and laughs maliciously. "Mr and Mrs Anderson."

*

"So this is second floor's master bedroom for visitors." He walks ahead and point to a room with silvery painted doors. "That right there, is my room."

Mika notes it and makes a mental note to not ever go in there.

Many dangerous things happen when a man and woman are together.

"Don't worry, I won't jump you." He says without even looking at her. She clears her throat and pretends that she didn't hear what he said. "What's in that room?" She asks, pointing at a door with a flowery patterned door.

He looks there and pauses ever so slightly, then he smiles codedly. "That room means a lot to me."

He doesn't say anymore and just walks ahead. There seems to be just about three doors more in the hall. She'll be happy to get back to see how Maya and Miles are getting with their late lunch.

She hears a sound behind her and suddenly turns, mistakenly, her legs twist into one another and she can literally see the ground rising closer to her face as she gets closer to it as well. She closes her eyes and suddenly, there's a strong hand holding her by the waist, stopping her fall.

"Thank..." Her words die in her throat and she swallows, the intense lavender cologne the man has on assaulting her nose and taking over her senses. Suddenly, it hits her how long she has gone without a touch from a man... It's been exactly five years.

Lucas stares into her startling sea green eyes and all he wants to do to her is something he hasn't done to any woman for five years. In her eyes, he sees consent... And he sees fear.

Suddenly, her body jerks up in his hands and he realizes they are going down together, they hit the ground together, their hips together, their bodies together and their lips... Together.