Chapter 5

Compared to little Kaia, who was all bright-eyed and giggly, Kai seemed far more composed as he carefully observed his mother, who had just walked in. He smoothly pulled out a chair for her, showing a maturity that was almost startling in someone his age, and poured her a cup of warm milk.

“Mom, when did you get back?” he asked, studying her with that same serious expression that made him look like a mini-adult. “Didn’t you say your flight was delayed because of the weather?”

Ella chuckled. Her son always had a way of getting to the heart of things, didn’t he?

“Well,” she teased, giving him a mischievous grin. “I actually borrowed a plane from a friend and flew back overnight myself. Impressive, right?”

Kai's eyes went wide with shock. His mouth opened slightly, looking both amazed and doubtful at the same time, as he tried to wrap his head around the idea of his mom piloting her way across the night sky.

She couldn’t resist ruffling his hair, holding back her laughter. “I’m just kidding, sweetheart. My boss helped me fly back early.” She winked at him, enjoying the rare moment when she actually managed to catch her sharp son off guard.

Kai's lips pressed into a small, thoughtful line. He glanced at her suspiciously but didn’t argue. Even as brilliant as he was, Mom’s little jokes always got to him. Maybe that’s what love did—it made you gullible, even when you knew better.

As Ella took a deep breath, looking at the two children in front of her, a sense of peace washed over her. She hadn’t been with them nearly enough, but here they were—so considerate, so caring. After the cozy dinner, she decided it was time for a shopping trip. She planned to spoil her babies with some new clothes from the nearby mall.

But to her surprise, both kids looked up, shaking their heads.

“No, Mom, we’re okay. I don’t really like wearing new clothes anyway,” said Kai with a small smile.

Kaia chimed in, her eyes earnest and wide. “Grandma told us you work really hard to make money for us while you’re abroad. You should spend the money on yourself!”

Listening to her daughter’s sweet, heartfelt words, Ella’s heart clenched. She blinked back a few tears. These kids were so smart and caring, and even though they were so young, they understood things that most adults didn’t. It was clear to her that Lila's parents had done a beautiful job raising them.

Ella felt a pang of guilt as she thought about Lila's mother, who had doubted her and left the children at the appraisal center. She couldn’t really blame her; after all, she had pretended to be Lila in the first place.

“Silly girl,” she said softly, pulling Kaia close. “Grandma only said that to make sure you didn’t spend money too easily. Don’t worry about me—I have enough to keep us all happy.” She smiled, hoping to ease her daughter’s concerns.

“Really?” Kaia asked, looking skeptical, still clutching onto her mother.

“Absolutely,” Ella reassured her with a nod. “When has Mommy ever lied to you?”

Finally convinced, Kaia's face lit up, and she allowed herself to be led into the children’s clothing store, her reluctance fading. After picking out a few adorable dresses for Kaia, they made their way over to the boys’ section. Ella’s eyes sparkled as she spotted a smart little suit displayed on a mannequin. She was just about to ask the sales assistant to bring it down for Kai to try on when a young girl's voice interrupted her.

“Daddy! I want this suit! Can you buy it for me?”

The familiar voice sent a shiver down her spine, and she froze. Oh, no. Not him.

Sure enough, as she turned, her gaze landed on none other than Lucas, looking just as infuriatingly composed as ever, as if he’d strolled out of some magazine cover and into her worst day.

“You can’t wear that suit,” she heard him say to the boy with a dismissive tone. “Let’s find something else.”

Ella instantly felt her shoulders tense. Him. Again. She took a deep breath and whispered to her kids, “Mommy may have dropped her earrings at KFC. How about we go find them and come back later?”

Ella nodded, always happy to be on the move, but Kai had noticed the man behind them. His sharp eyes traveled from Lucas to his son and back, and a faint frown appeared on his small, serious face. Just as he was about to follow his mother out, the boy called out in excitement.

“Daddy! Look at that little boy! He looks just like you!”

Ella practically cringed. Oh, great.

She tried to speed up her exit, but unfortunately, Lucas had already spotted her. “Miss Kane?” he called, his voice ringing out across the store.

Desperate, Ella kept walking, hoping to disappear into the crowd, but he caught up with her in no time.

“Miss Kane,” he repeated, his voice mocking. “Are you going to pretend not to know me? Last I checked, you left something in my plane’s cockpit.”

Ella stopped, her face coloring in frustration. Her two kids looked up at her with curious expressions, and Kaia's eyes sparkled with newfound admiration.

“Mommy, you can fly a plane? That’s amazing!”

Kai, on the other hand, looked thoughtful. So this was the mysterious “friend” his mother had mentioned? But why did she seem like she wanted to get as far away from this friend as possible?

Ella forced a smile and turned to face Lucas, her voice dripping with forced politeness. “Mr. Lucas! Fancy meeting you here.” She tried to sound casual, but her irritation was clear.

He grinned, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Quite a coincidence indeed.”

His gaze drifted down to the children, particularly to Kaia. For a moment, he studied the boy’s face as if looking for something familiar. Kaia met his gaze calmly, but after a moment, Lucas shrugged as if deciding there wasn’t anything remarkable after all.

“Well,” he said with a smirk, “I didn’t realize you had two kids, Miss Kane. Quite the surprise.”

ELLA raised an eyebrow, matching his smug tone. “And I didn’t realize Mr. Lucas was about to tie the knot soon.”

That wiped the smirk right off his face. “Who told you that?”

She blinked, feigning innocence. “Oh, you know… magazines. Your engagement’s all over the news.”

The articles she’d seen on her way home had plastered him and his childhood sweetheart on every cover, romanticizing their “decade-long saga.” Funny, none of them mentioned the broken wife left behind.

“Interesting that you’re keeping up with tabloid gossip instead of doing real reporting,” he scoffed, narrowing his eyes.

Before she could snap back, his phone buzzed. He looked down at the caller ID and seemed to hesitate. “Theo,” he said to his son, “I have to take this call. Why don’t you stay here with this nice lady and her children?”

Ella’s jaw dropped. This guy. Really?

Before she could refuse, he’d already disappeared with his phone, leaving her with the wide-eyed, grinning Theo.

Theo glanced at Kaia, he excitement barely contained. “Wow, you look so much like my dad!”

“But you’re so much younger…” He paused, his eyes wide with a mischievous sparkle. “Should I call you little Daddy then?”

Ella, mid-sip from a bottle of water, nearly spat it out.

She must say that.....Both Amy and her son both have fish brain!!