When I heard Luke's request, my throat dried up. How could a four-year-old boy understand his mother's thoughts? I never asked him to tell Lucas about this. He was the one who volunteered to command his father. Perhaps he would have seen us before and had high expectations. Lucas inhaled deeply and gulped down. He, too, was probably surprised. The maids, who had heard our son speak quietly, exchanged meaningful looks. I am sure they are curious as well. "Luke, your father is rushing to get to work. You can't simply ask—" "Mommy, that kiss only took a few seconds!" Luke makes a good point, but granting his wish was unnecessary. Lucas now appears dissatisfied. Well, it was not because of me. I am certain he is judging me. Perhaps he thought I was doing it, which is why he tightened his jaw. "Luke, please stop being so stubborn—" I was cut off as Lucas approached me. Because of the speed of the events, I had no idea what this quick kiss on my lips had done. My mouth stayed open. Luca
I decided to stay silent and not respond to what Lucas said. It should come as no surprise that I will lose in our debate. His way of thinking is incompatible with the point of view from which I would like to communicate with him. He also demonstrates emotional strength, and the law should be based on his words. I discreetly ate some food. I refrained from looking at Lucas again because I knew it would bring me to tears. I feel humiliated and unwanted. "Mommy, do you think we could play after our meal?" Luke asked me in the middle of our breakfast; I assumed he was still watching cartoons. "No, Luke. This is your first day back at school." Lucas had already responded to his questions before I could say anything. I pursed my lips. Even though I would like to agree with Luke's request. I now understand that the way Lucas expressed his thoughts on everything suggests that he, as his father, plays a fairly authoritative role in his life. Lucas is the type of man who says what he means,
As soon as Luke and his nanny walked out the door, I was enveloped in a deafening silence. While I was standing at the door, watching them get into the vehicle, I thought that I should just accompany them to send him to school, but they had already left the house. I am sure I will not do anything here in the mansion. Even though I stated this, if they wait any longer for me to change into new clothes, he may be too late for their classes. Luke was the one who got my clothes wet earlier and enjoyed it; now that he can, he looks very happy. "Bye, Mommy!" Luke's expression was priceless as he looked at me through the open window of the school bus. He smiled widely as he waved his hands. I responded with a hand gesture toward him. Don't worry, Luke. Starting today, I will be a responsible mother for you. Even if I cannot recall anything, I am going to try to make things right in my life. Let us make new memories where we are happy. "Bye Luke, see you later!" As the car sped away, I co
I went back to our room to consider what I had learned after taking one of the housemaids on a tour of the manor. I thought back on the few bits of information I had managed to lose. It is obvious that I used to be incredibly awful at them and everything. The cook attempted to send a snack after lunch, but I was so consumed with thoughts of all the things I had to get done that I found it difficult to sit down and enjoy the desserts. Is this who I really am? What if there had been a possibility to exchange one person's soul for another? And I am one of them? Is that even possible? I have a strong sense that I am not the real Adeline. The problem is, I do not know how to explain this to Lucas while I have his wife's face and ring. Personally, I noticed something out of the ordinary. If I were her, I would at least have an innocent heart. What if it turns out that you are indeed this woman? You are simply unable to acknowledge it because you have no recollection. I sighed and laugh
We walked together to the ice cream shop that Luke had pointed out to me. When we pulled up in front of the store, only Luke and I got out because I had assured his nanny that she could wait inside the car. She initially rejected my request, but she eventually gave in and agreed to what I wanted."There is no need to worry. Luke and I are not going anywhere. You can see us across the shop if you look out the car window."She did not respond, as if she thought it was a waste of time to talk to me."Luke, take it slowly. There is no need to be so rushed. This type of ice cream shop keeps a large number of stocks." I whispered as I gripped his small hands tightly. I am afraid I have forgotten him. Luke mentioned to me earlier that we frequently go here to get ice cream whenever he has a craving for it. As is typical for me, I have no recollection of this location in comparison to others. But to pique his interest even more, all I do is nod as if I am remembering those days. The store is
Luke's nanny swallowed hard as if she had a lump in her throat. I will not let her do this. She cannot rule me because I have responsibilities. I am the wife of her boss, not anyone else. My husband is no longer treating me well; will she even take away my rights to my child? That is terrible. She cannot tell me what to do or not do. If she dislikes me, she has the option to resign. I can now provide better care for my child. She did what I wanted while lowering her gaze to the ground. I did not say anything to humiliate her; I simply did not like how she approached me earlier. She remained standing by our side while carrying Luke in her arms. My son continues to look at us alternately. Perhaps he was perplexed by the sudden rise in the tone of my voice. "I am sorry, Madam." I did not respond. I bit my bottom lip as I returned my gaze to her. I believe my words have caused her significant pain. I was furious with her. Her actions will suddenly become erratic without explanation. I s
When I turned to face the store's entrance, it was as if ice water had been thrown all over my body. Lucas was standing there, glaring at us with bloodshot eyes. His lips were drawn in a grim line, as were his brows. He was clearly suppressing his rage, but it was still evident in my eyes. Looking into the corners of his eyes reveals his attitude. Oh my God! Is this what I was saying before? It happened in a matter of seconds after I thought about it. Is this the answer to my question about what would happen if Lucas found us here? I am just kidding, Lord; why did you give easy answers to my questions? Adeline, what will you do now? Think about it quickly! I have no doubt that he saw how that man hugged me. Lucas undoubtedly witnessed that. His gaze shifted from me to Dominic. I can not put into words how much hatred he had on his face. The two of them kept staring at me as if they were fighting for something. I knew I was in a bad situation. The first thing that came to mind was t
"Are you going to make a change over time? Will we be able to mend our broken family? You do not seem to remember who you are. What the heck is this? You did not have to wait long to see him again—it was only one day after you were released from the hospital, Adeline!" he pointed me.His booming voice echoed throughout our room. "How much longer will you make me look foolish, Adeline? Answer me!" When we got back from the park, he immediately brought me to this room. Allowing Luke to enter his room first was a cunning plan to hide the fact that he was mistreating me. The rage that was consuming him at the moment was beyond his control. Because of his rage, both of his shoulders swung up and down repeatedly. He placed both hands on his waist, implying that if he did not do it, he would physically harm me. I know it is only a matter of time before he makes a threat against me. I can not blame him because I was also at fault. "Lucas..." I tried to explain, despite the fact that I knew
ANNIKA POVWho would have thought that all the ordeals Lucas and I encountered in the journey we could overcome by moving to another country?“Mom, hurry up!” Luke got my attention as I looked after them from my instance. “We must take some pictures before the increasing snowfall destroys snowmen,” he continued.My lips parted to give them a genuine smile. It almost reached my ear. My parched and cracked lips became painful due to the freezing weather in the country. The season is winter.“Yeah, I'm coming.”“Be careful, Wifey! You might fall. It's slippery!” Lucas yelled, who was there with Iris and Luke.“Instead of worrying, why don't you come here and lend me a hand? It's dangerous, right?” “You need help?”I rolled my eyes heavenwards. Does that even require to be asked? He could see that I was struggling to step closer to them. Why are the snowmen they made so far from o
The next day, I decided to visit Uncle Elias in the prison. His sentence is life imprisonment, and there is no chance of parole, but for me, that's not enough. He deserved more agonizing and severe punishment for him after knowing what he had done to Annika. He never did anything reasonable in his life anyway.“Why did you do that?!” I yelled as soon as I saw him approaching. If I could have broken his bones at this moment, I would have done it. “What's done is done, Lucas,” he answered calmly. To my ears, it sounded like he was proud. Sitting before me, I hit my hands on the table. If there were no police guard in the area, I would have already broken his neck and killed him. “There's no benefit in any regrets—”“How many more innocent girls have you robbed of a chance to live a normal life? Aren't you ashamed of what you did? You are disgusting! Most of them are minors! Didn't your body even tremble after you did that horrible thing to t
LUCAS POV I was heartbroken, and my heart seemed to break into a million pieces as I scrutinized the anguish reflected on my wife's face. I clenched my fist while I couldn't help but tighten my jaw. I was devastated as I assumed we would have no more challenging situations. But look at this: I was dumbfounded to find out that there is more. Heart-wrenching is the best way to describe my feelings towards my wife, not pity. At this moment, I really want to punch Uncle Elias face until it bleeds and see wounded pain so I can get revenge on my wife's behalf. If I can do that now, I will undoubtedly do it without regret.“Don't do anything dangerous that you will wish undone later, Lucas. Let's just let it go. That will also give us precedence over other information about us within the country. I'm embarrassed to ask you this, but I don't wish everything to get major problem of our family.”I didn't make a reply, but at the back of my mind, I wi
In two weeks of our honeymoon, Lucas and I made the most of it. We truly made the most of every moment, indulging in delicious food and intimate moments, taking some rest, and occasionally, taking a dip in the seawater to restore our bodies for long endurance. We are sole, so having intimate moments was not that tough. By reason of that, on the day that we had got to leave the place and return to reality where our two children were waiting. We didn't have anything to regret. Coming to have a vacation in this place is worthwhile and also priceless, to be accurate. It is worth the price: money, ambiance, and precious time with my husband.“Tell me honestly, Wifey, did you enjoy our two-week vacation? Or was it not enough?”I nodded in response. We are packing our things now, putting them back in the traveling bag. Tomorrow, we have an early dawn flight.”Do you want to have an extension period?”“No, this is already enough.”
So proud of myself. I gave back a cheerful and broadened smile at Lucas for his every word of acclaim. Am I mistaken in my response? I am different from other women because I have him. Why did he respond like that? Does he have a twin without me knowing? It might be as cliche as it may sound, but for me, he was the only Lucas Romanov in the world. “Am I incorrect?” I asked him and was almost about to crack up at his surprising and unimaginable reaction. “I have you, Lucas, which made me unable to be typical of another woman. Is it difficult to figure out?”“Yes, sure. You are right, Annika. I'm only only.” Lucas replied, slightly ripping off my cheeks. Despite the fact that the beginning of our love story was not significant in most people's eyes, I can only say one thing. We both felt love that was pure, even though it transpired at the wrong time with the wicked reasons behind it. Lucas and I were wounded in our cores and separated for quite a while. It taught us countless life le
Seizing for air, my eyes darted away while turning red. I'd instead stare out the car window to cover up my face. Lucas surely knows a lot of gibberish things. He kept getting on my nerves even though it was not his intention. As I spoke, my heart pounded with pressure. I felt Lucas motion to my side, probably to continue what he was doing, but I ignored him. My eyes remained outside as if he was not with me. Unhurriedly, I bit my lower lip to reduce the uncertainty that I felt. My body reacted and heated up at Lucas actions. If anyone else saw that, they might think he was out of his mind and a maniac. Lucas cannot close his pointed tongue and does not know the boundaries about speaking such things. I mentally roll my eyes. He cracked up so hard when he saw my response to what he spoke out. He was very pleased with the unexpected retort he got from me. Consistently, I ignored him. I didn't dare to look him in the eye as I learned my whole being was bewildered.“Don't worry, Annika.
As I expected, Luke's nanny Emily still resided in the mansion. Her appearance did mature but she was still the affectionate nanny of Luke. I didn't know if she knew my real identity because she always smiled at me from the day that we met and every time she made eye contact with me. To think about it, that seems impossible. My face is now reversed. I'm in my real appearance. There are no specks that once in the past five years, I pretended to be Adeline. Not unless Luke who is chatty like Iris, will tell her who I am. In that case, the reason was acceptable. “Mom, don't worry about my sister. I can take care of her too. Just enjoy your vacation with Dad. You don't need to think about us.” Luke stole my attention by expressing that as he rubbed his sister's back presumably to comfort her. “I'm a big boy now. I won't leave her alone or behind. You can depend on me right, Mommy?”“Alright Luke, thank you for your concern. I appreciate that.” I replied and
Our honeymoon vacation is organized for two weeks. At first, I did not approve when Lucas told me to decide which country I wished to go to. To be honest, I don't like to go out of the country, especially without our children so Lucas chose to have a honeymoon on one of the well-known beaches within the country. If we ever go and schedule to have a fun vacation in another country, the children must be with us. In my honest opinion, we don't require this. It's not necessary to do this after all we are already old. I believe the honeymoon is only for newly married couples who don't have children yet. And we are not counted among them. “We already have a child, Lucas. Is that still essential for us?” I appealed to him when he opened up about this concern to settle in. “Yes, that's a normal thing Annika to the couple after marriage. Even if we have a child, we can still do it. There is nothing wrong with that.” “But, we won't be required to
Adeline's parents also attended with so much excitement at our wedding. They never criticize me as a replacement for their daughter in Lucas and Luke's life. Lucas was correct. He already dealt with everything before he set a dinner with his entire family. They cannot stop saying gratitude and compliments for the greatness of my soul. At this moment, I feel like they are genuine for saying those words. They're not acting up just to please me. Unlike when I was in the shoes of Adeline, their words were full of bitterness and remorse towards me. I did not expect that their behavior would not as tough and rough as before, especially Lucas's mother. The level was diverse then.“Welcome to our family, Annika!” she exclaimed, she kissed me on both of my cheeks after hugging me.I just emphasize a slight smile. I couldn't halt my lips from trembling as I was frightened of them on the day that Lucas introduced us. Like even if Lucas told me to calm down because h