Chapter 3: The meeting.

Daniela stood  by the window,her fingers trembling as she  gently drew back the  curtain . Her gaze fell to the street  below , and her heart skipped a beat when she saw a black car pulling  up to the gate of her house.   Anxiety   gripped  her chest as she glanced through the  glass. When she recognised who it was, her stomach twisted. Alexander . She wished, in that moment , that the  meeting could  be called off but it was far too  late. He was already  here. 

 She turned to  glance at  Noah,   who sat  cross- legged on the living room floor, humming  softly as he played with his toys. The sight of  his innocent  joy only made Daniela's thoughts spiral  further. How would  Noah react to Alexander?Would  Alexander truly  care for his son, or was this meeting just a way to ease his guilt? Her chest tightened as she placed a hand over her heart, willing it to slow down.  The doorbell rang, snapping  her out of  her thoughts. She  moved toward the door, her heels clicking softly against the polished tiles. Each step felt  heavier, burdened with doubt and apprehension.  Pausing  at the door,she placed her hand on the handle and took a steadying breath. “ It's  not about you , it's  about  Noah,” she reminded  herself , though the words felt hollow. Finally, she opened the  door.  Alexander  stood there,dressed  impeccably in a tailored suit that practically  screamed wealth and  power. His sharp  green  eyes met hers,and for a brief moment  neither of them  spoke.

After a tense silence, Alexander broke  it.

“Hello ,Daniela,”he  said, his voice  low  almost cautious. “ Hello Alexander”, she replied in her soft  but guarded voice. A small  voice from behind cut their conversation short. “ Mummy,who is that?”  Daniela  turned, her heart clinching  as  Noah peeked out from behind  her legs, clutching  his favourite  toy car.  His big  brown  eyes, so full of curiosity, darted between  her  and the stranger at the door.  Alexander's  confident demeanour faltered for the first time. His voice  was unexpectedly  gentle when he spoke. “ Hi. You must be Noah”.    Noah studied him carefully, his small hand clutching  the toy tighter. “ Who are you?” he asked, his voice  quiet  but firm.

Daniela  froze. This was the moment she had dreaded yet she knew was inevitable. Alexander hesitated,his polished exterior cracking as he stammered ,” I'm …I'm your dad”.

Noah  blinked up at him, his expression a  mix of wonder and confusion .” You’re my  daddy?” he asked, his voice  filled with child like  innocence . “But where have  you been all this time?”

The question hit  Alexander  like  a blow , his face tightening as the weight of years past settled heavily on him. He had no good  answer. Daniela  swallowed  hard, feeling the sting of guilt as well. She hadn't  told Noah until five years  later which was too late. Finally, she stepped in. Placing a hand on Noah's  shoulder , she offered him a reassuring  smile . “ I dont know where  he’s been,sweetheart”,she said softly.  “ But we'll  figure it out together, okay?”  Noah nodded but his eyes betrayed  the dissapointment . For a long moment, silence hung heavy in the room . Then, to Daniela's  suprise, Noah turned to  Alexander .     “ Do you like  cars? I have a cool one!” Relief flooded  Daniela  has she watched Alexander kneel to Noah's  level.  “ This is a really cool car”, Alexander  said with a small, hesistant smile. “ Will you show me how it works?” 

 Noah beamed a smile  at him . Daniela stepped  back,watching from a distance as father and son connected for the first time.He wasn't  the cold, distant man she remembered. There was something softer, more human about  him than hd used to  be in the past with her before. Later as  Noah wandered off to grab  more toys, he suddenly  cried out, “ Mummy!” Noah's  voice interrupted  her. He ran into the room, holding a drawing “ Look what i made”! Both Alexander and Daniela  were shocked as they  turned their attention to Noah , who proudly held up a crayon drawing of a family: himself, Daniela , and a man who looked like Alexander . Alexander  stared at the drawing, his  expression shocked . “Is that me?”he asked, his voice  soft . Noah nodded” Yes! Mommy said my dad was far away, but I still wanted to draw you”. For the first time,Daniela saw Alexander's  eyes flashed with  uncontrollable  tears. He looked at  Noah” Thank you dear. This …..this means a lot to me”. As the evening  drew closer, Daniela watched Alexander  and Noah interact with each other . She wanted to believe that Alexander had changed, that he could  be the father Noah deserved.  But her instincts  warned her not to let her guard down too quickly .

Just as Alexander was leaving , Daniela looked through the window, her eyes darting to the dark street outside.  She could see a dark figure across the street, their face obscured but their posture strangely familiar , as if they  knew her well. And she couldn’t shake the feeling that  whoever  had been there wasn't just watching, they were waiting  and every  instinct screamed that her fragile  word was about to scatter.

Noah tugged at her hand. "Mommy, do you think Daddy will come back?"

She knelt down, brushing a hand over his soft curls. "He said he would, sweetheart. Let's hope he keeps his word." But her voice faltered.

When she glanced outside again, she noticed something glinting in the moonlight near the gate. A keychain—a small, polished trinket she hadn’t seen in years. Her heart dropped as memories flooded back.

Alexander’s world had always been complicated, tangled in secrets. And now, it seemed, one of those secrets had come knocking.

When Alexander  turned back to her, his  face was grim.” I  need to make a call”, he said and rushed out  as  Daniela  shot the door. Everything  felt so weird that Daniel could not really figure out what was happening.