When my phone rang, I quickly answered it—it was Mom.
“Where are you now, child?” Mom asked. I could also hear Big Sister Violet’s voice on the line.
“I’m on my way, Mom. Is Big Sister Violet there with you?” I asked.
“Yes, child. You’re the only one missing. Your twins were asking if their Daddy will be coming too,” Mom said.
I’ve given countless reasons to my children about their father. Sometimes, I run out of things to say, and my twins have started noticing that I repeat the same excuses.
I ended the call with Mom because I felt my chest tightening again. It felt like I was developing heart problems from all the stress and overthinking.
I opened the car window to catch my breath. I turned to look at the car beside mine, and my eyes widened, my lips parted in disbelief. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it was about to leap out of my chest.
My whole body trembled in shock. I felt frozen.
“Arlo,” I whispered.
There was no mistaking it—my eyes weren’t deceiving me. It was Arlo. I could see him.
He was talking to someone on the phone. His appearance hadn’t changed much, just a bit more mature, with slightly thicker hair.
I stared at him, unable to move or speak. My eyes didn’t leave him, and before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face.
“Arlo… Arlo…” I called his name repeatedly.
When he didn’t hear me, I opened my car door and quickly stepped out. I knocked on his car window.
When he saw me standing outside his car window, his intense gaze pierced through me as if he was about to devour me alive.
“Arlo,” I called him again. He simply raised an eyebrow and then rolled down his car window. His eyes reflected confusion as he stared at me. I smiled at him, despite the way he seemed like a statue inside his car.
I couldn’t stop myself from crying in front of him. I wanted so badly to hug him and kiss him. When he saw my tears, his brows furrowed, but he said nothing, as if he didn’t recognize me.
“Miss, are you okay?” he asked in his deep, baritone voice.
“Arlo, it’s Lily. Arlo, please come back,” I said, my heart pounding.
“Lily? Miss, I don’t know anyone named Lily,” he replied.
“It’s me, Arlo. We need you,” I pleaded again.
“Miss, go find someone else to fool—not me,” he said, raising his car window and putting on his sunglasses.
I was shocked when he suddenly started his car. I knocked again to stop him, but he didn’t look at me.
“Miss, you’re blocking the way. Please move your car; we’re in a hurry,” a woman said, her voice sharp with irritation, echoed by others.
Before I realized it, Arlo’s car was already gone.
I stood there, frozen in place, until a police officer approached me and snapped me out of my daze.
“Miss, miss,” the officer called out.
LILY
Arlo drove his car at high speed, and even if I tried to follow him in mine, I wouldn’t have been able to catch up because of the traffic. On top of that, Mom and Big Sister Violet had been calling me several times, likely because my twins were pestering Mom.
Especially Grayson—when he doesn’t see me right away, he takes it out on his twin, Gabriella. Even his cousin, Ethan, isn’t spared from his antics.
Grayson must have inherited his possessive nature from Arlo. At just four years old, it’s already evident. He’s strict with his sister, and I’ve even been called to school a few times because he punched another boy. The boy had a crush on Gabriella.
That time, instead of scolding Grayson, I laughed at his reasoning. He said that if the boy wanted to court Gabriella, he needed to go through him first. The boy refused, claiming they were the same age and that he was taller than Grayson. Grayson didn’t take that well and landed a punch on him.
When I arrived at the school, I went straight to the gymnasium.
