Chapter Eight: A Familiar Stranger
1581 Words
*Alexander's POV*
Today, I was supposed to pick up an important client from the airport.
However, by the time I arrived, I received a call informing me that they had canceled their trip.
They should have notified me earlier. What I hate most is having my time wasted.
Time is money.
Already irritated, I asked my driver to pull over near a supermarket so I could buy a few things. Instead, I was greeted by three beautiful children.
"Are you our dad?" the little girl asked, looking at me with innocent eyes.
"You shouldn't ask strangers questions," one of the boys scolded her. He was skinny, and yellow and blue bruises covered parts of his arms and legs.
I used to bruise easily when I was little.
My sister never did.
"He's not a stranger," the little girl argued. "Mommy said a black car would come to pick us up. Besides..." she grinned, "...he's handsome. Perfect for Mommy."
Meanwhile, the other boy kept glancing between me and the sickly-looking child, as though comparing our faces.
He looked genuinely curious.
I simply watched them argue over whether I was a stranger or not.
Maybe they were children who had grown up without a father. Or maybe their mother had deliberately sent them here to claim I was their father.
Women who gave birth out of wedlock sometimes tried desperate tricks like that.
Find a wealthy man. Claim he fathered their children. Then live off him.
Unfortunately... That trick wouldn't work on me.
"Boss," my driver, Fred, suddenly said, "that little boy looks exactly like you when you were young."
I looked again.
He wasn't wrong. All three children resembled me somehow. Especially the frail-looking boy.
"Where's your mother?" I finally asked.
"She went to buy Finn a bottle of water," the boy who had been observing me said politely.
"Who's Finn?"
All three pointed toward the sickly boy. He shyly pointed at himself.
"And what's your name?"
"My name is Evan," he answered.
"My sister is Mia."
They were surprisingly polite.
Bright, too.
"You see..."
Before I could finish speaking, a woman hurried over holding a bottle of water.
She must be their mother.
"Is this how you raise your children?" I asked coldly.
"They're getting into a stranger's car."
What if I had been a kidnapper?
Did she really think it was safe to leave three children alone? Or... Was this all part of her plan?
"I'm sorry, sir," she apologized immediately while motioning for the children to get out.
"Mummy..." Evan looked at me again.
"Is he our dad? He looks like Finn."
I knew it.
This had to be planned.
I expected her to agree.
Instead... She remained silent.
I scoffed.
"Oh..."
"So they're fatherless."
"No wonder they have such poor manners."
The little girl's face immediately fell.
"Don't say that about us!" She cried.
The moment the words left my mouth... I regretted them.
Before I could apologize, the woman glared at me. "Just because they mistook you for someone else doesn't give you the right to insult my children."
Even the sickly boy frowned at me.
"We don't want you to be our daddy either."
The three children climbed out of the SUV and ran to their mother.
She hugged them tightly, gently wiping away Mia's tears.
For some reason... The scene stirred something inside me.
I couldn't stop staring at Finn. Eventually, I asked Fred to drive away.
As the SUV pulled into traffic, I kept replaying the encounter in my mind.
If the woman I slept with five years ago had gotten pregnant... The children would be about this age.
Liana wasn't pregnant.
So maybe... These children really weren't mine.
Then why did I keep wishing they were?
For the past five years, I had searched for the woman from that night.
The only person I found was Liana.
After my secretary posted online that I was searching for someone, she came forward claiming she was the woman I'd spent that night with.
She even produced the necklace I had accidentally left behind. She also had the black bank card I gave the woman before leaving.
According to her, she had never spent the money because she couldn't bring herself to touch it.
I never fully believed her. Even now, I didn't.
She didn't smell like the woman I remembered.
She didn't have the birthmark on her left shoulder either.
Still...
She had both my necklace and my card. That meant she had to know something.
But today's woman...
She smelled the same.
The fragrance was faint, but unmistakably familiar. Could she be the woman from five years ago?
No... It had to be a coincidence.
I should have looked at her face more carefully that morning. Unfortunately, I had been in a hurry.
I had an important meeting scheduled for 6:30 a.m. And after five years...
My memory of her face had become nothing more than a blur.
"Ugh..." I rubbed my forehead.
The rest of the drive passed in silence.
When we arrived at the company, I stopped before getting out.
"Fred."
"Yes, Boss?"
"I want you to reopen the investigation into what happened five years ago."
He looked surprised through the rearview mirror.
"But, Boss... I thought we'd already found her."
"I don't think Liana is the woman." I adjusted my tie.
"Didn't the hotel refuse to release the CCTV footage because of privacy policies?" Fred asked.
"They did."
"Then offer them whatever amount they want." I stepped out of the car.
"Everyone has a price." Fred nodded.
"Understood."
"Oh, and check the hallway footage as well."
"Yes, Boss."
With that, I walked toward the company's headquarters to review the finance team's preparations for the upcoming bidding project.
******************************
*Nina's POV*
The ride home was anything but quiet.
The children chatted excitedly with Zoe, telling her stories about school and Uncle Daniel.
Meanwhile, I remained lost in thought.
That man...
His scent had been strangely familiar.
After leaving my father's house five years ago, I couldn't find the necklace and the black card from that hotel room, and it didn't bother me either.
The only thing I kept was the small note containing the card's PIN.
Could he be the man from that night?
No. That couldn't be possible.
Maybe he simply wore the same cologne.
"What gave him the right to speak to us like that?" I muttered.
"Just because he's rich doesn't mean he gets to insult people." I accidentally said the last part aloud.
"What's wrong?" Zoe asked immediately.
"Nothing."
I sighed.
"I just had an unpleasant encounter with an arrogant rich man."
The children were now busy watching cartoons on the tablet Zoe had handed them.
"What happened?" she asked.
I told her everything.
By the time I finished, her grip on the steering wheel had tightened.
"You should've called me immediately," she said.
"I would've dealt with him myself." I smiled weakly.
"I know you would." "But I'm exhausted after the flight. I don't want any more trouble." To change the subject, I asked,
"How's the company? Last time we spoke, you mentioned an important bidding project."
Zoe let out a tired sigh.
"We're working around the clock on it." She slowed down before making a U-turn.
"We desperately need this contract if we're going to save the company." Her voice grew heavier.
"You know we're on the verge of bankruptcy."
I looked at her in shock.
"After we failed to secure the Carter Global's contract, several competitors began targeting us." She forced out a bitter laugh.
"Some companies have even filed lawsuits, accusing us of selling counterfeit products."
"I'm so sorry, Zoe." I lowered my head.
"I wish there were something I could do to help." She smiled gently.
"This isn't your burden, sweetheart." She paused. "I'll figure something out." I nodded.
But deep inside... I had already made up my mind.
Zoe had sacrificed so much for me over the years. I couldn't keep depending on her forever.
I needed a job.
Not only to support myself and my children... But to help the one person who had never abandoned me.
Before long, we arrived at Zoe's mansion.
Nothing had changed. It was just as beautiful as I remembered.
The children stared at the enormous house in amazement.
"Wow!" Mia exclaimed. "This house is beautiful!"
"And it's huge!" Evan added.
"Aunty Zoe..." Finn looked up at her. "Are we going to live here?"
Zoe bent down and gently stroked his hair.
"Yes, sweetheart."
After the children settled into their room, which I would also be sharing with them, I went to find Zoe.
She was sitting in her bedroom, surrounded by files and documents, typing rapidly on her laptop.
"I want to start looking for a job," I said.
She looked up.
"You don't have to worry about that."
"I can take care of you and the kids."
I shook my head.
"I can't keep relying on you forever."
"I'm a university graduate now."
"I need to work."
She studied me for a moment before smiling.
"If that's what you really want..."
"It is."
She nodded.
I smiled gratefully.
I couldn't ask my father for help. After two years, he had completely cut me off. Even the small company shares he had left me were gone.
Didn't he feel even the slightest bit of sympathy?
I stayed with Zoe for a while before heading to bed.
The next morning...
I officially began my job hunt.
- Writer
