Chapter 3: A Stranger Once More
2047 Words
The café door chimed.
Anna glanced up from the espresso machine, expecting the usual—a tired mother with a stroller, maybe a grumpy college kid in search of caffeine.
But then… the air shifted.
Time slowed.
He walked in like he owned the world. And maybe he did.
Tall. Impeccably dressed. Charcoal-gray suit tailored to perfection. His thick, dark hair swept back, just tousled enough to be charming. The soft curve of his lips carried a familiar weight—almost a smile, almost a secret.
And those eyes.
Gray. Stormy. Unforgettable.
Anna’s breath hitched. Her hands froze. The world tilted, just like it had when she saw those two pink lines five years ago.
It was him.
The stranger.
The father of her children.
Her heart thundered in her chest, and for a moment, she thought she might faint. But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. Not in front of him.
She ducked her head, stepping behind the counter’s low shelf, pretending to organize sugar packets.
Please don’t recognize me, she silently begged.
But a cruel twist of fate followed him wherever he went.
“Excuse me,” his voice cut through the buzz of the café like velvet and ice, “could I get a black coffee and your cinnamon muffins to go?”
That voice.
Anna closed her eyes. She knew that voice. Not from memory, but from her bones. The way it had once whispered her name against her skin. The way it lingered in the back of her mind every time Eli or Jace did something unexpectedly graceful—something that wasn’t hers.
She rose slowly, wiping her hands on her apron and forcing a polite smile.
“Of course,” she said, keeping her tone steady. “One coffee. Muffins. Anything else?”
His eyes met hers—and held.
A flicker.
He tilted his head, studying her face like he was trying to place a song he hadn’t heard in years.
Anna’s stomach flipped.
“Have we met before?” he asked slowly.
Panic flared.
She forced a quick laugh. “I get that a lot. I must have one of those faces.”
He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe. Or maybe I just wish I had.”
Anna’s heart cracked.
He didn’t remember her.
The most defining night of her life—and he didn’t remember.
She rang him up. “That’ll be five seventy-five.”
He pulled out a platinum card without hesitation. “Keep the change.”
She handed him the cup with a trembling hand. “Your name?” she asked for the cup.
He hesitated. “Sebastian.”
Her world stopped again.
Sebastian.
Now she had a name.
She clutched it like a weapon. A key. A curse.
“Thanks, Sebastian,” she murmured, carefully writing it down.
He lingered for a second longer, eyes scanning her face. Then he gave a nod and stepped back into the noise of the city.
Anna collapsed behind the counter the moment the door closed behind him.
Faith found her five minutes later, still gripping the Sharpie, staring blankly at the name on the cup.
Later that evening, back home, the twins were chasing each other in circles around the couch.
“Mommy!” Jace yelled. “Eli stole my robot!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
Anna scooped them both up mid-chaos and dropped them on the couch with a tickle attack.
They screamed and laughed, wriggling under her arms.
Her heart ached.
“Do you know,” she whispered to them as they giggled, “your daddy walked into my café today?”
Jace blinked. “Daddy?”
Eli frowned. “Where is he?”
Anna smiled softly. “He’s a stranger, remember? But today… Mommy got his name.”
Jace looked curious. “Is he a superhero?”
Anna kissed both their foreheads. “No, baby. He’s just a man. But you two? You’re my little heroes.”
Across town, Sebastian sat in the back of his sleek black car, the coffee cup still in his hand.
His driver glanced in the mirror. “Back to the office, sir?”
Sebastian didn’t respond.
He was staring at the name written on the cup.
Anna.
That name…
It scratched at the edge of something.
A dream?
A memory?
A night blurred by pain and alcohol.
He didn’t know why—but he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Something about her eyes. Something deep. Familiar. Haunted.
He shook it off.
It didn’t matter. She was just a barista in a café.
But still…
Something told him he’d be back.
The morning shift at the café was always a quiet blur before the city woke up—warm pastries, half-hearted coffee orders, and the hum of a broken refrigerator in the back. Anna had learned to appreciate the rhythm, even love it. Simplicity was safety.
She wiped the counter, humming under her breath, her brown apron streaked with flour. The bell above the door jingled, and she barely glanced up.
“Be with you in a sec!” she called, grabbing a tray of cinnamon rolls.
“No rush.”
That voice.
Low. Polished. Strangely familiar.
Something in her chest jerked.
She turned.
And the tray fell.
Clattering to the floor with a crash, shattered ceramic and sugary glaze everywhere.
Standing just a few feet away was him.
The stranger from that night.
Older now. Sharper cheekbones. A tailored navy suit. Power in the way he stood. Confidence in every breath. His hair was a bit longer, swept back, and his eyes… those same stormy grey eyes.
He didn’t recognize her.
Of course, he didn’t.
To him, she’d been a blur in the dark. A nameless escape. A ghost.
To her, he was the father of her sons.
Anna’s mouth went dry. Her heart thundered so loud she swore he could hear it.
He offered a polite smile. “Sorry if I startled you.”
She couldn’t speak.
“Are you okay?” he asked, stepping forward, concerned.
She flinched.
He paused.
Something flickered in his eyes—curiosity, maybe. “You alright?”
“I… uh…” Anna crouched quickly, grabbing the shards of the broken plate, hiding her face. “I’m fine. Just… clumsy.”
A hand extended into her vision. She looked up.
He was kneeling beside her, reaching for a piece of ceramic. Their fingers brushed.
Anna jerked back like she’d been electrocuted.
He frowned slightly but said nothing.
“I’ve got it,” she said quickly, standing.
The manager—Lisa—rushed out. “Oh no! Anna, what happened?”
“Dropped the tray,” Anna mumbled, avoiding everyone’s eyes.
Lisa turned to the customer. “I’m so sorry, sir. Please—on the house. Anything you’d like.”
The man straightened, brushing invisible dust from his sleeves. “It’s alright. I’ll have a cappuccino. To go.”
“Of course!” Lisa beamed. “Anna, would you—?”
“I’ll get someone else to take care of it,” Anna said too fast. “I need to… clean this up.”
Lisa nodded, motioning for another barista.
Anna didn’t look up again until she heard the door chime.
Gone.
He was gone.
She leaned against the counter, legs weak, eyes stinging.
Five years.
And just like that—he was here.
Back. But still a stranger.
Later that night, Anna sat at the edge of her twin boys’ bed. Noah was curled up with a toy dinosaur, and Nathan had kicked his blanket off again. She tucked it around him gently.
They were both five. So full of questions. So full of love.
And half of their DNA belonged to a man who’d walked into her life again without even knowing it.
She stared at them, brushing a strand of hair from Noah’s forehead.
“Your dad was here today,” she whispered into the darkness.
Neither stirred.
“He looked… different. Stronger. Like someone important.”
She swallowed the lump rising in her throat.
“And I don’t know if I’m ready. I don’t know if I can tell him.”
Tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
“But you deserve to know. Someday. You deserve to know who you came from… even if I don’t know who he really is.”
Outside the window, the city buzzed with its usual chaos.
Inside, a mother’s heart broke quietly, piece by piece.
Because the man who had forgotten her was the one man her boys deserved to remember.
Sebastian sat in the back of his town car, the paper cup in his hand already growing cold.
He hadn’t even tasted the coffee.
His mind kept drifting back to the woman in the café. The one who had dropped the tray.
There was something about her—something that tugged at a place he didn’t know still existed in him.
The way her eyes widened when she saw him. The flicker of pain… or was it fear? Her voice, tight and trembling. The way she recoiled at his touch.
He closed his eyes, the coffee untouched. Why did she feel familiar?
He'd met hundreds—no, thousands—of women over the years. At galas, boardrooms, beaches, hotel bars. But none had ever left him unsettled like this.
None had made his chest tighten like that.
“Seb?” his assistant’s voice came through the intercom. “You okay?”
He cleared his throat. “Fine. Just… tired.”
She paused, sensing his mood. “You want to reschedule the meeting with the property investors?”
He hesitated. “No. Let’s go.”
But even as the car rolled away, his mind stayed in that café, with the woman who looked like she’d seen a ghost.
Or worse—like he was the ghost.
Back at the café, Anna couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the day. She kept rewinding every detail of their encounter. The way his voice hadn’t changed. The slight crease between his brows when he spoke. The calmness in his movements that used to make her feel safe—just for one night.
Sebastian.
The name echoed through her, though she hadn’t known it that night. Not really. They had never exchanged names. But she’d learned it later—accidentally—when one of her professors mentioned a powerful young billionaire taking over the firm that funded half the university’s tech projects.
Sebastian Vance. Billionaire heir. Investor. Philanthropist. And now… unknowingly, a father.
She had wanted to reach out to him so many times over the years. Googled him. Watched interviews. Read business articles. Even stood outside his office building once… just to see.
But she never did it. Never made the call. Because what could she say?
“Hi, remember that one night stand five years ago? Well, surprise—you have twins.”
No. She wasn’t going to break her boys’ hearts if he turned out to be just another rich man who didn’t care.
But now he was here. In her world. And that changed everything.
That night, Anna dreamt of him. Not of the man from the café, but of that night.
The soft light in the hotel room. The weight of his body. The way he had looked at her, like she was the only person in the universe.
The dream dissolved into the cries of her boys the next morning.
“Mommy! Noah took my robot!”
“Nuh-uh! He took it first!”
She pulled herself from bed, rubbing her eyes and smiling despite the ache in her chest.
“Okay, okay,” she said, dragging herself into the kitchen. “Breakfast first. Then we solve the Great Robot Mystery.”
The twins raced each other to the table, laughing now, as if nothing had happened. As if their whole world wasn’t about to change.
Anna stood at the stove, watching them, her thoughts spiraling again.
He had come into the café by chance.
But what if it wasn’t just chance?
What if fate was giving her one more shot—one more chance to do this right?
To tell the truth.
To give her sons the full story.
Even if it shattered everything.
- Writer
