4
1013 Words
(Yasmine’s POV)
The café was already buzzing with early morning customers, businesspeople grabbing their caffeine fix before heading to their offices, college students hunched over laptops, and a few elderly regulars who always lingered with their morning pastries.
I stood behind the counter, fighting back a yawn as I wiped down the espresso machine.
Another long night. Another early morning.
This was my life now.
I wasn’t a medical student anymore. That dream had been buried the day I left New York. Now, I was just a barista, a single mother trying to make ends meet.
But I wouldn’t change it. Not for anything.
A giggle rang out from the corner of the café, pulling my attention. Danny and Lilly sat at their usual spot by the window, their small legs swinging beneath the chairs, their hands sticky from the pastries Ryder had snuck them earlier.
Danny, with his unruly dark curls and mischievous grin, was whispering something to his sister. Lilly, more reserved but just as sharp, rolled her eyes before breaking into a soft smile.
My heart clenched. They were growing up so fast.
Seven years. Seven years since I had left everything behind.
Seven years since I had made the hardest choice of my life.
I pressed a hand against my stomach, an old habit from when I was pregnant with them.
I had struggled, worked three jobs at one point just to afford diapers and formula. I had cried myself to sleep some nights, terrified that I wouldn’t be able to provide for them.
But I did.
And I would keep doing it, no matter how hard it got.
Because they were worth everything.
"Yas!"
I blinked, turning to see Ryder walking in from the back, a grin on his face as he gestured toward the clock. "Your shift’s over. Go enjoy your day off."
I sighed, too tired to argue. "Are you sure?"
He gave me a look. "I think I can handle a coffee shop without you for one day."
I smiled, untying my apron. "Alright, alright. You win."
Ryder had been there since the beginning, from the moment I first arrived in Los Angeles, lost, broken, and pregnant. He gave me my first job, helped me find a small apartment, and even watched the twins when I needed an extra shift.
I knew how he felt about me. He never said it outright, but it was in the way he looked at me, in the way he always showed up when I needed someone.
But my heart wasn’t something I could offer. Not anymore.
Not after Leo.
"Mommy, do we get ice cream today?"
Danny was already bouncing beside me as we walked home, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Yeah! You said!" Lilly added, crossing her arms in challenge.
I chuckled, shaking my head. "Did I?"
Danny nodded furiously. "Uh-huh. You promised, remember?"
Lilly, ever the logical one, narrowed her eyes. "Well, you kind of said maybe, and Danny took that as a yes."
I sighed, playfully ruffling Danny’s curls. "Alright, alright. Ice cream it is."
Danny cheered. Lilly gave a small victorious smirk.
I loved watching them together. They balanced each other so well—Danny was wild and fearless, while Lilly was cautious and wise beyond her years.
"Mommy," Lilly said suddenly, her small voice thoughtful. "Are we ever gonna have a daddy?"
The question hit me like a punch to the stomach.
I slowed my steps, keeping my expression neutral.
We had this conversation before. Not often, but enough.
"He’s gone, baby," I said gently.
Danny frowned. "Gone where?"
I swallowed, kneeling down so I was at their level. How do you explain to two six-year-olds that their father never even knew they existed?
"Sometimes… people leave," I said carefully. "And they don’t come back."
Lilly studied me with her sharp, intelligent eyes. She was always watching, always sensing when I was holding something back.
Danny, on the other hand, just shrugged. "Okay!"
I let out a slow breath. That was enough for now.
Meanwhile…
Across the city, Leo Gray stepped off his private jet, loosening the cuffs of his designer suit as he scanned the familiar skyline of Los Angeles.
It had been years since he had been back.
Years since he had left behind a life he didn’t care to remember.
He was older now. Wiser. Richer than ever.
And yet, there was an odd feeling curling in his chest. Something unresolved.
Mason, his personal assistant, fell into step beside him.
"Welcome home," Mason said.
Leo barely acknowledged it.
Home.
Los Angeles hadn’t been home for a long time.
His mind drifted, just for a second, to a memory buried so deep he rarely let it surface.
A girl with dark curls and bright eyes. A girl who once looked at him like he was her whole world.
Yasmine.
The name sat heavy on his tongue, but he pushed it away.
She was in the past.
And Leo Gray never looked back.
Later that night, after the twins had fallen asleep, I sat by the small window in our apartment, staring out at the city lights.
I still dreamed of finishing school. Of wearing a doctor’s coat instead of a barista’s apron.
But dreams didn’t pay the bills.
I reached for the pile of unopened letters on the table—bills, medical school pamphlets, and one marked "Eviction Notice."
My heart clenched.
I needed more money.
I needed to figure out how to give my kids a better future.
My fingers unconsciously traced my stomach again—an old habit from when they were still inside me.
I had fought so hard to protect them.
And I would keep fighting.
No matter what it took.
I let out a slow breath, shaking off the exhaustion. Tomorrow was another day.
What I didn’t know—what I couldn’t know—was that fate had other plans.
Because across the city, Leo Gray was back.
And the past I had fought so hard to escape?
It was about to find me again.
- Writer
