You Are Back

You Are Back
LUCAS

I kept staring at Ella as I realized she was hesitating to leave. However, when I insisted and said, "Please leave," she turned and walked out.

I noticed her stand by the door, staring at us as I sat beside my ex, Nova. Yes, Nova was named after her mom. At the time, I thought I had lost her, so I named the baby Nova so she could remind me of the woman I had lost. But now I had both Novas sitting in front of me, and saying I was not shocked was going to be a lie.

Ella stared at us for a while, but she finally turned and walked away. Now I needed to ask Nova the big question, so I asked, "What happened all these years? Where have you been?

We all thought you were dead. Your daughter and I struggled to look after each other, thinking you were no longer in this world and suddenly you're coming out from nowhere?"

She tried to speak, but then tears began to fall from her eyes. I had no idea what she had been through, but I knew that whatever her story was, we had to listen to it.

After a while, she wiped her eyes and said, "I'm so sorry Lucas. I'm sorry, my little Princess. I would have given anything just to stay back and look after you, but I didn't have a choice.

Apparently, someone was interested in buying me. The hospital and everyone else was paid. After I gave birth to Nova back then, I was given an injection. After that, I lost consciousness. The hospital made you believe that I had died while giving birth, and they exchanged my body with someone else's.

You didn't know because you were overcome by grief. That was how you lived the rest of your life thinking I had died. But then I was taken to a different country, and I was sold off.

I lived the rest of my life in captivity as a maid for a mafia gang. They wanted me to be the maid of their newborn baby.

Their boss's wife had died while giving birth and they needed someone to breastfeed and care for the baby, so they separated me from my own child. Left with no choice, I was forced to live according to their whims.

I did everything they wanted and looked after the child, but yet, every day I longed to walk away, to come back to my family. I didn't know how, I was a prisoner. The place was surrounded by bodyguards, men in the mafia, and they always had guns with them."

"So how did you finally make it out?" I asked.

She sighed, "A few weeks ago, the boy I breastfed and cared for, who had earlier left the country, came back after his grandfather, who had kidnapped me and taken me to the mafia organization died.

When the boy returned, he noticed I was always crying and asked me what was wrong. I opened up and told him that I was separated from my child at birth and the love of my life and that all I ever wanted was to be reunited with them.

He promised me that he would help me get my freedom and give me a passport to return to London where I told him my family was.

Of course, I didn't believe him at first, considering he was the son of the man who had kept me prisoner for years.

However, he kept his promise and waited for a day when they had an occasion. He took me out and gave me a passport made specifically for me, some money, and everything else I needed to enable me to leave.

He told me to take the next available flight to London and gave me a phone, to use in searching for my child and you on social media. I saw your pictures and where you worked, so I went to your office to find you but I arrived late, and you had already gotten into your car.

I decided to follow you as you drove back home and quickly got into a cab. I followed until you arrived at your house. However, I did not have the confidence to come in and face you and our daughter. I felt ashamed after being away for so long.

I went back to the small hotel room I had paid for but promised myself that I would come in front of both of you no matter what.

I didn't want to waste any more time staying apart from you both. It was difficult for me to overcome my fears, but I did it, and that's how I ended up here at this moment, this evening. I'm sorry if I'm disrupting your lives."

"No, you're not," Nova said. "Mom, all my life I have grown up without a mother, and I have always wondered what it'll feel like to have one. Dad told me that you didn't make it. There were times I blamed myself for your death because I believed that if it weren't because you wanted to give birth to me, you would have still been alive.

I always wished my mother was here with me, and today you are back. I'm the happiest person in the world. Regardless of what has happened in the past, you're still my mother, and we can make up for the lost time.

Mom, I always stared at your pictures when I was much younger. This was why the moment I saw your face, I recognized you. Your face hadn't changed at all."

I saw the interaction between Nova and her mother as they hugged each other. Nova cried, and so did she. However, I was still in a state of shock.

Everything seemed as though it was a dream. "Why now? She could have come two months ago, one year ago, why did it have to be now?"

However, seeing my daughter so happy was wonderful. It made me happy as well, but then I knew this was going to complicate everything, and the last thing I needed was to complicate my life.

ELLA

I drove myself back home with my shoulders feeling stooped. I was sad, that was the truth. When I went into the house, I tried to fake a smile. I didn't want my parents to worry or figure out what was going on. My dad had barely given his consent to Lucas, it was just a month ago, and I didn't want to ruin it.

However, when I went back, my parents still realized that the fake smile on my face was just what it was - fake.

"What happened?" my dad asked. "Why do you look so different, Princess?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, Dad. I'm just tired."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded. My mom kept staring at me as I walked into my room, and I heard her say to my dad, "I think she fought with Lucas."

My dad said, "Oh really? But I warned him about hurting my daughter."

"Come on," my mom said. "It's normal for couples to fight."

"But we do not fight," my dad said.

"We did in the past, just that now we're bigger and much better." My mom insisted.

"No, we didn't."

I listened to them as they argued and shook my head. I closed my door and locked it. I knew how that was going to end. Yes, I never saw my parents fight. Maybe when I was little, they did, but I had no idea or no memory of it.

But ever since I became aware of what I was doing, my parents always found a way to agree. Someone always conceded for the sake of their love. But that was by the way.

This was a very big problem for me. I mean, why did she have to come now? Yes, I knew it was a good thing for Nova to have her mom, but why did she have to come now?

Anyway, I didn't want to get ahead of myself and worry unnecessarily. Lucas loved me. I knew that. I knew he was the one who asked me to go home, so he was going to call me. He had to call me.

I spent the whole night waiting for him, but his call never came. I kept waiting until I slept off. When I woke up in the morning, I checked my phone to see if there were any missed calls or messages, but none came from Lucas.

I became very worried. I knew how much he loved his first love; Nova's mum. He had stayed for years without a woman in his life after her supposed death. He even told me about it, that she was the first and only other woman who made him feel the way I did.

But could they have rekindled their love? Could it be that she spent the night in his room? Could they be together all through the day? This was really disturbing.

No matter how much I tried to be positive, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about the possibility that something must have happened. No, I needed to find out the truth for myself. Guessing or hoping wasn't going to solve it. I didn't want to call Lucas. I was going to find out.

Yes, if they had rekindled their love, Lucas wouldn't go to work. Of course, he'd want to stay at home and spend time with her. This was something I needed to find out for myself.

I got ready very early that morning and left the house. My parents thought I was going to school as I seemed to be in a rush. I even ignored Cameron.

I knew he would be angry but I didn't care. This was more important. I drove to Lucas's house and parked my car a few meters away from his where I knew no one would see me.

I wanted to make sure Nova left for school before I went in because I didn't want to have any drama with her. Lucas wouldn't be happy if Nova was offended by something I said or did. After a while, I saw her drive off. When she did, I drove into the compound.

I looked around and realized that Lucas's car was not there. In fact, there were no cars in the compound. So, what did this mean? Could this be that Lucas had left? Deep down, I wished he actually went to work, but then again, that wasn't enough reason to conclude that nothing happened between them.

My heart was beating very fast. I was afraid of the truth, what I was going to find out. I sat in my car for a while, but after a few minutes passed, I told myself, "Ella, you're not a coward."

It was now or never. I got out of my car and walked toward the house. I was about to knock when I heard Nova's mum from inside. I instantly knew she was there because I recognized her voice from yesterday. She was talking to someone on the phone, and the conversation really piqued my interest.

As I listened to the things she said on the phone, my eyes widened in surprise. Oh my God, I could not believe this! No, this was almost impossible to believe.