Chapter 151 Lost and Found
Third POV:
Alexander leaned close to Celeste's ear as the jet leveled off, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Julian Sterling is nothing but a heartbreaker to your sister. She wouldn't want to remember that painful chapter."
He paused, letting the words sink in. "If you don't believe me, look into it yourself. See what kind of man he really was to her."
Celeste's jaw tightened, her eyes sliding toward Elena's sleeping form.
Alexander straightened, satisfied. The seed was planted.
Whatever Celeste discovered about Julian Sterling—the hidden marriage, the public humiliation, the loss of their child—would only confirm what he'd told her.
---
Four Years Later
London, Harrods Department Store
Elena's hand was empty.
One moment, she'd been holding Lila's small fingers as they browsed the toy section. The next, she'd turned to examine a display of dolls, and when she looked back, Lila was gone.
"Lila?" Elena's voice came out steady, controlled. She scanned the immediate area, her heart hammering. "Lila, sweetheart, this isn't funny."
No response. Just the ambient noise of the department store—conversations, elevator chimes, rustling shopping bags.
Elena's breath quickened. She moved through the aisles with increasing urgency. "Lila!"
A saleswoman approached. "Is everything all right, ma'am?"
"My daughter. Four years old, brown hair in pigtails, pink dress with white flowers. Have you seen her?"
Within minutes, Elena found herself surrounded by store security, describing Lila over and over.
They were kind, efficient, but Elena could barely hear them over the roaring in her ears.
Not again. Please, not again. I can't lose her.
"We're making an announcement over the PA system," the head of security said. "Try not to worry, Ms. Hunt. Children wander off all the time. We always find them."
Hunt, my original surname. Alexander'd proposed to me shortly after arriving in London, when I was still fragile and lost, with a ring that cost more than most people earned in a year.
I had said yes—at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do. He loved me, Lila needed a father, and my memories showed no sign of returning.
But when it came to actually signing the marriage certificate, something inside me had rebelled. Every time we went to the registry office, a voice in my head screamed no. I'd begged him to wait, just a little longer, until I felt ready.
I couldn't bring myself to take his name either—something about losing "Hunt" felt like losing the last piece of myself.
He'd been understanding, patient—to the outside world, we were a loving married couple. Only I knew we'd never made it legal.
But sometimes, late at night, I'd wake with my hand pressed to my chest, feeling like something vital was missing.
---
Three floors down, Lila Hunt was perfectly content.
She'd spotted the gleaming watches and wandered over, then noticed the tall man examining a platinum timepiece. He had sad eyes, she thought. The kind of sad that Mummy sometimes got when she stared at nothing and touched the scar on her temple.
"Excuse me, mister," Lila said, tugging on his sleeve.
Julian Sterling looked down, startled. The little girl had brown hair in slightly crooked pigtails, amber eyes that seemed too knowing for her age, and a smattering of freckles across her nose.
Something about her face struck him as achingly familiar.
"Yes?" His voice came out rough.
"I'm lost," Lila announced cheerfully. "Can you help me find my mummy?"
Julian's first instinct was to summon security and leave. But those amber eyes looked up at him with such trust, and he found himself unable to walk away.
"Where did you last see your mother?"
"The toy place. Upstairs." Lila tilted her head, studying him. "You have sad eyes. Are you lonely?"
The question hit him like a physical blow. "That's not your concern."
"My mummy gets sad eyes too sometimes. But she says it's okay to be sad as long as you don't stay sad forever. Are you going to stay sad forever?"
Julian opened his mouth, closed it, utterly unprepared. "That's... complicated."
"Grown-ups always say that." Lila reached out and took his hand with easy confidence. "Come on. We should find Mummy before she worries."
Against every instinct, Julian let himself be pulled to his feet by this tiny, imperious creature.
"What's your name?" he asked as they headed toward the elevator.
"Lila Holt. I'm four years old and I live in Kensington with my mummy and daddy. What's your name?"
"Julian." He didn't offer his last name.
"That's a nice name. You're very handsome, Mr. Julian. My mummy would say you're 'classically handsome.'"
They reached the fourth floor. "Mummy's probably scared. She doesn't like it when I disappear."
"Then perhaps you shouldn't disappear," Julian said dryly.
"I didn't mean to." Lila looked up at him. "Do you have children, Mr. Julian?"
The question drove the air from his lungs. "No."
"Why not? You'd be a good daddy."
"I don't think I'd be a good father. I wasn't very good at being a husband."
"Were you married?"
"Once. A long time ago."
"What happened?"
"She died." The lie came easily now, though deep down he didn't believe Elena was really dead.
"That's sad. I'm sorry, Mr. Julian."
They moved through the toy department, and Julian could hear a woman's voice calling out desperately. "Lila! Lila, please!"
"That's Mummy. She sounds worried."
Lila tugged him forward, weaving between displays. "Mummy!" she called out. "Mummy, I'm here!"
They rounded a corner, and Julian saw a woman with her back to them, brown hair falling in waves, her posture rigid with panic. Something about the curve of her spine made his breath catch.
But it couldn't be. Elena was dead. He'd stood on the Brooklyn Bridge. He'd attended the memorial service.
Lila ran forward and tugged on the woman's sleeve. "Mummy, I'm sorry I scared you. But look, this nice man helped me find you."
The woman turned.
Time stopped.
Brown hair framing features that had haunted him every day for four years.
"Elena?" Julian's voice came out broken, disbelieving. "You're... you're alive?"
Elena stared at the stranger, her mind blank with confusion and rising alarm. She'd never seen this man before—she was certain of it. Yet he was looking at her like she'd risen from the dead, his face drained of color, his hands trembling.
"I'm sorry," she said carefully, stepping between Lila and this stranger. "Do I know you?"
The man flinched as if she'd struck him. "Elena, it's me. It's Julian."
The name meant nothing to her. "I think you have me confused with someone else. My name is Elena Hunt, but I don't—"
She didn't get to finish. Julian crossed the distance between them in three strides, his hands framing her face. "Elena," he breathed, and then he was pulling her into his arms, crushing her against his chest.
Elena froze, shock and fear warring in her chest. What the hell is happening?
Then he kissed her.
His mouth crashed down on hers with desperate, overwhelming intensity, one hand tangling in her hair, the other pressed against her back as if he could physically prevent her from escaping. Elena's hands came up to his chest, pushing, trying to create space, but he was too strong, too consumed by whatever madness had seized him.
"Julian," she managed to gasp against his mouth, her voice sharp with panic. "Stop—let go—"