213
Cesar took a helicopter straight to Atros. He headed for the flower shop, but before he even stepped inside, a scene stopped him cold.
Naya stood outside in a silver silk dress, holding a little girl in her arms as she spoke softly to a handsome man. Her expression was gentle and tender in a way Cesar hadn’t seen in a long time.
Jealousy surged through him like fire.
This was the same woman who had once clung to him, yet now, just a few short months later, she was smiling at another man as if nothing had happened.
Beside him, Abigail’s eyes filled with tears.”
She broke away and ran toward Naya, choking out, “Mom, you have a new baby now, so you don’t want me anymore?”
Abigail stared at the girl in Naya’s arms, about her age, and her heart sank. This was the moment she had feared the most,
“Abigail?” Naya blinked in surprise, then sighed softly as she looked at the crying child.
She had thought Abigail would live peacefully, finally safe with her biological parents.[
But seeing the girl’s frail face and pointed chin, something inside her cracked. “Why are you here? Where are your parents?“” She knew Zora would never let Abigail near her easily.
brought her,” Cesar said, stepping into the flower shop. He stopped in front of the man beside Naya, eyes narrowing. “I brought her to see her mother.”
But as he got a clear look at the man’s face, Cesar froze. “Sheldon? What are you doing here?”
His mind flashed back to that day, Sheldon had asked if he was really going to divorce Naya. So, he had wanted her all along. Meanwhile, Sheldon wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Cesar. He calmly extended his hand. “Yeah, it’s me. Long time no
see.”
Cesar’s expression darkened. He ignored the gesture, eyes only on Naya “Come home with me, Naya. Abigail and I miss you terribly.”
He reached toward her, eyes heavy with sorrow and pleading.
Naya stared at the man who had once defined her world.
Back when she was young and naive, he painted a picture–perfect dream of love and family, only to shatter it with his own hands, leaving her wrecked by doubt and shame.
She
gave a soft, bitter laugh. “Home? When did I ever have one?”
Abigail, noticing her mother’s rejection, panicked.
She grabbed Naya’s hand, tears in her eyes. “Mom, please come back. Dad knows he was wrong. He’s already sent Zora away. It’ll just be the three of us now, we’ll be happy, I promise.”
Naya looked down at her daughter, amused by the irony. Three of us? What three? Where’s my real child?”
She fixed her gaze on Cesar. “Tell me, where is my child?”
He had once sent Jules with claims the child was still alive, but Finn’s investigation said otherwise. The baby had been stillborn, thrown away like trash.
That was why Finn kept telling her: don’t fall for his lies again. Choose your own life. Stay free.
Not only that, Finn had high hopes for Sheldon. He genuinely believed Naya and Sheldon could build something meaningful in the years to come.
Cesar didn’t answer her question directly. Instead, he said, “Naya, come back with me, and I’ll tell you everything.”
“Mom, please come back,” Abigail added quickly, clutching Naya’s arm. “Dad and I really need you.”
But Naya shook her head without hesitation. “Cesar, give it up. I won’t go back with you. Some wounds don’t heal with a simple apology. I just want to know one thing, was that child back then dead or alive?“%
12:30 PM P P
