Kaia?

Towards the last few nights, Naomi came up with the idea of letting Alexa stay at Alex's house. This was so that they could spend as much time as they could bonding together. Alex stayed home more frequently so he could cook for her and read her bedtime stories. This meant that Naomi and Zac ended up taking the brunt of Alex's work as a result. But they didn't mind because they knew how much Alex worked the past few weeks in order to spend time with Alexa.

It was already their last night together, so Alex cooked one of Alexa's favorites. They chatted while eating and soon finished their dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. Alex stayed in the kitchen to clean up, while Alexa ran off to the living room. She sat on the couch and stared at Alex as he picked up both of their plates and placed them in the sink. She continued to stare at him as a mischievous smile spread across her face. She thought of something fun to do.

Alex just finished washing and drying the dishes and walked towards the living room only to be tackled with a hug. Alexa giggled, hugging tighter as she looked up at Alex with a beaming smile. Alex looked down with a chuckle. Alexa loosened her grip on his legs to let him pick her up. She smiled goofily at Alex and said, "Papa Alex, let's play pretend!" Alex smiled back and Alexa motioned for him to put her down.

Alexa ran over to the couch and picked up the blanket, wrapping it around her neck. She picked up another blanket and gave it to Alex, motioning for him to do the same. "I'm the defender of justice!!" Alexa screeched, running to the other side of the living room as Alex suddenly "collapsed" onto the ground with his makeshift cape wrapped around his neck. "Defender of justice, save me!" he pleaded in a playful manner.

Alexa giggled and ran over, waving a wand she got as a souvenir, at him. "Fear not, Papa Alex! I will save you from Mi Sung!" She looked up at Alex triumphantly before stopping. She frowned upon seeing Alex's saddening and awkward expression. Alex pulled Alexa up in his arms before walking over to the couch and sitting down. He gently placed her down next to him.

"Alexa...I know Mi Sung isn't the best, but she's trying really hard," he softly said while brushing some of her hair behind her ear. Alexa shook her head and sighed. She frowned and pondered a bit before remembering something. She looked around curiously. "Papa Alex? What happened to your wife? You said you loved her a lot, so why are you marrying Mi Sung?"

Her question hit Alex in the gut. He frowned slightly and stood up. He led her upstairs to his bedroom and went straight to his dresser to get his laptop. Alex motioned for Alexa to follow before walking over to the bed and sitting down. He opened the laptop and clicked an unlabeled folder on his desktop. He put in a password to gain access before scrolling through the pictures he had. He never got a chance to get them printed because Kaia passed away before he could do it. He always kept them safe on his laptop and looked at them whenever he felt stressed or missed her.

Alex suddenly stopped at one particular image and paused. He smiled wistfully before opening it up. It was the photo of him and Kaia at Annie's art gala. Their "first outing" as a married couple. Alex stared at it for a long time before snapping out of it. He let out a sigh.

Alexa quickly scooted closer. She suddenly grabbed the computer screen and stared at the beautiful lady in red standing next to Alex. Alexa tilted her head and looked up at the startled Alex with a sort of confused look. She pointed at the picture. "You know my momma?" she asked. Alex blinked but shook his head. "No sweetheart, I don't. That's Kaia, my wife. She passed away 4 years ago. Do they look that similar?" he asked softly, slightly unsettled by the look Alexa was giving him. Alexa nodded her head vigorously. "Yea, but that's my momma!" After seeing Alex's awkward smile, she became upset. "It really is my momma! I'll prove it! Next time I come here I'll bring a picture of my momma, then you'll see it's really her!" she said with determination flashing in her big blue eyes. Alex looked down at Alexa with a weak smile as he stifled the urge to sigh. "Sure, I look forward to your next visit." He gently pulled her in for a hug. Alexa pulled back, grabbing his face. "Papa Alex, you should just marry my momma! Then you can be my real papa!"

Alex's smile faltered slightly at the sudden request. He sighed and just hugged her again. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to do it. But the fact was that he couldn't do it. He never even met Alexa's mother before. Plus, it would seem cruel for him to make such an audacious proposal to some woman who apparently looked like his dead wife. Adding to that the fact that Alexa's mother might still be grieving over her dead husband, it wouldn't be the right thing for him to do. Even though he loved Alexa, he probably wouldn't be able to let her mother into his heart, and that would be extremely unfair.

After thinking about these things for a long time, Alex wanted to get away from the topic. No matter how curious he was, he didn't want to dwell on the painful thought of Kaia again. His heart still ached even after four years whenever he thought of her. He closed his laptop and decided to play with Alexa for another hour before tucking her into bed.

The next day, Naomi came over to pick up Alexa. Alex reluctantly said his final goodbyes as he watched her get into Naomi's car. Alexa looked back at him, sadly waving as Naomi lifted her Hello Kitty suitcase into the trunk of the car. Naomi smiled apologetically with a slight nod before ushering Alexa into her car. Alex and Alexa continued waving to each other until they couldn't see each other anymore. Naomi drove all the way to the airport to catch their 5:00 flight.

It was almost nighttime when Naomi and Alexa returned back to the countryside. Kaia was elated at their arrival and quickly brought them both in for a tight hug. Naomi rolled in Alexa's suitcase while Alexa changed into her pajamas. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a shower. Once she got out of the bathroom, she noticed her mom standing by her bedroom door, waiting to tuck her into bed.

Kaia kissed her forehead and closed the lights, gently shutting the door as she walked out. She walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Naomi was sitting on the couch, fumbling through her suitcase. She finally found what she was looking for and pulled out a binder filled with papers. She walked into the kitchen to hand the binder over to Kaia. "I found some stuff, but there's some important pieces still missing. I haven't been able to find out what it is yet… I have my contacts and the team looking into it still. Kaia--I mean Mia, sorry. When we find it, we'll be one step closer to proving that the ones we suspect are behind everything… There seems to be enough evidence to get them locked up as it is, but we need to make sure they stay locked up…" Naomi stated, sitting down on the stool and crossing her legs. Kaia let out a small sigh as she flipped through the pages of information and detailed notes. She paused every now and then, thinking to herself.

Little did they know that while they were having their conversation, Alexa was still wide awake. She laid in her bed thinking about her Papa Alex until she heard faint sounds coming through the closed door. Alexa slowly crept out of her bed and soundlessly pressed her ear against the door. She stood there for awhile, silently eavesdropping on their conversation. Then she suddenly tensed up when she heard a familiar name. 'Kaia?' Alexa blinked, she vaguely recalled hearing that name somewhere else. But she couldn't remember where...

Kaia sighed, closing the binder before looking at Naomi. "How's Alex doing?" she asked while fidgeting with the binder cover. Although the question was spoken slightly softer than when she was having a conversation with Naomi, Alexa could clearly hear one word. And that word made Alexa freeze up. 'Momma knows Papa Alex?!'

Naomi looked at Kaia with a slight grimace before faking a smile. "Well...he's doing fine. He's busy, as usual. And...um...his--his old fiancee from high school returned. They're engaged and...are planning to..." Naomi coughed before mumbling out, "To marry again…" Kaia looked down at the cup in her hands, clenching her fingers around it as Naomi spoke. Of course he would move on, she's been gone for so long already…

Kaia suddenly felt despair. Naomi and the team had worked so hard these last four years in order to gather evidence to use against the person out to get her...yet... She was so close to returning...and yet… Kaia felt disappointed for some reason and her eyes started to well up. She blinked them back and shook her head. "It's...it's ok Naomi...I shouldn't have asked… Thank you for keeping Alexa this summer. She told me she had a blast and sent me a few pictures that you took."

Naomi smiled and shook her head. "You don't have to thank me. I enjoyed having her stay over at my place. It's a bit lonely without Rose since she's with her dad." Naomi stood up and gave Kaia a hug. "Well, I should get going soon. Wouldn't want to miss my flight. I still have to go to work early tomorrow." Kaia nodded and saw Naomi out the door.

Once Naomi was gone Alexa recovered from her shock and went back to bed. She laid down staring up at her ceiling filled with glow in the dark stars and moons and planets. She couldn't help but smile at her shocking discovery. 'I knew it! Papa Alex is gonna be so happy!'

Kaia sat down at the kitchen table once again. Just thinking about Alex made her tear up. It's been years and yet she still missed him so much. The wound was still fresh in her heart. No matter how many band-aids were placed over it, the wound wouldn't fully heal. Not even time, which was apparently the best medicine of all, could dull the throbbing, piercing pain in her heart. She wiped a stray tear that trailed down her cheek with a sigh. 'I'm sorry Alex. I'm sorry for being so selfish…I just really miss you...' she thought.

It was as if Naomi could sense Kaia's gloominess. Since Kaia already knew about Alex seeing Alexa, Naomi decided to put together an album full of pictures of Alex and Alexa together throughout the past four years.

Kaia was taking Alexa's things out of her suitcase when she heard a little ding from her smartphone. She finished putting everything back before she walked back into the living room to check her phone notification. She saw an email invitation for a Dropbox from Naomi. She then opened the file and her eyes instantly watered as she saw Alex and Alexa together. She placed her hand over her mouth as she quietly sobbed. 'They were together this entire time?' Kaia carefully looked through each and every single photo in the album.

She looked through them for a good hour before falling asleep on the couch with her phone in her hand. That night she dreamed of something extremely sweet. She dreamed about being there in the photos of Alex and Alexa. She also dreamed about living in the villa and sleeping in Alex's warm embrace again. The best part of her dream was about how the three of them were finally a family again.