Why are you here?

As soon as Kaia turned around, Alex froze up. He stood merely a few feet away, staring at her, not daring to blink or move another inch. Was she real? Maybe he was just imagining all this because he missed her too much. But even if she was just an illusion, he wanted to at least tell her how much he missed her. His fingers twitched as he stared at her with longing. The "illusion" turned around with a worried expression and then she stopped. Her eyes traveled up his body to look him straight in the eye. Her chocolate brown eyes seemed to suck him in...he was mesmerized by those eyes...

Kaia stood there, helplessly staring at Alex. She could feel her eyes welling up with tears. Her hands trembled slightly. She thought she was dreaming as she stared into his familiar blue eyes that once looked at her with tenderness and love.

Alexa was the one who broke the silence. Since the day she saw the picture of her mum and Alex together, she was certain they knew each other. Her initial plan was to get them to meet each other. But fate and destiny seemed to be on her side and helped them meet before she even took action.

Alexa excitedly noticed how her Papa Alex and mum were both staring at each other. She walked up to her mum with a big smile across her face and took Kaia's hand, happily swinging it back and forth. "Mummy, look! It's Alex! It's my papa!"

Alexa's words made every muscle in Kaia's body tense up. She finally broke her gaze away from Alex and looked down at Alexa. She stared at Alexa for a bit and gave a weak smile before she stuttered out, "Um, honey I—uh... I don't know who that is…" She tried to stay calm and play it off but she felt a blush creeping up her neck.

Kaia's words rendered Alex speechless. The...the "illusion" was real? That woman...she couldn't possibly just be Kaia's doppelgänger… He saw. He saw the recognition in her eyes. He noticed her shocked expression. He even noticed the slight tremble in her hands as she told Alexa she didn't recognize him. But wasn't Kaia dead? Hasn't it already been five whole years of agony? Why would she lie to him? Why would she do this to him? Didn't she understand the torment he suffered every Christmas whenever he felt the cold spot beside his bed?!? He felt an uncontrollable rage seize him as he glared down at her from the doorway of the school building. "Don't give me that bull crap, I could spot you from miles away, Kaia!" he angrily shouted across the schoolyard. He started walking towards Kaia. They needed to talk.

Seeing Alex so mad and even shouting angrily, Alexa was slightly frightened. Kaia flinched. She didn't know what to do. Alexa tightened her grasp on Kaia's hand. "P-pa… pa?" Kaia glanced down at the frightened little girl, then back up at Alex. A stray tear slipped from the corner of her eye when she saw his dark expression and she swiftly wiped it away. Did Alexa already know Alex was her father? No, that couldn't be possible. Alexa doesn't even know her real name, and Naomi promised she wouldn't reveal anything to her either… She took a deep breath in, trying to control her emotions for the moment. She exhaled deeply before caressing Alexa's cheek. She mustered the best smile she could give before she said, "Alexa, there are some things mummy and the man in front of me need to talk about, ok? So can you...um...play with the other kids?"

Suddenly, Trevor, the landlord's son walked up beside Kaia. He happened to hear Alex yelling at Kaia when he was almost at the school. He noticed that it was Kaia that the stranger was yelling at because he could spot Kaia anywhere as well. He felt that something was definitely off and he ran towards the entrance to the schoolyard. Just when he arrived, he saw Kaia kneel down beside Alexa, telling her something. He swiftly walked up behind Kaia and asked, "Mia? Is everything ok?" He bent down a little to ruffle Alexa's hair before looking up at Alex with a hostile glance.

Alex's expression darkened even further. He was trembling with rage. Not only did Kaia lie to him...not only did she pretend not to see him after all these years of thinking she was dead...she...she even got a new man? So that's who Alexa's father is… He was suddenly filled with jealousy and hurt. He couldn't believe that Kaia would do all this to him. His heart couldn't take any of this any longer. What did he even come for...why did Alexa say that she didn't have a father? He clenched his fists and jaw tightly. He tried his best to suppress the rage in his heart seeing Trevor ruffling Alexa's hair and glaring at him. It should've been him next to Kaia and ruffling Alexa...

When Kaia heard Trevor's voice, she was startled. She instinctively looked up at Trevor. It took her a second to comprehend the situation before she shook her head. "N—no, there's no trouble at all. Um…Trevor would you mind taking Alexa home to feed Zander…? Thanks..." Alexa's eyes lit up when she heard Zander's name.

Alex was still shaking in fury until he heard the name 'Zander.' Hearing that name he faltered a bit, his expression easing up only slightly. "Zander?" he questioned, crossing his arms with a stern expression. Kaia looked up at him before averting her eyes in embarrassment. "Y—yes, that's the name of our horse." Alex was rendered speechless again. Kaia named a horse after him? What?! He wasn't even sure how to react. His emotions were extremely unstable with a mixture of confusion, sadness, loss, anger, frustration and so much more.

Seeing the odd exchange between Kaia and Alex, Trevor blinked. "Are you sure you'll be ok Mia?" he asked with a concerned expression as he took Alexa's hand. Kaia nodded before softly kissing Alexa's forehead. "I'll see you later baby girl."

Alexa waved goodbye to Kaia and Alex as she was led away by Trevor. Trevor had an unsettling feeling and for some reason, he felt extremely uneasy about the stranger. Maybe it was his handsome face, or maybe it was the way Kaia and the stranger had interacted. But something felt really strange. He just couldn't manage to put his finger on it...