"What do you want?" He asked the long-lost woman, who no longer had any business with him.

Hearing his question, the woman on the other end burst into laughter, reprimanding him for asking the obvious. "To satisfy your curiosity, of course. Otherwise, you will keep investigating me which I don't appreciate. Let's meet up."

He wanted to hang up but at the same time, he was indeed curious. The fact that she found out she was being investigated could mean that she would be more cautious the next time, and it might be impossible to find any more information.

Hence, he reluctantly agreed. "Where and when?"

"Right now. In your company." Came her cold answer. "I didn't keep you waiting. How about that?"

…

Zaria received a call from her intern assistant. "There's a Miss Roatta here to see Mr. Fort."

She froze when she heard the name. She was already expecting it, but it still took her a lot of effort to keep herself calm.

"Let her in. Hold on. Lead her to the conference room on this floor." She corrected herself and gave the intern a series of instructions, before forwarding the message to Desmond.

The man appeared beside her in an instant. He looked deflated and at a loss, but she didn't comprehend it nor did she dare to ask. Perhaps he also had a painful past with Lucy Roatta, which she was not willing to bring up.

"Zaria, I'm going to meet her." He reported, and they both knew who he was talking about. "Do you want to come along?"

She thought about it briefly and shook her head. He must have found out the truth from his tone, and she was glad that he didn't force her to accompany him. It would be alright if she happened to bump into Lucy while going about her own business, but she didn't know how to face her if she sought her. What could they even talk about?

"It's totally fine if you don't want to. I'll go on my own, do your thing." He did not force her, knowing that it must be hard for her.

"Thank you." She looked up with a smile, before proceeding with her work as he stepped out to meet the woman.

…

Desmond arrived in the conference room to find a woman sitting on a high chair and awaiting his arrival. She had her hair in a neat bun and her face displayed the deceptive smile he had thought of as kind when he was a kid.

It was as though they had seen each other twenty seven months ago instead of twenty seven years since she had not changed much. She was still beautiful, looked gentle and sat there sophisticated—only that this time he did not miss the sinister look in her eyes.

"Miss Roatta." He called distantly, making his way to the head seat.

"That's not what you used to call me." She swung the chair so she would face him with a slight smile.

"Not until you tried to murder me." He sat down and reminded her, almost scoffing at her ability to feign ignorance. Did she think that what happened twenty seven years ago could be forgotten in a flash merely because she was back?

"What do you want?" He wanted her to go straight to the point. Logically, she wouldn't be here just to benefit him and catch up. There had to be some other reason, just like there was a reason for her to befriend his parents in the past—which reminded him of a possibility.

"What? Could it be that you couldn't find the papers anymore and are here to force me to give them to you?" He asked with a taunt.

She shook her head at his imaginative thought. "Marchal is dead."

"Maybe you think that he gave it to me. I assume that whatever it is, you have not stopped looking for it for all these years." He crossed his arms as his gaze focused on her, trying to guess why else she could be here.

"He wouldn't give it to you. I agree that I hit a dead end." She shrugged.

"What papers are they anyway?" He attempted to ask, even while knowing that there was zero probability of getting an answer.

As expected, she snapped. "That's not your business."

He smiled. "Right. My business is why you are here, and even that I do not know."

"That is…" She was still speaking when her phone rang, and she had on an apologetic face after answering it. "I'll send my assistant over to discuss something with you on my behalf. I have to go."

"The company exit is to the left. Good luck." He did not offer to see her off, not that she minded. She left the conference room and was just rushing for the elevator when she heard a surprised yet excited voice behind her. "Mom?"

…

Zaria tried to concentrate on her work but couldn't no matter how hard she tried. In the end, she stood to go to the bathroom. She was just leaving her office when she caught sight of the woman exiting the conference room.

There wasn't much difference between her and the woman from her memory and her dreams—her mother. She had always thought that she would be too angry if she ever met her again, or that she wouldn't want to see her. But when she saw that familiar silhouette, her lips moved on their own. "Mom?"

The woman slowly turned, seeming shocked but when their eyes met, she ignored her and hurried her steps towards the elevator.

"Mom, wait!" She called after her, but she reacted too late and the elevator doors closed before she could catch up. She hurried using the employee elevator, which was slower because she was not the only one using it.

She could only guess that Lucy headed for the exit, where she ran and hoped that she was yet to leave. Luckily, she caught up just as the latter was about to enter a white car.

"Mom!" She desperately called, and Lucy turned to look at her.

"Why are you getting away from me?" Zaria couldn't believe just how helpless she sounded. She was out of breath and her eyes started to sting when her mother finally looked at her.

However, all she received was a cold glare. "Excuse me, are you mistaken? You have been following me around and it's making me uncomfortable."

What in the world? Zaria exclaimed in her heart. "No! You are my mother. Stop pretending because I would never forget you." She closed in to introduce herself and show her Identity Card, in case the latter had forgotten about her. It had been so long and she was a grown up now, after all. "I'm Zaria, your daughter. Dad and I miss you so much…"

Lucy didn't spare her identity card a glance, merely scoffing. "I'm not married, nor do I have a daughter. Stop embarrassing yourself and get out of my way!"

She entered the car while Zaria was still staring in disbelief. Did she just get rejected? When she recovered from her shock, Lucy had already entered the car and the door was closed by a young man.

"Wait, mother! Whatever it is, we can forget about it." She rubbed her nose when the only response she got was air as the car drove away.

"Who is she?" The young man who was now sitting beside Lucy asked, referring to Zaria who was still standing outside the building dejectedly.

Lucy shrugged. "Some random stray. She thinks I'm her mother."

The young man scoffed. "Forget about her, master. It isn't strange to meet a few stray animals once in a while."

Lucy hummed and when the young man wasn't looking, her gaze darkened.

_

When Zaria got home, she was still in disbelief from the events that transpired earlier. Was it possible for one to forget her daughter? Maybe she had amnesia?

Or perhaps, she had decided to forget all about them since she left.

"How could I be so stupid? She clearly didn't want to have anything to do with us anymore, or she never would have left." She scolded herself mentally, as she entered the house.

"What happened to you?" Theodore was startled when he saw his daughter who looked like she would start crying any second, and he helped her onto the couch.

"I saw her. She denied me." She sighed against her father's shoulder.

It didn't take long for Theodore to figure out who she was talking about, and his lips twitched. That heartless creature. He patted her head to comfort her, while trying not to spew curses at Lucy's name.

"I know it's hard to do but you should forget about her. It's been so long, if she wanted you back, she would have said so ages ago. Since she doesn't, it will not make a difference no matter how many times you try." He gently tousled his daughter's hair. "The world is cruel, Zaria. But you have to face it nonetheless."