Chapter 002

"Look, Mommy! He's there! David pulled at my hand and yelled.

I followed his eyes through the busy park in Lagos. The sight of Yemi Black, tall and commanding, standing by the fountain made my breath catch in my throat. His profile was unmistakably confident and crisp. I hadn't seen him in years, and he hadn't changed much, if at all. He was still the man I had attempted to remove from my life, the same man who could command a room with a single glance.

But he was here. directly before me.

"Is that your father, Mummy?" Dara questioned, her eyes wide with interest and her voice full of innocence.

Unable to come up with a logical answer, I froze. My palms were instantly clammy, and my heart was pounding. After only a few days back in Lagos, I hadn't expected him to show up in the most conspicuous location during our family's vacation.

With a trembling voice, I managed to respond, "No, darling." "That isn't your father."

However, my remarks sounded empty even as I was speaking. After all these years of keeping quiet, how could I lie to them now? I had decided to leave everything behind, the turmoil, the anguish, the pain, and it seemed like a lifetime ago. However, Yemi was never really gone. He had simply been awaiting the ideal opportunity to come back, and now he was here, encroaching on the life I had created.

Naturally, my succinct answer did not satisfy David and Dara. They weren't gullible. They needed and want more.

"So why are you staring at him that way?" With a puzzled expression on his face, David inquired.

I tried to stabilize myself by taking a deep breath, but it didn't help. My gaze kept returning to his. Yemi continued to observe us from the other side of the park, his face unreadable. He never went anyplace without an entourage, so it seemed odd to be alone. However, he was the only one standing there now, clamoring for my attention like a specter from the past.

I tightened my hold on their wrists and tried to yank them away from the water as I murmured, "We should go." "It is becoming late."

However, my son's voice halted me as I turned.

"Are you certain you're not lying, Mummy?"

I hesitated, and then I sensed it—a darkness that had slipped over me without my knowledge, a presence at my back.

"Dee." His tone. It was smooth, low, and exactly like I remembered.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I turned around slowly. And there he was, now a few feet from me. Yemi Black in person. With that intensity I recalled all too well, his dark eyes met mine. I was immobile for a moment. I was unable to talk. The intensity of his presence paralyzed me, causing everything inside me to freeze.

With a dry throat, I muttered, "Yemi."

"I didn't think you would be here." Though it didn't quite reach his eyes, a smile flickered across his lips. There was a remoteness that had never existed before, a coldness.

Naturally, the twins were unaware of what was happening. Their naive faces were full of interest as they gazed up at the man who had no idea he was their father, unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

"This... is your...?" A glimmer of insight appeared on Yemi's face as he trailed off, looking from me to the twins.

I gave a brief nod, attempting to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. "These are David and Dara, my children."

The glimmer of doubt persisted even as his face softened slightly. "I didn't anticipate meeting them in this manner."

"No," I answered in a voice that was hardly audible. "Neither did I anticipate it."

Between us, there was an unsettling stillness that was laced with years of unspoken history. Even though I could feel the twins watching me, I was unable to take my eyes off of Yemi. I tried to ignore the man who had been haunting my nightmares for years, but he was right in front of me, and I couldn't stop him.

The tension was released as David pulled at my sleeve. "Is he really our father, Mummy?"

I mustered a grin even though the words felt like they had been torn out of me. "No, my love. Simply put, he's someone I know.

Yemi's eyes briefly returned to the kids, but they were softer this time. Silently, almost to himself, he remarked, "They look like you." "The two of them."

I didn't know how to respond to that. They resembled me, of course. After all, they were my children. Everything seemed more real and terrible when he spoke it out, though, with that peculiar blend of awe and perplexity in his voice.

I sensed the twins observing us, their eyes brimming with unanswered questions. This moment wasn't what I had anticipated. When they were older and able to understand the complexity of the guy I had left behind, I had hoped to tell them about their father. But now he was, like an unwanted storm, entering their world.

"How about we take a stroll?" Yemi proposed, his voice breaking the stillness. "Only the trio of us."

Uncertain if I had heard him correctly, I blinked. "What?"

He nodded at the twins and reiterated, "Just the three of us." "We may converse and learn more about one another. Dee, it's been a while.

Even though his statements were straightforward, they shocked me. What was he contemplating? Why, after all these years of silence, did he feel the need to speak now? Did he think this was a game? Or did his unexpected entrance have a deeper meaning?

I shook my head forcefully and said, "No." "We don't have to speak. Not right now.

For a brief period, Yemi's eyes darkened as something unsaid flashed behind them. He spoke again in a calm, low voice, as if he had carefully considered my answer. "Dee, I believe we do. for both our benefit and theirs.

The meaning of the words hung between us. I sensed the tension rising, but I wasn't sure what he was hinting at. I wasn't prepared to deal with the past in this way, and it was catching up with me.

David pulled at my arm once more before I could respond. "Why is he staring at us like that, Mummy?"

I turned to see Yemi's tensed jaw and focused eyes. He wasn't merely observing us; he was researching us and making calculations. When I learned the reality, my heart began to accelerate.

This meeting wasn't merely a coincidence. Yemi had been keeping an eye on us the entire time, waiting for the ideal opportunity to resurface.

The past was now catching up with me more quickly than I could keep up.

Feeling the weight of everything falling on me, I inhaled deeply. I was forced to confront it.

However, Yemi's words stopped me as I turned to go.

He said, "Dee, you can't live in the past forever."