Elena looked at Alex for several seconds without saying a word.

The man standing in front of her was the same person who had once walked away from their marriage because he was afraid of a future that had never happened.

But he was also different.

The confidence was gone.

The arrogance had disappeared.

For the first time in years, Alex Vance looked like a man who finally understood the price of his own choices.

“I saw the children,” he whispered.

Elena’s expression remained calm.

“I know.”

His breath caught.

“You knew I would find out?”

She looked toward the busy street outside her office building.

“I knew eventually the truth would reach you.”

Alex stepped closer.

“Are they mine?”

The question hung between them.

For years, Elena had imagined this moment.

She had imagined screaming.

She had imagined telling him exactly how much pain he caused.

She had imagined watching him regret everything.

But now that he was standing there, broken and desperate, she only felt tired.

“Yes,” she finally said.

Alex closed his eyes.

The answer hit harder than he expected.

Four children.

Four lives.

Four pieces of himself growing up while he was completely absent.

“I have children,” he murmured.

Elena nodded.

“You have children.”

His eyes filled with emotion.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

That question almost made her laugh.

Not because it was funny.

Because it was unbelievable.

“You want to know why I didn’t tell you?”

Alex lowered his head.

“Please.”

Elena opened the door to her office building but didn’t walk inside.

“Because I needed to know if you wanted me.”

Her voice was quiet.

“Not my ability to give you children. Not my pregnancy. Not my future inheritance of your family name.”

Alex froze.

“When I found out I was pregnant, you had already made your decision.”

The memory came rushing back.

The suitcase.

The cold expression.

The words he wished he could erase.

I can’t spend my life wondering if I gave up my chance to become a father.

At the time, he thought he was protecting himself.

Now he realized he had abandoned everything he wanted.

“I was wrong,” he said.

Elena looked at him.

“I know.”

The simplicity of her answer hurt more than anger.

Because she wasn’t waiting for an apology.

She had already moved on.

Alex swallowed.

“Can I meet them?”

A long silence followed.

“They know about you.”

His face changed.

“They do?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

Elena looked at him carefully.

“Because I refused to raise them with lies.”

Alex looked away.

“What did you tell them?”

“The truth.”

His heart sank.

“What truth?”

“That their father was someone who wasn’t ready to be a father when they were born.”

The words were painful, but they were honest.

Alex deserved the truth.

He deserved to understand that missing six years could not be repaired with a single apology.

“I want to see them,” he said again.

Elena studied his face.

“Do you want to see them because you love them?”

Alex looked confused.

“What?”

“Or because you saw them on television and realized everyone else knows what you lost?”

The question struck him.

Because deep down, he knew why she asked.

He had spent years convincing himself he had made the right choice.

Now he was suddenly confronted with the life he abandoned.

A life full of laughter.

A life full of children who had his eyes.

A life he could never get back.

“I don’t know how to fix this,” he admitted.

For the first time, Elena saw something she had never seen before.

Regret.

Real regret.

“You can’t fix six years, Alex.”

“I know.”

“You missed their first steps.”

He nodded.

“I know.”

“Their first words. Their first day of school. Their birthdays.”

Every sentence felt like another weight on his chest.

“I know.”

Elena looked at him.

“But maybe you can decide what kind of father you want to be from today.”

Alex looked up.

“Does that mean I have a chance?”

Before Elena could answer, her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen.

Her expression changed slightly.

Alex noticed immediately.

“What is it?”

Elena hesitated.

Then she answered.

“Hello?”

A woman’s voice came through the speaker.

Alex couldn’t hear everything, but he saw Elena’s face become serious.

After a few seconds, she ended the call.

“What happened?”

Elena looked at him.

“That was my lawyer.”

“Your lawyer?”

She nodded.

“There is something you need to know before you meet the children.”

Alex felt a sudden coldness.

“What?”

Elena opened her office door.

“Your mother knew.”

Alex stopped breathing.

“What?”

“Beatrice knew about the pregnancy.”

The world seemed to tilt beneath him.

“That’s impossible.”

“She found out two days after you left.”

Alex stared at her.

“No…”

“She contacted me.”

His voice became weak.

“What did she say?”

Elena looked directly into his eyes.

“She offered me money to disappear.”

Alex felt his stomach drop.

“And when I refused…”

Elena paused.

“She threatened to make sure you never found out about your children.”

For years, Alex believed Elena had hidden the truth from him.

He believed she had taken his children away.

But standing there, he finally understood.

The biggest lie of his life wasn’t told by his ex-wife.

It was told by the person he trusted most.

His own mother.

And now he had to face the woman who had destroyed six years of his children’s lives.