Narration by Lucas:
When I hear the voice of one of Paige's friends, I have to admit that it takes me back in time. That voice feels somewhat familiar, but it can't be true, it can't be her.
I deny it within myself and tell myself to stop thinking about things that are not and will never be possible.
I listen as they tell her that Paige's ex-husband won't be a father and that he's looking for her to be happy with her. What man wouldn't do that for the kind of woman she is? He would be blind not to pursue her after being freed from the commitment of a baby that wasn't even his.
Seeing Paige's lack of reaction, I step in front of the screen. I recognize Sarah immediately, but not the other girl, although she bears a resemblance to that woman, I haven't been able to stop thinking about, albeit not in a positive way. I stay frozen for a few moments, not knowing how to react. The question "Could it be her?" crosses my mind. Of course not, I answer myself.
I embrace Paige, and both of us fall into silence. I should be comforting and supporting the beautiful pregnant woman by my side, but my thoughts are racing at a million miles per hour, recalling the past and the woman who broke the man I used to be.
After minutes, hours, I don't even know, Paige asks if I'm okay, to which I reply that I am, that it's just my own craziness and she shouldn't pay attention to it. I don't want to mention what my mind is imagining. She's her friend, and I don't think, in the case that my delusions are true, Paige should be aware that her friend is my past. Obviously, it's a madness going through my mind.
Leaving her in the hands of her friend, I excuse myself, saying that I remembered something I need to do. I'm not very good at lying.
I reach out to the only person I can trust with this matter, luckily, she is a detective in the police force. I ask, or rather, I beg for her help in locating that woman, whose name I can't even say.
My friend looks at me and sighs.
"Alright, I can help you with that," he says, sounding annoyed.
"Now he's coming, but..." I say, crossing my arms.
"Promise me that once you find her, you won't go after her. Under no circumstances will you seek her, call her, or visit her. I don't want to see you suffer like those years again," he confesses, looking at me intently.
"Friend, don't worry. I'm not the same person as before, and she can no longer hurt me. That's in the past," I say sincerely.
"If it's something that's in the past, why are you looking for her now after all these years?" he asks curiously.
"I thought I saw her. I want to know if I'm mistaken or if I'm right. I don't want to be near her, but if my mind isn't playing tricks on me and I'm correct, she's very close to me," I say, more to myself than to my friend.
"I don't understand," he replies, even more confused after my response.
"Let me explain..." I tell him about seeing her in the video call with Paige's friend.
My friend is aware of Paige and how I feel about her, although he tells me it's not love, just affection. When he said that, my response was, "Do you know better than me what I feel? Well, that's strange." After hearing that, he said he wouldn't mention that topic again.
I thanked him at that moment, and he has kept his word regarding his opinion of what I have with Paige.
After finishing telling her what I believe, she looks at me and says,
"Are you sure? Although I won't jump straight into investigating the person you think it is, I'll start looking for your ex, and I'll let you know once I find something," she says seriously.
"I truly appreciate this, really," I say sincerely.
"Are you sure it resembled her or was it actually her?" she asks with doubt.
"She resembles her in voice and gaze. That's why I'm not sure if it's her, but it worries me that she looked scared when I locked eyes with her. I'm aware that people change over the years, but there are things we can't change," I tell her, thinking about her, about how she was when we stopped seeing each other.
People may change over time, and I completely agree with that, but the look and the lips cannot be hidden. Those eyes that stole my heart when I first met her. No matter how much dye or different hairstyles she tries, she can't go unnoticed, at least not by me, who knows, or rather, knew her better than she knew herself.
Now, I hope I'm not going crazy, seeing people who aren't real, mistaking good girls for bad women. I wish that were the case. I don't want to imagine that Paige has a friend who, in the past, had an abortion because she didn't want to be a mother and now claims to be the aunt of the baby she's expecting.
Paige doesn't deserve to have fake people around her. She's too kind and beautiful. The only thing she should have in her life is joy and happiness. After everything she's been through, she doesn't deserve any more pain.
I don't even know what to expect. It would be incredibly cruel of fate to cross paths with her again after everything that has happened between us. I've even wondered if I did something terribly wrong in my past life to now encounter her when I thought I was moving on and finding happiness by pursuing a chance with Paige.
The thought of having her back in my life makes all my feelings for Paige disappear. I lose the desire to have a partner again. That woman takes away my happiness just by being near me. She makes me relive the painful past that I've locked away inside my heart. It's a past I don't want to have in my mind all the time.