The villa was quiet as Nathan sat on the rug with Mateo. They were playing with the toy cars again. Nathan kept looking at the boy’s face. He saw his own eyes and his own smile in the child. He knew from the DNA test that Mateo was 99.9% his son. It gave him a deep sense of peace to be near him, but it was also a heavy secret to keep.

Viktoria sat nearby, reading a book. She looked more relaxed since she talked to Nikolai, but her phone was still off.

"You’re very quiet tonight, Nathan," she said, looking up.

"Just thinking," Nathan replied. He looked at her and wanted to tell her the truth. "I was thinking about how much life changes in just a few years."

Viktoria nodded. "I know. Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived two different lives, even if I don’t remember the first one."

"Do you ever want to remember?" Nathan asked.

She looked at Mateo, then at Nathan. "I used to. But now I have Nikolai and Mateo. I have a family who loves me. Maybe the past is better left in the dark."

Nathan felt a sharp pain in his chest. She was happy with the lie Natasha had built. He looked at the toy car, feeling like he was holding a bomb. He needed to get her out of the house.

"Let’s go out for dinner," Nathan proposed. "My treat."

Viktoria hesitated. "Is it safe? Alex said we should stay inside."

"I promise you’ll be safe. Security will follow us. Mateo needs to see something new."

Viktoria smiled at the boy. "Okay. Let’s go."

######

They arrived at a calm, elegant building with warm lights. The driver opened the door. "We’re here, ma’am," he said to Viktoria.

They walked inside. It was quiet and had soft music. Nathan’s heart was beating fast. He had been here before with Fiona.

"Wow!" Mateo shouted, looking at the high ceilings and the shiny floors. He ran a little bit ahead, his small shoes making noise. "Big house!"

"Stay close, Mateo," Viktoria said, catching his hand. She looked at Nathan. "This place is very beautiful. It feels... fancy."

They sat at a table in the corner. Nathan pulled out her chair first. Mateo sat in a high chair next to them, banging his small hands on the table.

"Food! Hungry!" Mateo chirped.

A waiter came over. "Good evening. What can I get for you?"

Nathan looked at Viktoria. "Pick whatever you want. Don’t look at prices. I’ll be offended."

Viktoria laughed. "You’re ridiculous. I don’t even know what these things are. Can you pick for me?"

"And for the little man?" Nathan asked, looking at Mateo.

"What do you want, Mateo? Pasta or chicken?" Viktoria asked the boy.

"Pasta! Red!" Mateo yelled, waving a spoon.

"We will have the spicy pasta for us, and a plain red sauce pasta for the boy," Nathan told the waiter. "And your best wine."

The waiter left. Mateo was busy trying to stack the sugar packets on the table. Viktoria watched him, then looked at Nathan.

"So, what is on your mind?" she asked. "You’ve been staring at me."

Nathan leaned in. "I’m actually writing a story. I wanted to tell you the plot to see if it’s any good."

Viktoria tilted her head. "A story? I didn’t know you were a writer."

"I’m trying," Nathan said. "It’s about a man and a girl. He was very rich, and she was a student. He called her ’Cupcake.’ They came to a place just like this on their last day of school."

Viktoria smiled. "Cupcake? That’s a cute nickname."

"Mama! Look!" Mateo interrupted, holding up a sugar packet. "Blue!"

"Yes, it’s blue, baby," Viktoria said, patting his head. She looked back at Nathan. "Go on. What happened in the story?"

"The man was nervous," Nathan said. "He ordered everything on the menu because he didn’t want the night to end. He told her she deserved the whole world."

Viktoria’s smile faded a little. She looked confused. "That sounds... very sweet. Why does it feel like I’ve heard that before?"

"Maybe it’s a common feeling," Nathan lied. "In the story, the man wiped a bit of sauce from her mouth with his thumb. He told her he couldn’t imagine a life without her."

"Bread! I want bread!" Mateo shouted, pointing at a basket on the next table.

Viktoria called the waiter for bread, but her eyes stayed on Nathan. "What did the girl say in your story?"

"She called him a dummy," Nathan said softly. "She told him he was insane because he asked her about marriage in the middle of dinner. She was only twenty. She was scared."

Viktoria stayed very still. Her face went pale. She rubbed her left wrist with her hand, a habit she didn’t even know she had. "Marriage? That’s a big question for a first date."

"It wasn’t the first date," Nathan corrected. "They were in love. He told her he wanted their daughter to look just like her."

Viktoria gasped. She looked at Mateo, then back at Nathan. Her eyes were wide. "Wait. Why does that... why does that make my head hurt?"

"Is the story bad?" Nathan asked, his heart thumping.

"No," she whispered. "It’s just... I feel like I know what happens next. But I can’t find the words."

"Mama, bread!" Mateo said, grabbing a piece from the waiter who had just arrived. He started chewing happily, getting crumbs on his shirt.

Viktoria didn’t even notice the crumbs. She was staring at Nathan. "Did they stay together? In your story?"

Nathan was about to answer when he felt his phone vibrate against his leg. He knew it was Alex. He knew it was probably urgent news about Nikolai or Natasha’s location, but he didn’t even reach for it. He didn’t want to look at the screen. He didn’t want the real world to break this moment.

"The man never gave up on her," Nathan said, his voice low and steady. He ignored the buzzing in his pocket. "In the story, even when everyone told him she was gone, he kept looking. He spent years waiting for her to come back. He knew that their hearts were tied together, and no matter how far she went, she would find her way home."

Viktoria’s eyes were locked on his. She looked like she was seeing a ghost. Her hand was shaking as she rested it on the table. "Did she... did she ever find him? Did she remember who she was?"

"She’s trying to," Nathan whispered. "Right now, she’s starting to see the truth. She’s starting to remember the flowers, the music, and the man who called her his anchor."

Mateo sat quietly now, his mouth full of bread. He sensed the change in the air. He leaned his little head against Nathan’s arm, his eyes wide as he looked at his mother. Nathan put a hand on the boy’s back, feeling his small, steady breathing.

"Nathan," Viktoria said, and her voice sounded different. It wasn’t the voice of a Russian woman anymore. It was softer, more familiar. "Why do I see white flowers when you talk? Why do I feel like I’m wearing a bracelet that isn’t there?"

She looked around the room again. The fog in her brain was thinning. She looked at Nathan’s eyes—really looked at them—and saw the "dummy" who had asked her to marry him years ago. She saw the man she had cried for in her dreams without knowing his name.

"The girl... she called him a dummy because she was scared of how much she loved him," Viktoria whispered. Her eyes filled with tears that began to spill over. "She told him he was insane... but she was going to say yes. She was going to say yes eventually."

Nathan’s heart felt like it was going to burst. "I know," he breathed.

Viktoria tried to take a breath, but she couldn’t. It was like a giant wave of memories was hitting her all at once. Three years of being "Viktoria" were crashing into twenty years of being Fiona. The pain in her head became too much. The lights in the restaurant seemed to get too bright, and the soft music sounded like a roar.

"Nathan... I... my head," she gasped.

She tried to reach for him, her fingers brushing his sleeve, but her strength was gone. Her eyes rolled back, losing their focus, and her head fell back.

"Viktoria! Fiona!" Nathan shouted.

He jumped up, knocking his chair over, and caught her just as she started to slide off her seat. He pulled her into his arms, holding her head against his chest.

"Mama!" Mateo screamed, his little face twisting in fear as he reached out for her.

"It’s okay, Mateo, it’s okay," Nathan said, though his own voice was shaking. He held her tight, feeling her heart beating fast against him before she went completely limp. The quiet restaurant was suddenly full of people looking, but Nathan didn’t see any of them.