Chapter 31

Carly Lewis

POV

Stella sat between Chase and I on the sofa she was telling us about her dream after her afternoon nap.

I couldn’t stop smiling she was such a joy. She was one of the best things in my life.

I couldn’t believe this little girl was my daughter. She was perfect.

"Stella Bella. We have something to tell you..." Chase says taking her tiny little hands into his hands.

It was like taking a band aid off. Just rip it off. Chase and I spoke about how we’d tell her the entire two hours she was down for her nap and we still didn’t know what was the best way to tell her.

"You know how Amelia mommy wasn’t your real mommy and how she helped take care of you?" He asks her.

Chase told me about how Amelia had tried to get Stella into acting and something in me feared being on front of the camera. I didn’t know if it was because I knew she was my daughter and my maternal instincts were kicking in. Or if it was something else.

She frowns nodding. "Yes daddy. You said Mela mommy loved me like a mommy but she won’t be my mommy anymore..."

Chase nods. "Yes baby. But uhm. Daddy found your real mommy and wanted you to have a real mommy..." he says so softly it was barely above a whisper.

Stella’s eyes widen like she was being let in on a secret. "Who is she?" she asks.

Chase looks at me and I stare at him wide eyed. Did he want me to say something?

"Uhm Stella. I am your mommy. I hurt my head when and I didn’t remember you. But now that I know you’re my daughter and that I am your mommy. I want to be there for you. I love you so much. I just want..."

Chase cuts me off. "Miss Carly is your mommy Stella. How do you feel?" He asks Stella.

Stella looks at me wide eyed before she looks at her father. Then she looks back at me and back at her dad again.

"My mommy?" she asks her dad.

My palms were sweaty. I was close to hyperventilating. I didn’t know if I should try to explain myself or if I should wait.

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t even sure if I could breathe.

"Yes Stella..." Chase nods.

Stella looked at me before nodding. "Okay..." Then she got up and ran to play with her toys.

I stared at her running off without much of a word.

"Do you think she understood what we said?" I ask.

Chase looks at Stella with a smile on his face. "Honestly I have no idea... I’ll speak to her again some other time."

His smile helped unravel every knot that was twisted up in my gut. It felt like my entire body wasn’t as tense anymore. I was worried my daughter would hate me but it was reassuring seeing him smile.

Maybe it was the stress of my life sense Stella and Chase entered my life, but I felt like I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop now. I didn’t even breathe without worrying anymore.

Seeing the carefree smile on Chase’s face eased the tension in my body, I was beginning to realize I cared way too much about what Chase thought of me.

Something about thinking about what he thought of me made me feel very uncomfortable. I tried my best to ignore the thought entirely.

I watched how his shoulders relaxed and he smiled unrestraint when he looked at Stella.

The way he looked less intimidating when Stella was around, he always showed how much he loved his daughter. The way his laugh made this gigantic house feel so much warmer.

That familiar sharp pain suddenly stabbed deep within my skull. I sucked in a breath knowing what was coming next.

I tried to hold onto the couch but my arms felt like two noodles. The room tilted.

"Carly?" I heard Chase’s voice but he sounded so distant, so far away.

God I was freezing.

It was the first thing I remembered.

It was so cold it felt like I could feel the cold down to my bones. I could feel the snow crunch beneath my bones. It was colder than Chicago in the winter.

Then someone slammed into me.

Chase’s eyes.

Holding Chase up.

Him telling me someone was after him.

My heart skipped a beat

I remember hearing footsteps placing him down and fighting off two men.

Someone called me Widow.

The memory came in pieces.

I was speaking to someone but I didn’t have a phone.

Then headlights came, me passing Chase off to someone and changing my clothes before leaving.

Then the memory shifts, I was on a date and nearly dying.

I was fighting with a man with only one arm because the other was shot when someone came to save me.

I don’t remember anything after that.

The memory started to fade before I could figure anything else out. I held my hand out as if I could catch it.

Chase’s face in front of my eyes startled me.

I was laying on the living room carpet with Chase hovering over me.

I was panting.

"Carly?" Chase helped me sit up. Concern wrapped across his face.

The sight of his concerned frown did something strange to my chest. Another thing I was going to ignore, I was too excited at the thought of remembering something.

"I remember." I pant out excitedly.

"What do you remember?" He asks.

I looked into his eyes. Those green eyes.

"That night..." I start to say. "I wasn’t following you." I add.

His eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "What?" he asks.

"I remember the night you were injured. I was on my way to a date and you were bumped into me, telling me you were being followed. I remember fighting off two men." I tell him.

Relief washed over me. I wasn’t following Chase. I wasn’t part of some scheme to get him. Stella wasn’t a part of some big scheme. Thought I don’t know how Chase and I got together after that.

"I wasn’t spying on you." I let out a relieved sigh. My entire body relaxed.

The fear that’s been haunting me the last couple of days began to crack.

I pressed a hand against my forehead, the pain was still there.

"My people sent you away, but I don’t remember who they were. I remember I changed my coat. I went on a date."

His mouth twitched, but didn’t say anything.

The look on his face made warmth bloom within my chest. I couldn’t understand it. I looked away from him and focused on the memory.

Suddenly the memory became clearer. "I got to my date late, we met in some type of café and as soon as I sat down, I don’t know why but something felt off. I soon realized my date was there to kill me. I fought and was shot. I remember waiting for my people but they were with you and another team had to come for me and I had to fight off all the men in the café. I remember the building being on fire and honestly I thought I was going to die. I don’t remember anything after them arriving." I explain.

Chase looks at me in concern.

"So we ended up in the same hospital because I was sent to the hospital by your friends or your people as you call them?" He asks.

I nod.

"Do you remember their faces or any of their names?" He asks.

I shake my head. "They were wearing scarves covering half their faces and it was dark. Plus I assume none of the names were real because they didn’t even call me by my name..." I shrug my shoulders.

He stares at me. "What they call you?" He asks.

"Widow..." Then it clicks in my head. Was that what Amy was going to say the other night when she cut herself off? Was she going to call me widow.

"Maybe it was a code name or an alias?" he suggests.

I-I think so..." I say trying to remember more. But my headache was getting worse, by the second as soon as I try to think about the name it gets worse.

"What’s going on?" Chase asks.

But I can’t answer him. The pain was only getting worse. I tried not to think about the name anymore. Widow might not even hold any meaning to me.

"Should I call the doctor?" Chase asks.

I stand up shaking my head. "No. I think Amy tried to call me Widow the other night..." I say holding onto my head.

"Daddy. Miss Koah is here!" Stella calls out from the dinning room.

Chase looks at me before looking toward where we heard her voice. "Are you sure you’re okay?" He asks.

I nod. "Yes. The headache is fading. I’m okay. I was just trying to remember the name and it was making it worse..." I tell him.

He nods. But I could see the concern still etched on his face.

His phone rang startling me. He looked at the screen. "I’m sorry that’s my lawyer I need to take this..." He says. "Can you go see Koah?" He asks.

I nod.

He rushes upstairs and I make my way to the living room door.