One Day 59

Chapter Fifty–Nine 

Ava’s POV 

+25 Points > 

There was a time the very thought of home brought warmth to my chest, like sunlight breaking through the clouds. It used to mean belonging and peace. But as I stepped out of the plane, all I felt was dread. 

Home didn’t feel like home anymore. 

Exhaling through my nose, I held tightly onto the handle of my suitcase, dragging it behind me with one hand, while the other hand gripped Zareon’s tiny body to my side, his little legs dangling with my strides. He was humming under his breath, a tune from one of his 

cartoons. 

I had dressed us both to avoid recognition. A thick black trench coat covered my frame, and underneath it, I wore a white hoodie, the hood pulled over a white baseball cap. Dark loose jeans and black boots cradled my legs. My hair was tied in a tight bun, hidden completely beneath my cap. Zareon matched my outfit; his navy–green puffer jacket swallowed his tiny body, his face barely peeking beneath the hood. His cheeks were red from the cold, as it was colder here than it was at home. Which made the outfit less suspicious. 

The crowd buzzed around us as I navigated the airport slowly.. I didn’t plan on staying long. I had told myself this would be quick. Kyle just needed to see Zareon. One look, and then I would leave again. That was the deal I had made with myself, the only reason I was still here. 

I was rounding the corner of the departure hall when a tall man in a black suit walked briskly past me. He didn’t speak, just brushed passed me, shoulders softly bumping into mine. But as he crossed, I felt a faint tug at my coat. 

Brows furrowed and tongue bitten to hold back a snap, I allowed my eyes to dart down. And there was a small card sticking out from my pocket. I turned back sharply, confused, and found him glancing over his shoulder at me. Our eyes met for a second for me to recognize him, and then he turned forward again and disappeared into the crowd. 

Looking around again, I walked a distance before I pulled out the card. 

“Please follow the road that leads left after the parking lot. A car is waiting for you there. You are safe. From Mr. Banks.” 

Kyle. 

My throat tightened as I squeezed the note. Of course, it was from him. The man who had just brushed past me and slid the note into my coat was none other than his most trusted 

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man. Leo. 

+25 Points 

Without looking back, I followed the instructions that led me to a private parking area. As the note had indicated, a sleek black SUV was waiting by the curb. A man stood by the back door, his gloved hands folded behind him. 

Leo. 

Back when I was Mrs. Banks, I’d made all the staff call me Ava. I used to joke with Leo, tease him until he cracked a smile, but he’d always stayed polite. That was years ago. Now, as I approached him with Zareon in hand, he gave me a short and polite nod and opened the back 

door without a word. 

We rode in silence. 

I guessed he didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t either. 

He was no longer my employee. I was no longer Mrs. Banks. We were strangers who 

remembered each other too well. 

I kept my eyes on the road, Zareon seated on my lap while he played with his stuffed toy. In my head, my plan was still rolling. Kyle would see Zareon. Just once. Then we would leave. 

That was it. 

Except…. my back straightened. The road we took didn’t lead to a hospital. 

My brows furrowed. I knew these streets too well. I recognized the twist in the isolated road, the familiar tall and asymmetrical large trees that lined the side of the road. But why would I be brought here? Was a hospital already built around here? However, my stomach dropped 

when the house came into view. 

No. It couldn’t be. 

But it was. 

The garden house. 

It looked just the same. White stone walls covered in creeping ivy. Lavender bushes lined the front path. I could imagine the air smelling like spring even though it wasn’t. 

“Why are we here?” I demanded as soon as Leo pulled in. 

He looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Mr. Banks instructed me to bring you here, ma’am. He said you and the child should rest tonight. You may go to the hospital in the morning.” 

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“What? Why would he…” I broke off. There was no point asking him since he couldn’t possibly have answers to Kyle’s actions. 

Leo gave a slight nod and stepped out to open the door for me, then proceeded to retrieve my bags. I took Zareon’s hand and led him up the stone steps leading up to the entrance of the house, with my jaw clenched. 

As soon as we stepped inside, I was hit with the smell of pinewood and old perfume. I hated it. Hated it still smelled like home. 

Memories flooded me as I stepped even further inside. This was where Kyle brought me when the world was too loud outside. My eyes fell on the rug. Kyle had purchased it because I complained the tiles were too cold for my feet. It was this same place he had proposed to me with trembling fingers and a wide smile as he slipped the ring onto my finger. The same ring I had to take off. 

And now…..my heart contracted painfully. Why bring me here? 

What was he trying to do? 

Did he want to manipulate my emotions? To make me remember what we had? But for what reason? 

And why are the pictures still here? 

“Everything you need is available,” Leo’s voice snapped me back to the present, and my eyes quickly found Zareon already seated at my feet, his head tilted up as he got lost in the sight of the vines up the ceiling. 

“Mr. Banks made sure the fridge is stocked with everything you need, but if there is anything we missed, please let me know.” 

With that, he left the house, leaving me and Zareon to ourselves. 

Later that night, after I bathed Zareon and settled him into the bed, I lay beside him, wide awake in the dim light. My mind was a mess. It wouldn’t stop reminiscing. The house was at fault. Everywhere I stepped, everything I touched reminded me of one moment or another. It was like I couldn’t get a minute. And now, when all I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep, I couldn’t help but reminisce about those moments I was cuddled up in bed with Kyle. That one annoying thought had led me here, to the guest room, yet sleep seemed far away from me. 

The doorbell rang and I shot up immediately, heart hammering. 

What the goose! 

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The house was surrounded by trees. Isolated from the world, so who could that be, especially at this hour? 

Freaked out, I moved to the window… locked. Good. 

Then I padded down the stairs, barefoot on the rug, heart thundering in my chest. 

The bell rang again. 

Then, as if the person on the other side heard me coming, they stopped pressing the bell. 

“It’s Leo.” Came a voice, muffled through the door. 

I exhaled, shoulders dropping slightly in relief. At least, it wasn’t a stranger. But what was Leo doing here at such an hour of the night? 

Still confused and wary, I unlocked the door and opened it slowly. 

Leo stood in his usual bodyguard stance, his hands behind his back. But then, he stepped aside, and behind him stood a man I hadn’t seen in years. 

Harold Banks. 

Tall and commanding, with a silver streak in his thick black hair. His tailored coat hung neatly from his shoulders, and his eyes, Kyle’s eyes, which looked just like Zareon’s, bore into me. 

I looked over his shoulder for his son or anyone else, but it seemed the father came alone, leaving me both shocked and confused. 

Harold stepped in front of Leo, and I instinctively stepped back a little. 

“May I come in?” he asked, pretending he didn’t see that. 

Yes, that was like him, no greetings, nothing, just a command that he made sound like a 

request. 

I didn’t speak. I simply stepped aside. 

He entered, and Leo shut the door after him. Harold moved to the living room, his eyes roving around the space. 

Surprise was simple compared to the shock of seeing him. Of all the people I could have imagined encountering, Harold was not on the list. He had been a man of business. Nothing more. Even when I was with Kyle, he had never shown much interest in me because, of course, I had nothing beneficial to add to his life, except a grandson. He had stayed silent when his wife berated me and when I was unjustly embarrassed in my matrimonial home. So that left me wondering what such a man was doing in the same space with me, late in the 

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night, with neither his wife nor his son. 

I watched him take a seat on the couch, then motioned for me to sit too. 

I didn’t. 

+25 Points 

“I wasn’t expecting you,” I said quietly, arms folded. “Especially at such a late hour,” I added sarcastically. 

He looked at me, really looked, then said, “I know.” 

I wanted to scoff, instead, I just stood in silence, matching his staring contest. 

“I’ll go straight to the point,” he said, breaking the silence with a tap on the arm of the chair. 

I stared. 

“I came to ask you to let Zareon be tested for the transplant.” 

I blinked. “Excuse me?” 

He puffed out a breath and sat forward, his gaze hard under the dim light of the room. “Kyle is very sick. I’m sure you know that. His blood counts are dropping fast, and his marrow is failing him, which means he needs a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, Zareon’s brother is not a match, and that leaves us Zareon.” 

My throat dried, and my heart pounded furiously in my chest. It was like I didn’t hear him clearly, so I repeated his words. 

“You want to test Zareon?” 

“Yes,” he replied simply, like it was nothing. 

The words made my stomach churn. I couldn’t believe it. I had been summoned halfway across the world not because Kyle wanted to see his son like he claimed, but because he wanted to use him. And to top it off, he sent his father to me like a coward? 

Anger surged through me. “And you’re here because he sent you?” 

Harold’s expression twisted with irritation. “This wasn’t Kyle’s request. He doesn’t know I’m here,” 

I stared at him, stunned. “So you went behind his back?” That means the “Mr. Banks” was actually Harold and not Kyle? 

“I am trying to save my son’s life,” he said simply, leaning back in his chair. “And your son is his only hope. At least for now, before the test.” 

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My head screamed. I know nothing good could come from Harold’s visitation, but this wasn’t what I expected. 

“How dare you?” I whispered, voice trembling with rage and disbelief. “After all the pain your family put me through, you dare ask me to put my son through this?” I whispered bitterly, eyes stinging with angry tears. 

“What made you think I’d even consider it? Do you think I forgot what your family did to me?” 

Harold exhaled, his face hard. “I don’t care about the past right now. What I care about is my son living to see another year.” 

I wanted to scream. To throw something. But I couldn’t. Not with Zareon asleep upstairs, so instead I just laughed. 

“Of course, you don’t care about anything or anyone other than yourself. Makes me wonder what you think of me to bring up something so absurd.” 

“What I think,” he replied calmly, rising to his feet, “is that you’re a mother. Which means you understand exactly what it means to do whatever it takes to protect your child. That’s all I’m asking. To save a life… or not. I’m sure you wouldn’t let your son live with the guilt of knowing he could’ve saved his father.” 

What a jerk. 

I stood frozen, trembling so hard my knees threatened to buckle under the weight of his manipulation. 

Then, after a moment, he said, “I’ll give you the night. Tomorrow, we’ll talk again.” 

And with that, he left.