A multimillionaire was waiting for an Uber when he saw his ex from six years ago… holding hands with two boys who looked just like him. He wasn’t ready for what came next…The first thing Michael Grant noticed wasn’t her.
It was the two boys.
They were standing on the curb outside a downtown bookstore, fidgeting with identical navy baseball caps, laughing about something only they understood. Both had the same sandy-blond hair, the same faint dimple on the left cheek, and the same restless energy he used to have at that age. They looked about five or six — just young enough to still run everywhere instead of walking.
Michael’s Uber app said his driver was three minutes away. He checked the map on his phone, then glanced back at the kids.
That was when she walked out of the bookstore.
Anna.
For a second, Michael thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He hadn’t seen her in six years, not since that cold November morning when they ended things. She was wearing a cream sweater and dark jeans, her hair a little shorter now but still that soft chestnut brown he remembered. She looked older, but in the way someone does when they’ve grown into themselves — calmer, more grounded.
And when she reached for the boys’ hands, something in his chest tightened.
The Uber notification pinged. Two minutes away.
He could leave. He could get in the car, head to his meeting, and pretend this moment never happened. But his feet didn’t move.
Anna spotted him just as she was helping the younger boy adjust his backpack strap. Her eyes widened — not in shock, exactly, but in recognition mixed with a flicker of hesitation.
“Michael,” she said, her voice careful.
“Anna.” His throat felt dry. “Hey.”
The boys looked up at him, curious. The older one tilted his head. “Who’s that, Mom?”
Mom.
The word landed heavier than he expected.
“This is… an old friend,” Anna said after a pause. “Michael, these are my sons, Ethan and Luke.”
They both gave small waves. Ethan, the older one, had Michael’s exact eye color — gray with that faint green ring. Luke had his nose. Michael told himself he was imagining it, but the similarities hit too hard to dismiss…
