“Lily? My favorite daughter in the world is back!” Lily’s mother, Scarlett, exclaimed.

Lily could not help but roll her eyes at her mother’s remark. She responded, “Mom, you can’t have a favorite daughter. I am your only daughter!”

Scarlett laughed. Lily’s father, Kaleb, who was sipping tea in the living room, also laughed.

Yes, she was still living with her parents at thirty-three years old. Since her work often took her to different stations, having a place on her own was unnecessary, especially since she had Aiden.

“How was work, Lily?” Kaleb asked.

“Um.” Lily put down her bag on the floor. She replied, “It was a counter-drug operation. Pretty easy.”

“Did you get shot, Sweetie?” Kaleb asked while studying her.

Lily smirked. She proudly said, “I would not be here if I got shot.”

“Very good,” her mother remarked. She sat beside Kaleb and asked, “Why don’t you join us for tea?”

“I -” Lily paused. “I think I’ll go see Aiden.”

“Anything the matter, Lily?” Scarlett asked with a frown. “You seemed bothered?”

Lily had already walked to the foot of the staircase. She stopped, thinking if she should tell her parents about Lucas.

The Thompsons and the Wrights used to be good friends and business partners, but Lucas’ disappearance ten years ago created friction between their families. The Wrights blamed the Thompsons for breaking the trust they had built as friends.

It wasn’t just them, though. Back then, Lily sensed Lucas’ mother had become aloof towards her. It felt to Lily that Lucas’ mother blamed her instead.

Decades of friendship were flushed down the drain because Lily’s oldest brother found evidence suggesting the Thompsons hid their son’s whereabouts. So, given that fact, was it wise to bring up the pain of the past? She did not think so. Thus, she replied to her mother, “Nothing, Mom, I’m just tired.”

“Then, take a rest, Lily,” Kaleb said. “Your mom and I are going to enjoy our alone time.”

Her parents giggled while Lily choked. She knew exactly what that meant. Her parents were already seniors, but they still had an active sex life!

She ran up the stairs and first checked in on Aiden. It was a weekend, and he did not have school. The young man was sound asleep. So Lily went to her room and bathed. After getting changed, she called her boyfriend, Jake, and let him know she had arrived.

Jake was out of town and on a business trip. Thus, she had no other commitments and meant to spend more time with her son. She returned to Aiden’s room soon after.

Seeing that Aiden was awake, Lily called, “Hey!”

The boy turned to her, and he screamed, “Mommy! You are back!”

Lily wasn’t a crybaby. Oh, no, she wasn’t at all. However, seeing her son and how he looked so much like the man from earlier simply brought tears to her eyes.

Ten years ago, she gave herself to Lucas. She lost her purity, but that experience gave her Aiden.

Since Lucas was nowhere to be found and the relationship between her family and the Thompsons became stained, no one knew about Aiden except for the Wright family - her family.

Lily gave birth to a private clinic. Her family opted to home-school Aiden for the first few years. They finally let Aiden enroll in a regular school when they were sure the Thompsons were no longer checking on them, and all their business ties were canceled.

“Hey, Mom. Why are you crying? Did you get hurt from arresting bad guys?” Aiden asked with concern.

“No, Aiden,” Lily quickly shook her head. She sniffed her tears away and said, “I just miss you.”

Aiden embraced her and said, “I missed you too, Mom. Can you take a break from Black Hawk? Can you practice martial arts with me after school?”

Lily chuckled. She answered, “Sure, Aiden, but you know, any of your uncles can also teach you martial arts.”

“I know. I just want to learn from you!” Aiden said.

“Okay. Okay! It will be better if you learn from the best, anyway,” Lily winked at her son.

Lily and Aiden played video games for the first hour of their bonding. Next, they had dinner and watched a movie. It was supposed to be an adventure movie, but it featured a father and son thriving through obstacles. The film probably reminded Aiden of his father. He asked, “Mom? Is my real father still missing?”

Hearing her son, Lily’s body stiffened. Should she tell him about Lucas now? Right now, she did not know what to do. She wanted to give it a lot of thought. She gulped and replied, “Yes, Aiden. He is still... missing.”

That night, Lily remained by Aiden’s side. She stayed up for a few hours, acknowledging how her son needed a father figure. ‘Should I introduce him to Lucas? Or maybe Jake and I should get married.’

‘I can’t stay single forever,’ Lily thought.

***

The sun’s rays hit Lily’s face. She winced and woke up beside Aiden, hugging her tightly in bed the following day. Her phone rang, and she panickedly picked it up, hoping it would not wake her son.

“Lily Wright speaking,” she said, still in a daze.

“Sergeant Lily Wright, This is Sergeant Major Patton. I need you to report to the Fort Eagle Military Camp this Wednesday,” the officer said on the other line. “You have been called for an active duty.”

“Active duty? If I may ask, Sir, what for?” She asked with a frown. “I - I had just reported for my monthly service at Koplin Troop Command -”

“Sergeant, we all know that even serving as a part-time National Guard, you can be called for duty at any time,” the officer reminded her. “For now, I can only say that it is classified. You know the drill.”

“Yes, my apologies, Major. I will be there on Wednesday,” Lily reluctantly acknowledged.

“And Miss Wright,” the major said. “Prepare for a long assignment. You may need to put your full-time job on hold. Inform your family because we don’t know how long this secret mission will last.”

After the call, Lily fell silent. She was going on a secret mission, and the length of the job was unknown. She turned to Aiden and felt regretful because she was going away again.

“What in the world is this secret mission?” She muttered to herself. “On the bright side, Lily. This mission might help you decide what to do about Lucas, maybe even help you stop thinking about him.”

That was what Lily thought until... Wednesday came.