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Ayla looked slightly awkward after saying that, but she quickly regained her composure. She gave a faint smile and extended her hand.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Evan."

Evan shook her hand briefly and immediately focused on the documents he brought.

"Thank you, Ms. Ayla. I'd like to discuss the material specifications and delivery schedule for Project G."

Ayla nodded, opened her files, and began explaining in a professional tone.

Although there had been a moment of awkwardness at the beginning, Ayla didn't bring up the past or imply that she knew Evan personally. Evan didn't think much of it either. To him, it was just another business meeting.

The discussion went smoothly. Once everything was covered, Ayla closed her folder.

"If there are any revisions or things to confirm, feel free to contact me."

Evan nodded.

"Alright. Thank you for your time."

He left the room unaware that Ayla was still watching his back for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

—

Back at his desk, Evan let out a long breath. The meeting with Ayla had gone well, although something felt off. Not in the conversation itself, but in the way Ayla had looked at him in the beginning.

He sighed and picked up his phone, opening the new contact just saved. "Ayla - Construction Vendor" appeared on the screen.

A strange curiosity crept in, and his finger instinctively tapped on Ayla's profile. Her profile picture was simple—a woman sitting on a park bench, smiling softly while holding a toddler.

Evan frowned. That child…

He zoomed in, staring at the child's face. His eyes widened slowly. There was something familiar.

His jaw tightened. This wasn't just a random resemblance. The child's face, expression, even the shape of the eyes... it all reminded him of his own childhood photos.

Impossible.

His heart started racing. His hands suddenly felt cold.

Who was that child? Why did he look so much like him?

—

Evan quickly closed Ayla's profile and opened his photo gallery. His fingers searched through old folders—ones containing his childhood pictures.

He found one he remembered clearly, taken when he was about three years old. He was sitting on a small chair with a wide smile, wearing a T-shirt with a race car on it.

His heart sank.

The face in the photo looked almost identical to the child in Ayla's profile picture.

Evan swallowed hard. This didn't make sense. He didn't even really know Ayla. He had no idea they shared any history—at least, not in this version of the world.

His thoughts were spinning.

Should he ask her directly? But how? Could he just bring up something he wasn't even sure of?

He clenched his hand on the table. No, he couldn't stay silent. He had to find out.

To make sure this wasn't just a coincidence.

—

Evan rubbed his face, trying to calm down. He closed the gallery and stared at his phone screen with hesitation.

Finally, he tapped the phone icon next to Ayla's name.

It rang a few times before Ayla's gentle voice answered.

"Hello?"

Evan steadied his breath.

"Ayla, it's Evan. I have a few questions about the project. Can we meet briefly?"

There was a pause before Ayla responded.

"Now?"

"If you're busy, tomorrow is fine too."

"No, I can now. Let's meet at the café near your office?"

"Okay, I'll head over."

Evan ended the call, grabbed his jacket, and left the office quickly.

When he arrived at the café, Ayla was already waiting in the corner. Evan took a deep breath before walking over.

When Ayla looked up, her eyes met Evan's with an unreadable expression.

"So it really is you, Evan..."

Evan tensed. Those words... they carried something unspoken.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked directly.

Ayla gave a faint smile, but her eyes seemed to study his every move.

"Let's talk about the project first."

Evan stared at her. He knew there was more to this. More than just work.

And he was going to find out.

—

Evan didn't respond right away. He looked at Ayla a moment longer, trying to read her expression. But she remained calm, simply sliding a few project documents in front of him.

"These are additional documents for the construction vendor. I've also included the revised cost estimates you requested."

Evan shifted his focus to the papers, but his mind kept circling back to one thing—the child in Ayla's profile picture.

"Thank you," he said, then bluntly added, "The child in your profile picture... who is he?"

Ayla paused. Her fingers, which had been arranging the documents, stopped moving.

"You're really nosy," she said lightly, but there was tension in her voice. "His name is Rayyan."

That name sounded familiar. Evan felt like he'd heard it before. But where?

"Are you married?" he asked directly.

Ayla gave a faint smile.

"That's not your business, is it?"

Evan sighed.

"Maybe not. But earlier you said, 'so it really is you, Evan.' I want to know what you meant."

Ayla stared at him for a long time before finally saying,

"We're nothing to each other anymore, Evan. If you've forgotten, then so be it."

Evan frowned.

"Wait—'forgot'?"

Ayla just shook her head and stood up.

"I have a meeting after this. If you need anything else about the project, just email me."

Evan wanted to stop her, but she was already walking away, leaving more questions behind.

He stared again at Ayla's profile photo on his phone. His eyes focused on the little boy.

He felt like he'd seen that face before.

But where?

—

Evan stared at his phone screen, his eyes locked on the photo of Ayla with the toddler. That child's face… too familiar. The shape of the eyebrows, the small smile, even the way he looked at the camera reminded Evan of his own childhood photos.

His heart beat faster. A coincidence? No way.

He browsed through Ayla's contact. His fingers hovered over the call button, but in the end, he closed the phone. No. He couldn't ask this out of nowhere.

Leaning back in his chair, Evan tried to recall every detail about Ayla he had gathered over the past few days. She wasn't at the reunion. She hadn't shown up to that gathering. But now, she was back in Evan's life—as a vendor, as someone who was supposed to be just a business contact.

But clearly, there was something bigger.

His suspicion led to one crazy possibility. He could be wrong, but if he was right… it meant he had a child. A child that wasn't supposed to exist, a child he had once tried to erase.

Evan pressed his temples. His breath was heavy.

Tomorrow, he had to meet Ayla again. But this time, not as a colleague.

—

Evan opened his phone again, this time going into WhatsApp. His thumb scrolled quickly through the chat history of his high school alumni group. Normally, he didn't care about groups like this—full of cheesy nostalgia and shallow memories of the past.

But this time, one name caught his attention.

Ayla Maheswari.