Chapter 3: Broken Mirrors
Jax took a slow, measured step forward, holding his hands up to show he meant no harm. ""It's me, Clara. It's Jax. You're safe.""
Clara pressed a hand against her forehead, her eyes darting between Jax and the two children standing side by side. Seeing Lily and Leo together seemed to trigger a wave of distress across her face.
""I... I wasn't supposed to be here,"" she stammered, her breath coming in quick, shallow gasps. ""The doctor said... the doctor said the memories were wrong.""
""Mommy!"" Leo ran to her side, wrapping his arms around her waist. Clara instantly wrapped her arms around the boy, her protective instincts overriding her disorientation.
Jax stopped a few feet away. ""Clara, what happened to you? Where have you been all these years?""
A tear escaped Clara's eye, tracing a path through the dust on her cheek. ""I woke up in a hospital three states away... no ID, no memory of my name. They called it trauma-induced fugue state. A elderly couple took me in. I was pregnant..."" She looked down at Leo. ""I gave him the name I kept seeing in my dreams. Leo. I thought it was just a dream.""
""It wasn't a dream, Clara,"" Jax said, his voice thick with emotion. ""You were pregnant when you disappeared. We thought we lost you.""
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Lily walked up beside Jax, looking up at Clara with wide, curious eyes. ""Are you my mommy too?""
Clara dropped to her knees, looking at Lily's face—the soft curve of her cheeks, the exact shade of her hair. Memories seemed to crash into her all at once, overwhelming her fragile nervous system. She gasped, swaying slightly on the grass. Jax moved quickly, catching her before she could fall.
