"Where do you think he went?" Tilly asks me as we watch Parker and Hope dancing with Isabelle on the dance floor. They didn't quite understand the idea of Izzy and Blake having the first dance alone, but they are so cute that no one had the heart to tell them any different. We were all in tears when Izzy asked Harley to have the first part of the dance with her, and he actually agreed. We all know Harley isn’t one to have the centre of attention, but he would do anything for his family. It’s one of the reasons I admire the Kings. Their sense of loyalty to their family. Which makes everything I’m doing so much more worse. Secrets will destroy everything when they find out. No matter who my son is, they won’t forgive me. Blake is spinning Izzy around to the music as the children giggle and dance together around them. I look over at Jake who’s on his dad's phone, playing games I presume, because he’s at that pre-teen age and all moody. I don’t think you could pay him to get up there and dance.

"I told Luke to leave; to leave me and Parker and me alone. I know I shouldn't have but it all freaked me out," I admit to Tilly. Tilly has soon become the best friend I never had, and she is the only person who knows everything. She knows what I do at the Cage. She knows what Arthur pays me to do with the Kings. Though she doesn’t judge me, and I can trust her more than I thought it was possible to trust someone. Meg is my best friend too, but she’s also a little crazy and actually enjoys her work at the Cage. She can’t understand my desire to escape it all.

"It's a bad situation, but at least he knows now. Whatever Luke has been doing for the last five years can't have been worth missing out on his son," Tilly says, placing her hand on my arm and squeezing once before letting go. “Your reaction was normal. You were in shock.”

"Parker doesn't know who Luke is, and he loves Eric. He thinks Eric is his dad, and Luke can't just come in here and ruin that," I say my worst fear out loud. I can deal with my broken heart, but not Parker’s. He’s too young to really understand this all.

"What will Eric say when you tell him Luke is back?" Tilly asks, knowing there is no good answer to all this. I look to the door like I can sense he is here, and Luke walks in, his head held high and his eyes narrowed on me. Luke’s tight suit showcases his muscular form and makes him look ridiculously attractive. Luke was hot five years ago, but this Luke? This Luke is everything. His brown hair is short, soft looking and styled perfectly. Every part of Luke that was attractive before is now more defined. He has aged well. And well is a damn understatement.

"I don't know...and that scares me," I tell her. Eric is a good man, but I’ve done nothing but lie to him from the moment we took our vows. Our wedding isn’t exactly traditional in any sense. There was one night between us where we had sex, it was a week after our wedding, and since then, Eric has never touched me. He found out about the baby about a week later, and I’m pretty sure he’s pretended ever since. I did try to talk to him about Parker and Luke once, but he soon walked out of the room. We have separate bedrooms, separate lives that only mix when Parker is around. I don’t mind our life together. We have a lovely home, money, and safety…but sometimes I want more than that. I want to be in love. I know that’s not what is best for Parker though. He loves his dad, and that’s that. Luke can’t destroy my boy’s life.

"It's going to be okay," Tilly says, squeezing my hand as she senses my rising panic. Allie and Elliot go to the dance floor after Sebastian and Maisy. I watch Elliot spin Allie around, before pulling her close and she happily laughs as he kisses her cheek. Seb and Maisy are pressed close together, completely lost to the world. It’s just them and no one else. Tristan and his new- very pregnant- wife dance together nearby, all of them looking happy and perfect. All their marriages are like that, and it's hard to be around it sometimes.

"Want to dance?" Harley asks Tilly, who looks at me to check I'm okay and I give her a little nod before she slides her hand into Harleys and walks off with him. I slide my phone out of my bag, seeing no messages. I want to text Meg and tell her what happened, but I remember I promised to call her after the wedding tonight anyways. It might be better to explain all this on the phone. I’m surprised there isn’t even one text from my brothers, which is unusual because they’re working at the Cage tonight and usually get bored. Though I might have a bad signal in this old castle. I look up when I sense someone standing next to me, and see Luke looking down at me. His expression is odd. Luke used to be easy to read, to sense his emotions and now he is like a closed book.

"If I remember right, you always loved to dance. Will you do me the honour?" Luke politely asks, and I put my phone down, turning to my side to see him waiting for my answer. I should say no and walk out of here. That’s what the good little wife of the local Mayor would do, but I just can’t.

"You're not going to leave if I say no, are you?" I ask, wanting him to give me a reason.

"No," he smoothly replies. I bite down on my lower lip, a nervous habit, before getting up and letting Luke take my hand. The simple touch of his hand sends shivers through me as I question my mental state. I should not be dancing with Luke King. Luke sweeps me into his arms as a slow song starts playing, and I place my hands on his shoulders as we sway to the song.

"Did you marry him?" Luke asks. “I kept a close eye on my family, but I couldn’t bear to hear anything about you. I don’t know why I’m asking, you’re clearly still Arthur’s pet, so I know the answer.”

"Then why ask? You can see my wedding ring, Luke," I reply, trying not to get annoyed at his question. I hate being called Arthur’s pet, but he’s right, I am one. Once you’re sold to the Cage, you don’t escape unless you’re dead. I’ve always had my suspicions of who Luke has been with all this time, but I hope I’m not right. It would destroy his family to find out that.

"Does he know the kid isn't his?" Luke asks, pressing me closer against his body as he controls the dance. I can’t help but feel how toned and hard he is next to me.

"I don’t know. We never discussed it, and if he knows, he pretends otherwise," I explain to Luke, who places his head next to mine, his lips inches from my ear as he drops his tone. In these moments, it’s like we are back in the Cage, dancing together for the first time. We were innocent back then, not messed up like we are now.

"You need to have that conversation with your husband, where is he?" he asks, and I grit my teeth to control my anger before I reply to him.

"Luke, you can't just come back into my life and tell me what to do!” I harshly whisper, trying to keep a smile on my lips as every time we move around, I see someone watching us. Especially the Kings. “It doesn't work like that, and he isn't here."

"Why isn't he here?" Luke asks before spinning me around and pulling me back to him like a damn magnet. I wish he wasn’t such a good, sexy dancer. It would make this moment so much easier to walk away from. I stare into his eyes, hating and loving the feelings Luke can give me in only a few moments.

"Eric doesn’t like weddings or your brothers. He puts up with my friendship with them, but he wouldn't come to something like this with me and Parker," I explain to Luke, choosing to pull my eyes away from his before I do something stupid.

"Tsk, he’s a fool. If you were my wife, dressed as fucking sexy as you are right now, there is no way I wouldn’t be at your side until I could take you home and rip off that dress to show you just how sexy you are," he tells me. God dammit, I forgot what effect Luke could have on me.

"Luke...you can't talk to me like that. I'm married. Things have changed while you’ve been gone," I point out.

"I didn't have a choice. You know that, right? I never left you," he tells me, the swaying of our bodies to the music is the only thing I allow myself to feel. I can’t let the pain in that his words cause me.

"But you did leave me when I needed you the most," I whisper.

"No, I didn’t leave by choice. I promise you that. Baby or not, if I could have stayed, I would have," he firmly whispers back.

"You're not leaving, are you?" I ask, pulling my head back, so he looks me in the eyes as he speaks.

"No, so you best get used to me speaking to you like this. I'm not a liar, and you are beautiful. I've waited years to see you again, and I'm not going anywhere," he tells me. “I can tell you feel the same, Emilia.”

"Parker will be heartbroken if I tell him about you. He loves Eric. Eric brought him up, and he’s a good dad," I explain to him, needing to change the subject a little.

"I'm not here to hurt him...but I do want to get to know my son," he tells me. “If you’ll let me, that is.”

"Eric...he won't take this well," I reply. "Neither will Arthur, but if you promise you aren’t leaving, Parker needs to know."

"Arthur knows I'm here. He knows everything, so don't worry about him," he says, confirming a lot of my fears of where Luke has been. There is only one person powerful enough to make someone disappear. To make every private investigator come back and tell the Kings they couldn’t find Luke.

"What do you mean?" I question him, but the song ends, and Luke ever so gently kisses my cheek before letting me go. The kiss feels like a reality check. He really is back.

"You'll see on the weekend, Emilia. It was good to see you again. Do me a favour and let my brothers know I’ll come to see them tomorrow morning, won't you?" Luke walks off with a little smirk as he disappears into the dancers. I don't have a bloody clue when my life got turned upside down, but Luke King is sure ready to destroy it.