Johansson twins

chapter one: forgotten

POV SCARLETT

It is a rainy day in New York. Perfect for staying at home with my kids. However, I've got to go to work because my team is having some problems with management today.

I start the car when the lights turn green, the wheels having a bit of difficulty working properly because of the water on the road. I groan on frustration with the continuous car traffic around. It'll take a long time to get where I want to.

Laying my head back in the car seat, I let out a distressed sigh, massaging my eyelids with my hands, only to hear my phone ringing. I lower my head, checking if there's enough traffic for me to pick up now. Well, I'll be here for really long, apparently.

"Hello?" I say as I pick up the call.

"Scarlett?" It's Chris. He's been calling me for the whole morning, but I couldn't pick it up.

"Oh, Chris. Yeah. What's up?" I ask, trying to lift my humor up. I hear a deep sigh on the other side of the line, making me frown.

"You really don't remember what day it is?" He asks, clearly disappointed. I take a moment to think.

"I-I had forgotten." I mumble, embarrassed. It was our daughters' seventeenth birthday. We haven't seen them since they were around one year old, but I guess I just got so carried away with work that I forgot.

They are my first babies. It shouldn't be that way. I bite my lip, deep on my thoughts.

It was a hard time back then. I couldn't just have a baby. We were just filming Nanny Diaries, and then it happened. I got pregnant. In the beginning, my heart ached with the possibility of giving them away, but fear and, well, my manager made me give them away. They would be better without me. I wasn't ready, and I believe Chris wasn't, too.

However, I can't deny that for many years I would  think about how my life would it be if I made a different call. My two little girls would be with me. We would be dealing with their difficult teenage years, watching movies while cuddling on the couch. My lips curled into a small smile with that thought.

But I did that, and I can't go back now.

"Are you okay, Scarlett?" Chris asks, and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"Yeah, why?" I ask in a nervous laugh.

"You've been kinda off lately." He affirms.  I know he's right, but I would never admite it our loud.

"I'm fine, Chris." I tell him, wondering about my word choice."But I was thinking..."

"Thinking about what?" He replied. He knew where he wanted to get.

I took a deep breath and started to answer his question.

"Did you ever wanted or tried to reach out for the girls?" I let it out of my chest, feeling it lighter. There's silence.

"Sometimes." Chris says. Bittersweet feelings showing up in his voice. I know he'll never forgive me completely for giving the girls away without fully consulting him.

"How would you feel about doing it?" I question him, tensing with the await of the answer.

"I don't know. Curious, I guess." He mumbles. "Well, I have to go, Scar. Take care of yourself. Tell everyone I said hi." With that, he hangs up, leaving me thinking.

I shouldn't think about it now, shall I? I mean, they're probably better now. I should let them be.

But maybe I've got to see if they're okay with my own eyes.

In an impulsive motion, I grab my phone, calling my lawyer.

"Hi. I just wanted to know how it would cost a private detective or something like that, you know?" I can hear a confused voice through the phone.