Lisa's adrenaline surged as Aurora tore straight at her, her face a mix of fear and anger and heartache.
"What is it, sweetheart?" she asked as she dropped to one knee in front of her, gripping her shoulders and scanning her body to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"I...go inside, Mama. Go inside!"
"Rory, calm down. What's wrong? Tell me what happened." Her gaze jumped past her, to her bike lying in the road. To the person standing in the middle of the street staring at them. To the woman who looked like...
The air whooshed out of her lungs. Her knees turned to gelatin. "Oh, my God."
"No!" Aurora pushed against her shoulders, tried to force her back into the house as Lisa slowly rose to her feet. "No, it's not her. It's not her, Mama. She just looks like her. Please, please. Look at me."
Her gaze dropped to Aurora's tear-streaked face. Panic filled her eyes, but it barely registered. With shaking arms, she lifted her out of her way then looked toward the blonde standing still as stone in the road. Watching her.
Her head spun. Her pulse raced. It couldn't be.
Lisa was vaguely aware of a car screeching to a halt next to the curb, of Jisoo climbing out of her Land Rover, of Aurora's hysterical voice as she tried to pull her back into the house, but she couldn't feel her daughter's hands. Couldn't seem to stop her feet from moving forward. She felt like she was in a fog. A dream. Like she was hallucinating in broad daylight.
Somehow she made it down the block, stopped in front of her. Stared at her in shock. At her side she heard Jisoo mutter, "Mother of God."
No one spoke. For a long minute there was nothing but silence. And fear and hope and utter disbelief. And then her heart lurched in her chest.
"Oh, my God." Lisa closed the distance between them, cupped her face in her hands, ran her fingers over the smooth skin of her cheeks. This couldn't be real. It had to be a dream. Memories bombarded her from every side, condensed beneath her breastbone and squeezed as she soaked her in. As she felt her pulse beat beneath her fingers. As the heat of her body surrounded her to leave her foggy and light headed.
She was real. She was warm and soft and alive beneath her fingers. She was...Chaeyoung.
Lisa stared into her eyes. Recognition flared in the depths of those bright brown eyes. And that connection they'd had from the very start, from the first second they'd met so long ago, burned hot and bright, warming her in places she hadn't even realized had gone cold.
All this time. All these years...
"Chae?," she whispered.
Her eyes darkened. The recognition fled. Was quickly replaced with confusion and...fear.
Before Lisa could stop her, she jerked out of her arms, took a big step back. Held her arms out in a very clear don't-touch-me move. "No." She swallowed, looked from face to face with her brow drawn low, took another step away. "No, my name is Roseanne. Roseanne Jeong."
Pain slashed through her. She tried to reach for her again, but Aurora tugged hard on her arm, stopping her. "Mama, I told you it's not her. She just looks like her. Mama, listen to me. It's not her."
Not her? It had to be her. It had to be...
"Chaeyoung—"
She dodged her grip. And Lisa felt her heart shattering against the pavement at her feet. "I...I was hoping to ask you a few questions. I can see this isn't a good time. I'll just leave—"
