Naomi had booked Alex and Zac rooms at an inn near the village that Kaia was in. They already had someone out there who drove them to the inn. By the time Alex and Zac arrived, it was already pretty late at night, so they laid out their basic necessities before settling in for the night.
The next morning Alex woke up early as usual. He went through his regular morning routine of brushing his teeth and putting on warm jogging clothes along with a warm fleece jacket. He also wore a pair of earbuds and strapped his phone to his arm. Alex never spent quality time in the country so he figured he would go sightseeing as he jogged.
He jogged on a daily basis, along with a few other workouts to stay in shape and maintain his stamina. It was one of the reasons he was proclaimed the sexiest man alive in the UK. The title didn't mean anything to him but staying fit was extremely important, especially when he was always stuck in an office all day. Plus, he liked jogging because he enjoyed the fresh air and being able to process things or just not think at all.
Alex left the inn with a bottle of water in his hand and earbuds in his ears. He jogged around the quiet town along frozen dirt paths and wooden fences. Fresh white snow blanketed the once green fields of grass, which enhanced the landscape's overall pristine beauty.
Once Alex was satisfied with his jog, he began to head back to the inn. This time he took a different route. He ended up passing by an elementary school. He stopped for a bit, watching the children laughing and playing in the snow. Alex smiled as he thought about how cute and innocent they looked. He surveyed the entire schoolyard before his eyes landing on a particular little girl that reminded him of someone. His eyes softened as he watched her smiling up at a woman before holding the woman's outstretched hand. He studied the woman's chocolate brown hair with highlights that looked a few shades lighter in the sunlight. As they walked hand-in-hand back inside the school building, he stood there, staring at their backs.
Alex stood there for a while longer as he was immersed in thoughts of the adorable little girl he came to cheer up. Finally, he moved on with his jog back to the inn. He was hot from the morning jog and took a shower. Once he finished, he got dressed in a pair of black pants and a grey button up shirt with a regular jacket instead of his usual suit jacket. Alex then met up with Zac so they could head to the school where Alexa was at together.
They went to the office to speak with the principal about observing the music students of the higher grades. They discussed their plans to scout out potential talents for Sabor Sights. They handed over the necessary documents for the principal to check their identity. He asked questions as he carefully studied the documents and checked for authenticity. Finally, he agreed to let them observe.
He called in his secretary, who gave Zac and Alex visitor passes. The secretary also gave them a tour of the school before showing them the music room. They stopped just outside the door to the music room. The secretary turned to look at them before saying, "After school would be the best time to observe because the main music students stay for more practice and lessons."
Alex nodded. "Thank you so much, do you mind if we wait? We promise not to disturb any of the classes." The secretary smiled, nodding. "If you're interested, while you wait you can help yourself to some of the coffee in the teacher's lounge. Just say that I let you guys have some if they ask. Oh, and if you do get coffee, would you please sit in the cafeteria to drink it? Sorry but our janitor is quite fussy about having drinks in the lounge." Alex smiled and nodded.
Alex and Zac walked side by side down the halls as they headed towards the teacher's lounge. Zac looked around. "So do you know where Alexa is?" Zac asked he glanced at Alex who was admiring some of the students' paintings on the walls. "No, but I saw her earlier while I went jogging. Let's go enjoy some of the coffee." Zac nodded slightly as they continued walking down the halls. Once they got the coffee from the teacher's lounge, they headed for the cafeteria. They sat down in a back corner, watching as a few of the students came in and out for lunch.
Alex made small talk with Zac, which soon turned into a discussion regarding the company. Even though he could feel the stares from the teachers and lunch ladies, he continued the conversation. "Zac, when we get back, get in touch with Zoe's manager. Even though she's good, she's still a rookie so we need to give her more training lessons to strengthen her stamina. Add more training lessons into the schedules of all the new artists as well. I'll see what I can do about having some professional vocal coaches and dance teachers come in to help them train. We should also encourage all the artists, regardless of whether or not they're rookies to use our gyms and dance studios. If we're going to continue staying above Crestfall Industries, we need to continue stepping up our game." He walked as Zac typed everything down in the iPad. After saying so much, Alex exhaled and took a sip of his coffee.
"Papa Alex!!!!!!," a high pitched screech from behind Alex made him quickly turn his head around. Alex had a huge grin on his face as Alexa sped like a bullet towards him. She pounced on Alex with a hug. Alex let out an "Oof!" at the impact and pulled her into a hug. "How are you, Alexa? You had me worried when you hung up suddenly," he said while patting her head. Alexa looked up at him. "Sorry but I didn't hang up though, the battery died all of a sudden."
Alexa's teacher walked up to him. "Hello, Alexa isn't bothering you is she?" the teacher asked before she took a good look at Alex. Not only did she instantly blush, she suddenly felt something was off as she stared at his handsome face. She looked back and forth between the two. The resemblance was uncanny.
Alex stood up and smiled down at the teacher. He held Alexa's hand and gave her a tight squeeze before turning his head around to look over at the students who filed in for lunch. He looked back down at her and asked in a very loud voice, "Who's been picking on you, Alexa?" The entire cafeteria was silent as they stared at the handsome and tall stranger holding Alexa's hand. They all noticed that the stranger and Alexa looked very alike.
Alexa didn't answer so Alex looked back at the crowd of kids. His eagle sharp gaze landed on a few kids in the back who looked like they were about to crap themselves. One of the boys decided to be brave. "If you're her daddy then tell her you're not a prince already!"
Alex's eyes landed on the boy. The boy stiffened as he felt intimidated by Alex's piercing blue eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Alex broke into a grin. "No, I'm not a prince…in fact...I'm a king! I do rule my own kingdom. It's called Sabor Sights. If you listen to any of the top singers on your phones or computers, or look at any popular or teen magazines, well most of the people actually come from my kingdom," he firmly stated before patting Alexa on the head. "Go get your lunch sweetie." He let go of Alexa's hand and motioned for her to go get her lunch. Alexa was somewhat stunned by what Alex did. She stared up at Alex who gave her a warm and tender smile.
Finally, she also broke into a grin and walked towards the lunch line, shyly turning around every few steps to look back at him. He smiled back at her encouragingly. Then he turned around to look at the stunned teacher. "Is it ok if I follow Alexa around just for today?" The teacher was still processing what had just transpired. Hearing Alex's question, all she could do was nod her head.
After lunch was over, Zac ended up following Alex to Alexa's classroom. They hung around in the back of Alexa's class watching her learn and answer questions. He also followed her to the art classroom where the students painted pictures of their family. In the end, he received a drawing of what appeared to be him, Alexa and her mom. Alexa even threw in what appeared to be Mi Sung in the corner of the drawing...far far away from the happy and smiling family of three.
~~
After recuperating from giving birth to Alexa, Kaia continued her exercise routines and stayed fit. She didn't want her condition to act up again so she made sure to always hit the gym when she had spare time. As a result, she maintained her previous well filled out figure without a single trace of belly fat from pregnancy.
It was already time to go home. Outside in the schoolyard, Kaia was chaperoning students who were in an all-out snowball fight with her. She was wearing a grey long-sleeved wool sweater and black leggings lined with wool on the inside. Over the sweater and leggings, she wore a gray winter overcoat paired with a teal infinity scarf and stylish winter boots. Her hair had a few highlights and was cut short so that it only reached her collar bones.
Snowballs flew around in the air. Kaia laughed, throwing snowballs left and right at the giggling and screeching children who teamed up against her. "Ha! I got you!" she exclaimed, giggling. One of the snowballs soared through the air and hit her on the arm. She heard an excited and triumphant "Yes!" behind her. She swiveled around and looked at the triumphant little boy who had thrown the snowball at her and smiled. The little boy noticed her zeroing in on him and started to run away. Kaia laughed at the boy's futile attempt and started running after him, dodging snowballs as she swiftly swept up snow off the ground and aimed at the boy.
Alex and Alexa came out of the school with Zac following right behind them. Alexa wanted to go outside to play in the snow and right when they reached the entrance to the school, they saw the epic snowball fight. Alexa noticed the main target of the snowballs and smiled mischievously. She was quick to run out onto the playground of the schoolyard. She grabbed some snow off the ground and threw it at Kaia's back. It managed to hit Kaia smack in the middle of her back and Alexa let out a triumphant "Ha! Mum I got you!!" Hearing a familiar voice, Kaia grinned. She stealthily took the snowball in her hand and threw it behind her in the direction where her maternal instincts told her Alexa was. Sadly, it completely missed Alexa, landing on someone else instead.
"Got yo—!" Kaia swiftly turned around at a little yelp of surprise. She was slightly startled and tucked some straight strands of hair behind her ear. "I am so sor—!" Kaia was going to say as she turned around in the direction of the yelp. Her eyes suddenly noticed a familiar figure and traveled up to meet the eyes of the person she missed the most. Kaia froze. Her eyes widening as she stared at the wide-eyed Alex and a stunned Zac. "Kaia…" Just him saying her name made her heart drop.