Once the funeral ended, she, Jane, and Little Ethan hid in the sacristy, waiting for the other guests to leave the church before going to the cemetery. It was just so hard to not go to her family and just pull them into a hug, but she wanted to have her quiet time with her mother so that she could say her final goodbye.

When she saw that there was no one in the church, she opened the door to the sacristy.

“EJ, please keep an eye on Jane for a minute. I’d like to say goodbye to Grandma before you can.” She said as she bent down to kiss both of her beautiful children on their foreheads.

“Okay, Mom. Come on, Jane. I’ll get you some juice.”

Theresa stepped out to the chapel and knelt beside Pilar’s closed coffin.

“Mama, I’m here now. I’m here now.” She whispered as she rested her head on that cold wood. “Mama, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to you when I should have. I know I’ve failed you, but I promise that I’ve been working very hard to make things right. I’ve been trying to get my life back together, and the kids…oh, they’ve gotten so big so fast. Although the last time you’ve seen them was three months ago, they’ve grown so much.” Theresa wiped the tears from her cheeks before looking over to the sacristy. “Jane, EJ!”

She watched as her children walked out of the sacristy to stand by Theresa. Each day, Jane looked more and more like her mother with the big doe eyes and the long brown hair. EJ was just getting more handsome as he got older. Theresa’s often thought about how he looked more like Ethan than Julian, but kept that to herself.

“Here’s Jane and EJ. EJ is doing so well at school, getting straight A’s. Jane is just a princess at ballet. You should see her when she dances. She’d just take your breath away. I know you would’ve loved to watch them grow up, but I know you’ll be watching over them in spirit. We love you so much, Mama.” With that, Theresa stood up and took her children’s hands so that they could leave the church together, only to be stopped by a figure in front of them. Nothing could mask the fear in her eyes, as she was uncertain of what he’d do to her.

Ethan had watched Theresa mourn her mother by her coffin with her children by her side. Jane. There was his beautiful Jane with the long hair and those big eyes like her mother. And there was Little Ethan, though he was not so little anymore. He had grown so much; he was practically as tall as his mother. And finally, his Theresa. Well, he couldn’t claim her anymore, not after the way he hurt her over the years. He had to admit, when she left Harmony, he felt a piece of his soul die, and now that she was standing there, all of the emotions came flooding back to him.

“Theresa…I thought I saw you here.” From the shadows came Ethan. The man she had loved for so long, but had betrayed her when she needed him the most. Theresa instinctively kept both children behind her as she knew Ethan and Gwen’s history of taking her children from her.

“What do you want, Ethan?”

“To see you. After all, you did leave town without a word, taking my daughter and godson with you.” Five years didn’t change how beautiful she was. She still had those same beautiful eyes that he fell in love with, although they did lose its shimmer of his doing, of course. She still had that stubborn face when she looked up at him with defiance or anger. He could never forget all the hurt he caused her, just as he could never forget the love and passion he had for her even after all of the time they spent apart. His eyes glanced down to the children behind her. His daughter, Jane, looked so much like Theresa did. He could see that mix of confusion, anxiety, and curiosity in her eyes as she looked up at her father. EJ, on the other hand, showed nothing but anger in his eyes. He knew very well how his godfather hurt his mother, and he hated him for it. If he had anything to do with it, Ethan would stay away from his mother and let her be happy for a change.

“I think I had a right to. You had no right taking my children from me, and you had no right to accuse me of something that I didn’t do. In any case, I won’t be here long. Once I see my family, the children and I are going back home. You can pretend like you never even saw me. You were always good at that. If you’ll excuse me.” She said curtly before walking away from him and leaving the chapel.

“Theresa, you know I can’t do that. I can’t let you leave. Not until I set things right between us.”