The Past

"We'll be together forever, Queenie. I swear, this is our happily ever after."

That was ancient history. I'd almost forgotten about it, but he had to bring it back up. Since he wasn't going to move his foot away, I let go instead.

I tapped on my smartwatch with my grime-covered hands, but it refused to light up. Worried, I started scrubbing my fingers with my clothes, but then the racecourse's manager charged toward me and snatched my watch away.

Suspicious, he checked the watch slowly. When he noticed the diamond-encrusted band, he said with certainty, "This watch is at least six figures. There is no way you could've afforded this. You stole from our guest, didn't you? Get her and take her to the cops, security!"

He then grabbed his walkie-talkie and told his men to find out if any of the VIPs had lost anything valuable.

The security guards pulled my arms behind me and were going to escort me off to the cops. This was unbelievable. I turned around and shouted, "That's my watch! You have no right to do this to me before you prove that the watch is stolen!"

Rachel chuckled, amused by the show. "Oh, please, like a criminal would tell on themselves willingly. We know you're a compulsive thief."

The manager bought that story fully and told the guards to take me away. My wrists were burning from the guards' grip, and I thrashed around, struggling to break free.

Christopher came up to us and pulled me out of the guards' grip. "Come with me. I'll handle the rest." Then, he dragged me off.

It was then that a three-year-old boy came squeezing out of the throng. His face was red, and he called out to me, "Mom! Hold me!"

I jerked my head around. My son was waddling over to me like a duck, but when he passed Rachel, he tripped on her heels, and the plastic bottles he was holding flew everywhere.

His face scrunched up, and he cried his heart out. His knees were red from the scraping, and it broke my heart. "It's alright, Jon. Don't cry. I'll be right there."

Then, someone gasped, "Oh my God, I think I've seen this kid. He was with Mr. Halloway!"

Rachel picked my son up and gently cooed, "It's alright, boy. That woman's not your mom. I'll take you back to your family."

The other huddled around my son. That scared him, and he cried louder than ever. He wriggled and thrashed and struggled in Rachel's arms. He stretched his arms in my direction. "I want my mom!"

Christopher's grip on my hand went tight, and I gasped. His teeth were clenched, and he hissed into my ear, "You can't go around calling just any kid your son. Is this how you're going to torture me?"

And then he lifted me up and took me away.

My son was going to disappear from my sight, and I smacked his back. "Put me down or I'll hate you forever, Christopher!"

He came to a halt, and then a bodyguard in black came crashing into him. Right before I fell to the ground, someone caught me.

I turned around only to be met with a group of bodyguards blocking the throng. They parted into a path, and a man in a wheelchair came into the scene.

He was wearing a casual shirt covered in children's doodles, yet it could not cover up his elegant air. Everyone's eyes were on him, and I too followed their sights.

When I saw the man, my eyes went red. "Honey."