The Past Found Her First
818 Words
Felicia lay back on the bed and closed her eyes.
Sleep didn’t come.
Instead, her mind circled the same thoughts again and again, refusing to settle.
David’s face appeared the moment she tried to relax. His voice followed, calm and steady.
She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.
David was dangerous.
Not because he meant harm—she knew he didn’t. But because he still had power over her heart.
A kind of power she had never been able to take back.
She turned onto her side, hugging a pillow tightly.
He’s a playboy, she told herself firmly.
He left you once. He can do it again.
She had survived that kind of pain already.
She wouldn’t survive it twice.
You can’t fall for him again, she thought. You won’t.
She repeated it until the words lost their strength.
The next morning, Felicia woke early.
The mansion was quiet, almost too quiet. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, gentle and warm, but it didn’t ease the restlessness inside her.
She sat up slowly, rubbing her temples.
She needed air, space and something normal.
She dressed simply—nothing expensive, nothing that reminded her she was staying in a place that didn’t feel like hers.
Before she could overthink it, she grabbed her bag and left.
The mall was busy when she arrived.
People walked past her in groups and pairs, laughing, talking, arguing about small things that suddenly felt precious.
Normal life moved around her, loud and alive.
She blended into the crowd easily.
That was what she wanted.
She wandered from store to store, not really shopping, just existing. Letting the noise drown out her thoughts.
Eventually, she sat on a bench near one of the counters, waiting her turn.
For a few seconds, she felt okay.
Then her mind betrayed her.
David’s eyes.
The way he looked at her like she still mattered. Like she hadn’t been forgotten. Like she wasn’t just someone he once knew.
A small smile touched her lips before she could stop it.
“Felicia.”
The sound of her name snapped her back to reality.
She jumped slightly and stood up. “Yes,” she said quickly, embarrassed at how distracted she’d been.
She cleared her items, paid, and turned to leave.
That was when someone slammed into her shoulder.Hard.
“Hey! Don’t you watch where you’re going?” she snapped, adjusting her glasses as irritation flared.
The man didn’t apologize.
Instead, he slowly removed his sunglasses.
Her blood ran cold.
Andrew.
“So this is where you’ve been,” he said, his eyes roaming over her face, her clothes, and her posture.
“You haven’t come home for days.”
Her body stiffened.
“We broke up,” she said firmly. “You don’t get to ask me that.”
He laughed, bitter and sharp. “Wow. Look at you.” His gaze dropped lower, slow and insulting. “You look good.”
He stepped closer.
Too close.
He leaned in, trying to kiss her.
Felicia shoved him back with both hands. “Don’t touch me.”
His smile vanished.
Something ugly replaced it.
“Don’t tell me you’re a prostitute now,” he sneered. “Or wait—are you sleeping with that firefighter? Is that why you left me?”
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
Before she could move, his hand shot out.
Fingers closed around her neckight.
Pain exploded instantly. Her breath caught as pressure crushed her throat.
“Get off me!” she screamed, struggling wildly. “Get off me, you bastard!”
People nearby gasped. Someone shouted.
Felicia fought back with everything she had.
She struck him hard across the face.
Andrew staggered back, stunned.
“You hit me?” he yelled, fury twisting his features. “You prostitute!”
He shoved her with all his strength.
Felicia fell hard onto the floor. Pain shot through her back. Her neck burned where his hand had been. Her heart raced, wild and out of control.
Andrew continued shouting, drawing attention, enjoying the chaos he’d caused.
Then he turned and stormed off, still yelling, disappearing into the crowd.
Felicia stayed where she was for a moment, shaking.
Her neck throbbed. Her hands trembled.
Tears burned her eyes.
But she refused to cry.
She stood slowly, forcing herself upright, ignoring the stares around her. Her chest hurt, but not as much as the familiar feeling settling deep inside her—
The realization that the past never really let go.
She didn’t see the man standing across the mall.
David.
He had watched everything.
The moment Andrew grabbed her.
The fear on her face.
The way she fought back.
David’s jaw clenched so hard it hurt. His fists tightened at his sides, knuckles whitening.
His eyes darkened.
And for a brief second, gold flickered beneath the surface.
Andrew had just made the worst mistake of his life.
- Writer
