Chapter2
1243 Words
"You dropped this."
A man in a simple blue suit, wearing a rehearsed smile and maintaining a composed posture, held out the bag of cereal she had bought. It had slipped from her arms without her noticing.
Embarrassment flooded her face.
"Oh... thank you."
She took it from him, unsure of what else to say.
Her eyes drifted past him to the luxury car parked nearby.
The tinted window was still lowered slightly, exactly as she had left it before going to the supermarket. Someone was definitely inside.
She wondered why the person refused to get out and instead preferred to frighten her like this.
The man spoke again, drawing her attention back to him.
"May I know your name, please?"
He offered another businesslike smile, one that suddenly made her uneasy.
"You're Janet Rosefield, right?"
A frown settled on her face.
"H-How do you know that?"
The man chuckled.
"Oh, it's nothing."
His smile widened.
"My boss is Damon King. He wants to discuss a business matter with you, Ms. Janet. Unfortunately, he's not used to this kind of neighborhood, so please forgive him. He won't be getting out of the car."
Janet didn't know which part of that statement offended her first.
"D-Damon King? Business?..."
Then the last part registered.
"This kind of neighborhood?"
Her eyes narrowed.
The man continued as though he hadn't noticed.
"Mr. King is here to take his son. Jack. Though I believe you call him Chance."
Janet froze.
Jack?
She had never heard that name before. Her son's name was Chance. She had named him Chance. So why did this stranger call him Jack? And why did the word make her chest ache?
The man pulled out a cheque.
"You've been caring for him for a while, so Mr. King has chosen to offer you this as compensation."
He extended the cheque toward her.
The amount written on it was enough to change someone's life.
Janet didn't even look at it.
"What?"
She stared at him in disbelief.
"My Chance? My baby Chance?"
Her voice rose with every word.
"Do you have any idea what it takes to raise a child?"
The man remained silent.
"How can you come out of nowhere and demand that I hand my child over to you?"
She laughed bitterly.
"Do you even hear yourself?"
The whole situation was ridiculous.
No.
Beyond ridiculous.
"I'm not having this discussion."
She pointed at the cheque.
"Take your filthy money and tell your boss I'm not interested in selling my son."
She brushed past him.
Suddenly, the man's polite demeanor vanished.
He stepped in front of her.
His expression hardened.
For a moment, she realized he intended to use force.
She slapped him.
Hard.
Because that was exactly what any mother would do.
The man's hand flew to his cheek in shock.
Janet glared at him.
"It's a good thing you're only asking for my son."
Her voice trembled with fury.
"Because I'd never give him to you."
"Y-You—"
Humiliation flashed across his face.
The man raised his hand.
Before she could react, he grabbed her hair.
Janet screamed.
Then a car horn blasted through the air.
The sound froze them both.
Slowly, the tinted window rolled all the way down.
Janet gasped.
The man inside was breathtaking.
Steel-green eyes.
Enchanting.
Cold.
Ruthless.
The kind of eyes that looked at people and saw right through them.
Then came the glare.
A deadly one.
"Don't you dare."
His voice was calm.
Terrifyingly calm.
He wasn't speaking to Janet.
He was speaking to his employee.
The man's hand instantly released her hair.
Fear filled his eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, Mr. King."
He stumbled backward.
Janet stood frozen.
For the first time since this strange encounter had begun, she finally came face-to-face with Damon King.
And she understood immediately why people feared him.
Finally, his eyes met hers and for a moment , just a moment something flickered across his face. Damon King looked shaken. It wasn't outright shock, but it was there, then something cracked beneath the cold mask he wore.
Recognition.
Longing.
Disbelief.
As though he had spent years searching for something he had just found.
It vanished almost instantly.
He stared at her longer than he should have. As if he was searching for something in her features. Then his mask slid back into place, colder than before.
"Get here."
He said to his employee, who quickly rushed over to the car, opened the driver's door and got in.
For a brief moment, Janet's eyes remained locked with Damon's.
Then he looked away.
The window rolled up.
The car roared to life and sped off, kicking up dust along the road.
Gabby arrived, catching just a glimpse of the car. "Who is... that?"
Janet shook her head.
She opened her mouth to speak, but her mind was spinning. Jack. The name echoed in her skull. Why did it feel so familiar? And those eyes.. , those steel-green eyes — why did looking at them feel like falling into a memory she couldn't reach?
Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded behind her eyes.
She gasped.
Images flashed.
A man's silhouette.
A wedding ring.
Green eyes staring into hers.
A deep voice calling her name.
Then they vanished.
Her vision blurred.
"Janet? Janet, you're pale. Talk to me."
Gabby's voice sounded distant.
Janet tried to answer. But her knees gave way.
The last thing she heard before the world went dark was Gabby screaming her name.
***
By the time Janet woke up, she was in her room already, gabby was by her side, with a large bowl of water beside her.
She heaved a sigh of relief once Janet eyes came open. She was squeezing the napkin she was using to wipe her forehead and hanging it off somewhere.
Janet sighed, just staring at the Ceiling, gabby broke the silence. "You passed out."
Janet could speak now. "I..I know."
Gabby was resting her hands on her hip and staring at Janet worriedly. "You were getting better already."
"...are your headaches starting to relapse again?"
She frowned.
"You haven't passed out because of them in a long time."
Gabby's eyes narrowed.
"Did something trigger your memory."
"I got rid of everything that reminded you of your past."
Her voice softened slightly.
"Every time you remembered something, you ended up in pain."
She sighed.
"Maybe that wasn't the best idea after all."
Her frown deepened.
"You look terrible."
She paused.
"Are you sure we shouldn't go to the clinic?"
Janet sighed, feeling the weight of her chest rising and falling. There was only thing she could think about.
Suddenly, she shot upright, gasping.
"Chance?"
Her hands trembled against the bedsheets.
"Where's Chance?"
Gabby's lips thinned, looking at her paranoid friend. She hated seeing Janet like this.
"Chance is fine."
She deliberately stressed the word fine.
"He's more capable than you think."
She added gently, "I think you should worry about yourself for once."
The paranoia was gone, with panic slowly drained from Janet's face. A safe smile slowly creeping against her lips.
But it didn't last.
"Gabby?"
She looked up, fear returned to her eyes.
"Someone was here earlier today."
Gabby's brows knitted together.
"Who?"
Janet hesitated for a moment, then she asked,
"Have you ever heard of Damon King?"
Gabby's expression froze for the briefest second.
"Who?"
Janet's stomach tightened. "He was here for Chance."
She swallowed, then added quietly,
"He said Chance is his son."
- Writer
