Chapter 10: If time could erase
659 Words
Four years of racing history.
Time had a way of softening things; it takes longer than expected.
Blurring edges.
Moments of doubt and regret.
Dulling memories.
Turning what once felt overwhelming into something distant.
But it didn’t erase everything.
“Mom!”
Alice looked up just in time to see a small figure running toward her, laughter spilling freely into the air.
“Slow down—” she started, but it was already too late.
The child crashed gently into her, arms wrapping tightly around her waist.
“I finished it!” he said excitedly, holding up a sheet of paper.
Alice laughed softly, taking it from him. “Did you know?”
“I did it all by myself,” he added proudly.
She glanced down at the drawing, her smile widening despite herself.
“It’s perfect.”
“Really?” he asked, his eyes lighting up.
“Really,” she said, brushing a hand gently through his hair.
He beamed.
And just like that.
The world felt lighter.
Motherhood had changed her.
Not in the way people expected.
It hadn’t made her weaker.
It hadn’t slowed her down.
If anything—
It had made her stronger.
More focused.
More determined.
More certain.
Because now—
She wasn’t just living for herself.
“Are you coming?” Audrey called from across the room, grabbing her bag.
“In a minute,” Alice replied.
She turned back to the child, crouching slightly to meet his level.
“Go get your shoes, okay?”
He nodded quickly and ran off as fast as he could.
Audrey looked up, a soft smile on her face as she watched him.
“He’s growing fast.”
Alice smiled faintly. “Way too fast.” She said
Audrey glanced at her. “This is on. You’ve done really well, you know.”
Alice didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, her gaze drifted—just for a second.
Thoughtful.
Not like anyone was going to do it for me.
“I had to,” she said quietly.
And that was the truth.
Across the city—
Nothing had changed.
Edwin Gulter still ran his empire with the same precision.
The same control.
The same distance.
“Your next meeting is in ten minutes,” Andrew said, walking beside him.
Edwin nodded once. “Reschedule it.”
Andrew glanced at him. “You never reschedule.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
A pause.
Andrew studied him briefly.
“You’ve been doing that a lot lately.”
“Doing what?”
“Pausing,” Andrew replied. “Thinking.”
Edwin didn’t answer.
Because he had noticed it too.
Moments where his mind drifted.
Uninvited.
Unexplained.
A face he couldn’t fully remember.
A feeling he couldn’t name.
It didn’t make sense.
And he didn’t like things that didn’t make sense.
Later that afternoon—
Alice stepped out of a building, adjusted her bag, and tried to get through her phone, which beeped.
“Mom, wait, wait”!
She turned just in time to see him running toward her again.
And then—
It happened.
A collision.
Small.
Unexpected.
The child bumped into someone.
“I’m so sorry!” Alice said quickly, stepping forward.
“I’m fine,” the man replied.
She froze.
Something about the voice—
Familiar.
Too familiar.
Slowly.
She looked up.
And her world tilted.
Edwin Gulter.
Standing right in front of her.
Older.
Sharper.
Unchanged.
His gaze shifted from her to the child.
Then back to her.
A flicker of something crossed his expression.
Something he didn’t quite understand.
“I—” Alice started, but her voice caught.
For a moment.
Neither of them spoke.
Four years.
And yet—
It felt like no time had passed at all.
Except everything had.
Edwin frowned slightly.
Not in recognition.
But in confusion.
Because something about her felt.
Familiar,
But he didn’t know why.
And just like that—
The past.
Had rejoined
- Writer
