Chapter 8
Kieran raised a brow, clearly not buying it. "That good of a memory, huh?"
"Uh-huh! Mom says I got that from my dad - he's a genius!"
He blinked. "Your dad has a crazy good memory?"
"Yep! Why, mister?"
He hadn't meant anything by it - just tossing out a casual question. The kid might just be bragging anyway. Real geniuses? Rare breed.
But out of nowhere, a small part of him wanted to test her. So he rattled off his phone number real fast. "Think you can remember that?"
Cherry nodded all serious. "Got it! Sir, I'll introduce you to a super pretty lady!"
He chuckled to himself. No way he was taking that seriously.
Kieran glanced at his watch. Damn - it had already been nearly twenty minutes with this random kid. What was he even doing?
He stood up and lightly ruffled her hair. "I've gotta go. Time for you to head back to your room too."
Cherry gave him a cheerful wave. "Bye-bye, mister!"
His bodyguards followed him into the elevator. Just before the elevator doors slid shut, Kieran glanced back.
There she was - still perched on the bench, waving both hands like a tiny windmill, her chubby cheeks puffed out in a big grin.
Something warm and strange tugged at him deep inside, like a forgotten melody brushing past his heart.
If Heather hadn't betrayed him back then... would their child be around this age too?
He had planned it all - sign the marriage papers right after graduation, work hard, give her everything.
But life doesn't deal in "what ifs."
It was over. And someone like him and someone like Heather? Never gonna happen. Not then. Not now. Not ever.
His gaze dropped, face unreadable, and the elevator doors slid shut.
At that moment, Heather finally found Cherry. Panting hard, she scooped her up in a tight hug.
"Cherry! Do you know how scared I was? You can't just run off like that!"
"Mmfff... Mommy, you're squishing me! I can't breathe!"
Heather exhaled, trying to calm down. "What were you even doing out here? Aren't you cold?"
Cherry pouted. "You were gone forever! I was sooo bored I almost turned into a statue! But guess what? A super-duper handsome guy came and talked to me!"
"Handsome guy?" Heather's face tightened. Oh god - what if it was a trafficker?
"Yeah! He just left! If you had shown up a bit earlier, you could've seen him. He looked really cool!"
Heather didn't have time to waste on all that. She hoisted Cherry up and hurried back to the hospital room. On the way, she lectured, "Listen to me, cherry pie - don't ever talk to strangers, okay? What if someone tries to take you away?"
Cherry saw how seriously her mom meant it, so she sighed and raised her tiny shoulders. "Alright, fine."
Once they were back in the room, and Heather went to wash her hands, Cherry grabbed her tiny sketchpad and scribbled down the handsome guy's phone number.
Hmph! He thought she wouldn't remember it? Tomorrow, she'd text him, prove him wrong. Her memory was no joke!
When Heather came out of the bathroom, Cherry was already curled up on the bed, frowning a little.
"Mommy, how many more days do I have to stay here?"
"It won't be long, sweetheart. After that little procedure's done, you'll heal fast - then Mommy will take you to the amusement park, we'll ride the carousel together, okay?"
Tonight, Heather had begged again at the Velvet Dusk Club. She managed to get one of the managers - who had a sharp tongue but a surprisingly kind heart - to throw her a job.
Knowing she was a single mom with a sick kid, he passed her a high-paying gig. Just the tips from that job could be sixty or seventy grand. At Brando Manor Hotel - one of the poshest places in Regalis - anyone walking in here for a meeting either had money to burn or serious social clout. And tipping big? Completely normal.
If everything went as planned, she'd have enough soon to cover Cherry's surgery.
"Mommy, I'm scared of the pain... will surgery hurt a lot?" Cherry looked up with watery eyes.
Heather hugged her tight, kissed her on the forehead. "It's okay, baby. Mommy will be right there with you."
Once Cherry finally drifted off, Heather caught sight of something lying on the nightstand. It was a copy of Global Business Review.
Kieran was on the cover.
Her fingers quietly slid across the sharp lines of his face in the photo. He was untouchably successful now - one of the hottest names in business.
That evening, Ava had messaged her a profile on Emma.
Heather read all the details - Emma was a rising pop star and, more importantly, the eldest daughter of the Collins family. Not quite as powerful as Kieran these days, but definitely still in Regalis' elite circle.
Emma was beautiful too. Put her next to Kieran, and they looked like a perfect match.
Curiosity was a cruel thing.
Heather found herself wondering - did Kieran treat Emma the way he used to treat her
Would he still show up with homemade chicken soup when she had a cold? Tuck a blanket around her and remind her to rest?
The thought alone made her chest tighten, breath catch.
It wasn't jealousy - it was something deeper, sharper. Like pressing on a bruise that never really healed.
With a shudder, she slammed the magazine shut and shoved it deep into the drawer.
Out of sight. But never really out of mind.
Night had fallen over Regalis, but the city shimmered like gold. The CBD glowed like it was made of excess and champagne.
Heather stood in the VIP suite of Brando Manor Hotel, shivering under the overly strong AC.
What she hadn't expected? Running into Kieran again. So soon.
Even worse? He was here for a business dinner - with Zachary Harper. Her ex-fiancé.
Six years ago, after Kieran went to prison, her father Nathaniel Yates wasted no time arranging a marriage for her. The groom-to-be? Heir to the Whitestone Group, Zachary.
Nathaniel saw the match as a power move to strengthen his standing as the Westhaven governor. And Heather? She was already pregnant with Kieran's child.
Nathaniel had tried to force her into an abortion. She'd escaped the Yates family home in desperation, ran to Zachary, and confessed everything - unmarried, pregnant, and not with his kid.
Zachary, being from a high-profile family, couldn't possibly marry someone with that kind of scandal. And just like that, the engagement was off.
No longer useful to the Yates political game, Heather had been thrown out - both from the Yates family and from Westhaven.
She was still in a daze when Zachary's voice cut through the air, laced with mocking amusement: "Word is, after being dumped by the Harper family, Miss Yates got kicked out by her dear daddy, the governor. Didn't expect to find you in this kind of mess though."
Both times she'd run into Kieran recently, she'd been in rock-bottom situations.
Heather forced her clammy hands into steady fists, lips curving into a polite smile. "Maybe it's karma punishing me - for not marrying Mr. Harper."
Her casual tone only made Zachary's expression darker.
He'd claimed it was the Harpers who ditched her.
But here Heather was, flipping the story - saying she'd turned him down.
Zachary was proud. And petty. His eyes narrowed as he let out a cold laugh. "If it's punishment we're talking about, maybe it's more about how the universe doesn't forgive people who throw away a man like Mr. Foster."
Heather froze.
She instinctively glanced toward the man at the head of the table - the sharp, silent presence of Kieran, who hadn't said a single word so far.
