Inside the shop, I could see him daydreaming. Cherry handed him a spoonful of mint ice cream, smiling.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked.
Lewis shook his head, his eyes distant, and then pointed toward the alley beside the old elm.
“You remember this place?”
I shivered at the memory. When he was younger, he had that reckless streak—always running too fast, trusting the wrong timing. One afternoon, as he raced home, a car lost control at the corner of that alley. Tires screeched. He froze, and before he could react, I lunged forward, pushing him out of the way just in time. The impact scraped my arms raw, the sound of the crash echoing in my ears.
I stayed with him until the ambulance arrived, holding his hand, whispering reassurances. But that same day, my grandmother fell gravely ill, and I had no choice but to leave the hospital to help her.
When I returned hours later, hoping to check on him, I froze outside the hospital room. Inside, Cherry’s voice floated through the door.
“I was the one who saved you,” she said, smiling at Lewis as he blinked in gratitude.
My stomach dropped. My courage faltered. I couldn’t argue, couldn’t reveal the truth. I had no choice but to turn away, to go home, swallowed by a hollow ache.
Lewis’s eyes softened, the memory of that day forever misattributed, and I… I became invisible. The girl who had risked herself to save him… erased, while Cherry smiled as if it had been her all along.
***
I came back home in silence, pretending I didn’t know anything.
Over the next week, I threw myself into work. I donated all my assets to start a charity foundation. I helped set up the team, attended every public event, made speeches, smiled for the cameras. But my body was falling apart. One day I even fainted on the office floor.
Lewis wanted to rush me to the hospital, but I stopped him. The doctor said it was normal given my condition. I’d be fine after the heart surgery at the end of the month.
He held my hand like I was fragile glass. “Addy, I’ve been too busy lately. After your surgery, I’ll quit everything and take care of you. Tomorrow, at the foundation ceremony, I’ll be there early.”
I looked at him, the long hair that wasn’t mine brushing his collar, the white shirt tucked perfectly. I nodded slightly. Inside, I told myself it didn’t matter anymore.
The next day, I dragged my swollen, tired body into my dress for the last time. I stood on the stage, ribbon ready, while applause roared around me. Then a sharp cry cut through the air.
People parted. A pregnant woman was sitting on the floor, clutching her belly. She lifted her head. Cherry.
I froze. My scalp tingled like electricity. She had dodged me for years, hiding like a shadow, but now she was here, kneeling with her forehead bloody.
“I’m sorry, Addison… I never meant to disappear back then. They… they threatened me. Told me I’d be killed if I testified. I’ve lived in guilt every day for five years. If it wasn’t for Mr. Hamilton protecting me, I… I don’t know if I’d even be alive after your parents died. I know I’m wrong. I’m not asking for forgiveness… just a chance to make things right.”
Reporters swarmed, cameras flashing. When they saw Lewis, they handed him a mic.
“Mr. Hamilton, she said you protected her… what does that mean? Is that your child?”
Lewis’s eyes went cold. He didn’t answer. He turned to his bodyguards and told them to clear the hall. Minutes later, it was just Cherry and me in the wide, empty room.
Lewis bent toward her instinctively, like he wanted to help her up, but then he stopped, pulled his hand back. When he looked at me, the blame in his gaze was sharp.
“Addy, why let her kneel?”
I looked down at Cherry, my voice calm. “If you’ve been hiding for five years, why are you here now?”
Cherry froze. Her voice shook. “I heard you started a foundation, and everyone was looking for me. I’ve been hiding for five years, I’m barely holding on… Please, Addison, spare the children in my belly. Let them live. They're already pitiful without a father. I’ll work off my sins however you want… like a servant, a slave… anything.”
I swallowed hard, looking at her, at the babies she carried, at everything that had gone wrong in my life. All the lies, all the betrayals, the man I married, the life I lost. And I had to decide what I would do next.
I sank low in the back seat, letting my body slump against the leather. Every part of me ached. My chest burned, my limbs felt like lead, but I had to keep some control. I couldn’t let anyone see me break.
Lewis’s voice still echoed in my head from earlier.
“Addy, I looked into it. None of it was her fault. Cherry was just a kid getting used, she’s been living with guilt for five years. Stop holding onto all this anger and move on.”
Move on? How could I move on when it was Cherry who indirectly destroyed my parents, who slept with my husband behind my back, who ruined the foundation I spent all my energy building, and now, who kneels in front of me demanding forgiveness?
I clenched my hands so tight and straightened my back and turned toward the door. I left the banquet hall alone.
It wasn’t until the car door shut that I let myself collapse. Eyes closed, tears sliding down my cheeks. But in my mind I still saw him. Lewis bent down to wipe Cherry’s forehead, helping her like I didn’t even exist in the room.
My phone rang. I answered on reflex. The voice on the other end shredded me.
“You liar! Pretending to do good with your filthy money. Your parents deserved to die! You let a pregnant woman kneel to you? You’ll pay for this! Everyone knows what a bully you were since you were a kid. You should die too!”
I hung up, but the notifications didn’t stop. Texts, calls, messages… all screaming accusations. I didn’t even understand until the driver handed me my phone. Headlines screaming that I, Addison, had forced a pregnant woman to kneel at my foundation, that my parents were fraudsters who stole billions, and that I had bullied Cherry through school.
My fingers turned white around the phone. Every message, every photo, every comment tore me apart. Even supposed old classmates confirmed the lies about me.
I tried typing an explanation, shaking so badly my words barely formed. I hit send, and the comment vanished.
The driver’s voice broke through my panic.
“Madam, more than ten cars are on us! They don’t even have plates, and the people are armed with iron bars.”
I turned, and through the rearview mirror, I saw them. Faces hidden, weapons ready, racing closer. My heart thundered. I dialed Lewis frantically, watching the danger closing in.
