Not a single trace of recognition.
Then a sharp, searing pain shot through the back of my hand. Rebecca's stiletto came down right on top of it.
The thin heel ground into my knuckles, crushing bone against the floor.
I cried out before I could stop myself and tried to pull my hand back, but she only pressed down harder.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Miss Cox." Rebecca glanced at Sean's face. When his expression didn't change, she made no move to lift her foot. "Clumsy me. You don't mind, do you?"
The pain was blinding.
I was terrified of being recognized. I clenched my jaw and swallowed the scream building in my throat.
The manager, seeing that Sean said nothing, sidled up with a simpering smile. "Miss Henson is far too gracious. And with Mr. Mason right here, this girl wouldn't dare mind..."
Only then did Rebecca lift her heel, slow and deliberate. Her gaze swept over my face, lingering. "Your name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?"
My heart skipped a beat.
She turned to Sean. "Honey, doesn't that name ring a bell?"
"Elaine... Cox... Do you remember who that is?"
The air turned to stone.
I felt a searing gaze land on my back, hot enough to burn straight through me.
But I didn't dare turn around.
I stayed on my knees. The pain in my hand had gone numb. Only my heart remained, slamming against my ribs like a caged thing.
One second.
Two seconds.
It felt like a century before the man's voice came, flat and indifferent.
"That name sounds trashy."
"I don't remember."
My heart seized, as if a fist had closed around it and squeezed. I could barely breathe.
Of course Sean didn't remember me. Of course he didn't want to. I had abandoned him at the lowest point of his life.
Five years ago, on a rainy night, he knelt on the bare concrete floor of our tiny apartment, eyes bloodshot, his voice stripped down to something close to begging.
"Elaine, please don't leave me. Please don't get rid of the baby. I'm begging you."
"Just give me a little more time. I'll make money. I'll give you and the baby a good life. Just a little more time..."
We had come from the same mountain village. We met when we were six. We married at twenty-two. It was the first time I had ever seen him look so small.
But I held back my tears and said the most hurtful words I could find.
"Sean, I've had enough. I don't have time to keep walking this road with you."
"I don't want to spend my life with a broke nobody, and I sure as hell don't want to bring more broke nobodies into the world. Love doesn't pay the bills. Without money, it's all worthless."
His eyes were red. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled wad of cash, pressing it into my hands.
It was his paycheck. A wad of cash, every last dollar.
He hadn't even bought himself a pack of cigarettes. He'd been saving it all, saying he wanted to buy me that dress I'd been eyeing for months.
"Take it. It's yours. I'll earn more. Just please don't go..."
I threw the money in his face. The bills scattered across the floor, soaking in the rainwater that had crept under the door, red as pools of blood.
"Sean, an abortion costs more than this."
He froze. And I turned and walked into the rain.
He kept his word. In just five years, he built a company from nothing, landed on the billionaire list, drove luxury cars, lived in a mansion.
"Your name is Elaine Cox."
Sean's voice dragged me back from the memory. I looked up and saw him toss a stack of bills at me.
The red notes fluttered down and settled at my feet.
"Wait out here by yourself," he said. "Don't let anyone in."
Then he wrapped his arm around Rebecca's waist and walked into the fitting room.
The door closed slowly in front of me. I crouched down and counted the bills.
