11
I was wrong.
John called, asking to meet. He’d gone to my
old house, but I’d already moved.
I refused, telling him to say whatever he had
to say over the phone.
<
He had the gall to say, “I assume you know,
my wife’s pregnant! A boy!”
I scoffed. “And?”
He sputtered. “It does concern you! The
doctor said she needs bed rest, but that brat
Chloe is throwing parties every day! How is
my wife supposed to rest?”
“Get rid of her, and I’ll cut all ties with her. I
promise.”
“Dream on,” I said coldly.
He roared, “Jane, don’t push me! I’m offering
to disown her! What more do you want?”
Suddenly, a shriek from the other end of the
line
“John! Who are you talking to?!”
“You’re a terrible father!”
“You think you can get rid of me? Dream
on!”
Screaming, cursing, sounds of a struggle.
I sighed and called the police.
The officer was very helpful. He even called
me later with an update.
Chloe had thrown a tantrum and pushed
John’s wife, who was almost miscarried.
John had hit Chloe, and her boyfriend
retaliated, beating John up.
く
After being questioned by the police, Chloe
and her boyfriend took John’s money and ran.
John was so furious he vomited blood.
The kicker? After discovering the money was
gone, his wife confessed that the baby wasn’t
his.
John’s medical condition hadn’t improved
after all. Chloe was still his only child.
His only child, who had stolen his money and
run away.
None of it mattered to me.
I accepted a promotion at work and moved to
a new city, the same city where Juilliard was.
Г
Now I could watch Ashley, a girl who knew
the meaning of gratitude and hard work,
achieve her dreams.
Chloe’s Epilogue
I took John’s money and went to Southeast
Asia with Jake. He said it was the place to
make a name for ourselves.
I didn’t care where we went, as long as I
could become someone.
I wanted everyone to regret how they treated
- me.
I gave Jake all the money to buy us a
“business opportunity.” While he was gone, I
saw a mother and daughter at a street food
く
The mother pulled out some steaming food
and watched tenderly as the girl ate.
For some reason, she reminded me of Jane.
That crazy woman.
I shook my head, trying to dismiss the
thought.
The little girl said, “Mommy, all my friends
take dance class. I want to learn too.”
The mother hesitated, fingering her worn
clothes. “Do you really want to? It’s hard
work. Can you handle it?”
The girl nodded eagerly. “Yes, Mommy! I
really want to dance! I want to be on stage! I
promise I’ll work hard.”
“And if I get lazy, you’ll make me practice,
right?”
The mother smiled, her eyes filled with love
and determination. “Alright, then. We’ll sign
you up.”
The girl jumped up and down, and the
mother’s eyes shone.
I froze, forgotten memories flooding back.
I had been the one who wanted to dance. All
her strictness, all her pushing… she was just
keeping her promise to me.
If I hadn’t been so awful to her, maybe things
would be different.
Maybe I did regret what I had done.
<
But there was no going back.
Jake called me over. I glanced at the mother
and daughter, then walked toward him.
I would show her. I would be successful
without her.
I wiped a tear from my eye.
I would be better off without her.
I would make her see that I was the best.
Then everything went black.
I vaguely heard Jake say something about
selling me to human traffickers.
to fight to curso but
L
I tried to scream, to fight, to curse, but
darkness consumed me.
Flashes of memories, disjointed and
confusing. Me on stage, winning. Me giving
that interview. Me forgiving the driver. Me
abandoning Jane.
Was this… was this it?
A tear rolled down my cheek. Now I really did
regret everything.
But it was too late. I couldn’t go back.
The End.
