The picture

Reid.

How dare she act like she didn’t know me?

I slammed the hotel room door shut with more force than necessary and went inside. My pulse still hadn’t slowed since I saw her. I realized I should have followed her out of the club and demanded answers but instead I let her leave with that man.

What was worse than her disappearing after the divorce was the way she had looked at me like I was a complete stranger. No recognition as if she didn’t remember how she wrecked our marriage in the worst way possible.

I tore off my jacket and threw it across the room. It landed in near the armchair. I paced to the window, pulled back the curtains, and stared out at the quiet city.

After the divorce, Anna vanished and left no trace. I didn’t care at first since she cheated on me, but after seeing her face tonight, something had stirred inside me. She was so beautiful, her body now had lush curves in all the right places. I wanted to run my hands along those beautiful curves and pull her to me. All of a sudden I was remembering the sweet memories of our marriage.

The indifference she showed made me furious. I dragged a hand through my hair and cursed under my breath. Damn that woman. I couldn’t believe she could still bother with only a simple glance.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn’t used in months. It rang twice before the owner answered.

“Mr. Bennett.”

“Vincent. I need you. Pack a bag and drive down here tonight.”

Vincent was a private investigator who had done many jobs for me. I trusted him to be very discreet.

He paused for a moment. “Where are you?”

I gave him the name of that part of the city and other details. “I saw her. She’s here. I want to know where she lives and what the hell she’s doing with her life.”

“Your ex-wife?” he asked.

My jaw clenched. “Yes but don’t you dare say her name. Just get here as soon as possible.”

“Understood. I’ll be there by morning.”

I ended the call and tossed the phone onto the bed. I wanted to punch something, anything to ease the frustration in my chest. I hated that woman, now more than ever. Not only had she ruined our marriage, she had the guts to act like I was a stranger.

Why the hell had she acted like she didn’t know me? It made me feel like I’d never existed in her life at all and yet I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

There was sharp knock at the door, making me even more annoyed.

“Darling?” A soft voice said as it opened. My girlfriend stepped inside, her arms full of shopping bags. Kylie used to be Anna’s friend. We didn’t date immediately after the divorce. It was about a year later when we were both sure Anna was not going to return to the city.

Now that I had found Anna again, I didn’t feel very comfortable dating her former best friend. I tried to convince myself that I shouldn’t care because she had cheated on me but it was impossible. I’d just realized that a big part of me burned for my ex-wife.

“I found the most amazing dress for the gala next month,” Kylie said.

Kylie set the bags down and crossed to me and touched my shoulder. I felt repulsed and didn’t want to look at her. Although there was nothing wrong with our relationship since we were both single, it had always made me feel somehow guilty. And tonight, the feeling was worse.

“Don’t.” I said in a low voice.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

I stood abruptly, shrugging her hand off. I couldn’t stand the sight of her smile when my mind was consumed by thoughts of Anna. I still couldn’t believe she was doing well, pretending I didn’t exist.

“I need air,” I muttered, grabbing my jacket.

“Wait!” Kylie started, but I was already out the door.

The hallway was empty. Thankfully. After glancing at both sides, I strode to the elevator, feeling very tense. I thought of her again. If I’d just followed her and insisted, I could have had the answers I wanted. Instead, I was left with many questions.

Where did she live? Was she married again? Did she have children now? Did she hate me that much? Did I hate her? Did I want her?

I couldn’t tell.

Vincent arrived the next morning and got to work immediately. He went to the club and spoke to some employees. By the end of the day, he called to say he had some information about the woman I saw that night.

My heart pounded in anticipation as I got ready. Kylie had gone to shop again. She shopped so much that sometimes I wondered if she was just with me for the money. She spent more than I did each day. But I didn’t care because she was a good girlfriend.

Vincent arrived five minutes late, worsening my anxiety. He slid into the seat across from me and slowly removed his coat. I almost stood to do it faster for him.

“Just tell me,” I said as soon as he settled. “Was it her?”

He picked up the menu, pretended to read it, before setting it down. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Why did he have to be so dramatic?

“I don’t know how to begin,” he said. “Because what I found doesn’t give me a clean yes or no.”

“Vincent,” I warned.

He took a deep breath before speaking. “I can’t confirm that the woman you saw is Anna.”

I was half expecting that but it still filled me with disappointment.

“But,” he continued, lifting a finger, “that doesn’t mean she isn’t.”

I leaned forward, eager to hear more. “Explain.”

“The woman goes by the name Rina now. Rina Collins. She has no records prior to four years ago. No childhood photos or school history. In fact most people in this area don’t know her. Apparently she knows nothing before the day she woke up in a hospital bed.”

Now I was curious. “Why?”

“She was in a car accident. She got a severe concussion and traumatic brain injury.” Vincent paused, watching my face. “That’s how she lost her memory.”

I just looked at him, wanting to hear more.

“The accident happened on the same day your divorce was finalized.”

Suddenly, I couldn’t hear anything anymore. Only his words rang in my ears.

“What?”

Vincent nodded. “Yes.”

“So she forgot me?” I asked. “Forgot her past life and took a new name.”

“Possibly,” he said slowly. “But here’s where it gets complicated.”

He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a thin folder before sliding it across the table toward me.

“Rina is engaged,” he said. “She has been in a relationship with a man called Robert Peller for three years.”

My fingers hovered over the folder. I was suddenly unsure of what to do.

“She has a child,” Vincent added.

My head snapped up. “What?”

“A little girl who is three years old.”

“That’s not possible. We divorced three years ago. Couldn’t she wait before moving on?”

Vincent opened the folder and pulled out a photo which he turned towards me. The world seem to stop in that moment.

A little girl stared back at me from the picture. She had big blue eyes, the same color and shape as mine. She also had a faint dimple on the left cheek, identical to the one I saw every morning in the mirror. No way!

My heart stopped for a few seconds.

“That’s…” My voice broke. “That’s my daughter. She looks like me.”

Vincent watched me. “There’s no paternity record linking you. Officially, the child belongs to Robert Peller.”

My eyes were fixed on the photo, my fingers shaking as I took it from him.

“Everything tells me the child is mine. This must be my daughter,” I said. “I don’t know how but she’s mine. Anna must have been carrying her when we divorced.”

Vincent hesitated. “There’s something else.”

Of course there had to be. I looked up.

“Rina doesn’t remember you or anyone in the past,” he said. “Her medical file shows she hasn’t been able to remember anything in the past few years.”

I could hear my heart pounding.

“What do they say about Peller?” I asked.

Vincent’s jaw tightened. “That’s the weird part.”

“He doesn’t know who she was before the accident either but it seems he told her they knew each other. She has no idea what he’s hiding from her. Someone must have paid very good money to make sure her past stayed hidden.”

The photo slipped from my fingers onto the table.

If that little girl was mine, everything was going to change.

“Give me the address,” I said.

“What?”

“I need to talk to that woman. I need to see the child.”

“You shouldn’t-”

I grabbed the folder and was out of the restaurant before he could finish that sentence.