Calling a Forgotten Friend

On the day of Lily’s funeral, countless citizens came to pay their respects. I sat in the corner, unnoticed, as all sympathy was directed toward Damian. No one acknowledged my grief.

When the ceremony ended, Damian arrived—with Selene and their son, Daryl.

Seeing him laugh, as if Lily hadn’t just died, made my blood boil. It had only been a week, yet they were already parading in the media, playing happy family in the park. Meanwhile, I was drowning in misery.

“Where have you been?” I asked and the moment they saw me, their smiles vanished.

“We came to pay our respects—”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” I snapped at Selene. Damian’s glare sharpened.

“Are you seriously going to be rude to guests?”

“And are you seriously going to keep screwing around while our daughter is buried, waiting for you to come?!” I screamed, unable to hold back my rage. I then pointed at Lily’s grave. “She is buried six feet underground and you never came once to see her! Are you even her father?!”

“You’re stressed… You should rest—”

“Rest?!” I laughed bitterly. “I’ve been here for a week! I haven’t bathed, haven’t eaten, and you? You’ve been lounging at a park instead of visiting your daughter even once?!”

“And this woman..!” I pointed to Selene. “Do you have any idea how disrespectful you look when you waltz in here laughing with your teeth?! The audacity of a mistress like you!”

“Watch your tone, Kierra,” his voice was sharp as he once again grabbed my neck, choking me. 

The passersby merely stared at me and walked away, not daring to interfere. 

“I paid for this funeral. I paid for her medical bills. You contributed nothing. Do you really fucking think you have the right to talk?”

“And are we forgetting that this is all your fault?” Selene crossed her arms.

I scoffed, “Me? That boy was the one who pushed her off the porch!”

Before I could react, a sharp slap struck my face. My head snapped to the side. I was stunned for a moment before I realized…

Damian just hit me.

“Don’t you dare blame my son for the crime you committed, you filthy whore.”

Selene and Daryl smirked smugly. A kid… being manipulated by his mother to do this. I knew they were behind this.

Damian shoved an envelope into my chest, like an insult slapped onto my face.

“W…What’s this?”

“Let’s be straightforward. It’s time we divorce. You and I are no longer happy with each other, Kierra.”

My stomach dropped.

“Sign it. I’ll give you ten million dollars to help your business—not that it’ll do much, considering your reputation is already tarnished.”

My hands trembled, “Damian, are you serious…? You’re leaving me now? Now that our daughter is gone? In the moment I need you most—”

“Lily is gone. There’s no reason for us to stay together. I have a new family now.”

I sank to my knees, shaking my head. “D-Damian… please, I love you! You can’t do this to me!”

“We’ve been married for seven years—are you really just going to throw it all away?!”

Selene shoved me down, her heel slicing into my cheek. My vision blurred from the exhaustion and blood dripped onto my hand.

“He told you to leave. So go!” she sneered. “Take the money and stay out of our lives!”

So… it was all a lie.

Everything Damian once whispered to me. How I was the only woman he’s ever laid eyes on.

Every promise he made to Lily. How he told her that she was his only princess.

So it is how it’s going to be, huh?

I should’ve known that the love of my life would betray me this way.

I should have listened to what they have said about this man.

And yet, I’ve been blinded by my own foolishness. 

A sharp pain twisted in my chest. I clutched the divorce papers, signed them, and threw them onto the floor. 

“What the hell?”

“Pick it up if you want it.”

Damian clenched his jaw as he bent to pick them up and then he reached for his wallet. He pulled out his card, but I snatched it and tossed it into the garbage.

“What the hell, Kierra?!”

“I don’t want your dirty money. But I suppose Kierra won’t mind laundered and scammed money, right? After all, she’s low like that—”

His expression darkened. “You ungrateful—”

I turned before he could strike again. My eyes were watering, and I couldn’t let them see me this way. Their shouting echoed behind me, but I refused to let them see my tears.

As I walked out, my vision started to blur and I collapsed onto a dark pavement, with only the mercy of a flickering post as my comfort.

Damian’s memories of when he was more gentle and kind rushed through my mind. His first confession to me… and his proposal. His genuine smile when Lily was born. 

I looked at myself in a puddle. 

But despite all the memories he’s given me and all I have done for him to ensure that his business stays afloat… all he’s given me were bruises, cuts, and a broken soul.

Soon enough, I felt blood gushing from my nose, and my vision started to darken. I knew at any moment I would collapse. With shaking hands, I grabbed my phone and dialed a number I had saved for this very moment. 

“Please… pick up…”

After a few rings, a deep voice answered.

“About time you called, princess.”

I exhaled shakily. “S…Sebastian, it’s time you repay me. Can you pick me up?”

A low chuckle hummed through the line. 

“I’m already behind you, princess.”

I turned sharply.

Standing there in a black trench coat, with slicked-back hair and a neck full of tattoos, was Sebastian Novair. His skin was lightly tanned, his devilish smirk just as I remembered.

He reached out, his large hand cupping my cheek, gently wiping away the blood.

“I’ve always been waiting for your call, princess.”