His Can Ring Promise

It was our seventh anniversary. Christopher Quinton proposed to me with nothing but a ring pull. He got his true love a house. When I said no, he rebuked me like I was some sort of gold digger. "I thought my love for you was worth more than anything money could buy. I only got Rachel that house to pay her back for all she did for me. I can't believe you thought I still loved her. You disappoint me." I broke up with him and tossed the ring pull into the bin. Then, I walked off. The next day, Christopher took away my position as VP and told everyone he was getting engaged to Rachel. … Five years later, we ran into each other at a charity horserace. He was a successful businessman, and the woman beside him was Rachel, all dressed in custom-made clothes. I was dressed in janitor attire and stuffing plastic bottles into my woven bag. He mocked, "Look at you, Queenie Dean. Scavenging for a living. Bet you didn't see this coming when you ditched me, did you?" I ignored him. My son had run off, and I had to look for him. The boy noticed the plastic bottles that were strewn across the ground, and he insisted that we stay back to finish his social practice activity here. Chapter 1 Curious It happened in the special audience zone of the horserace. Christopher Quinton was amidst the owners of listed companies, and with him was Rachel Benson. He was dressed in a sharp, crisp suit. White shirt, black trousers. The man looked nothing less than an elite. Then, his face was plastered all over the screen, and the amount of his donation kept going up. The people around him realized what this must mean. They put on fake smiles and cracked jokes. "You're young but accomplished, Mr. Quinton. That's 450 grand, and you donated it like it was nothing." "This horserace is something the Halloways started. You'll get a chance to make a friend out of that person. Don't forget about us." The business owners exchanged knowing looks and smiled calmly. The people here were bluebloods and elites of the city. Networking would do good for their future. "Oh, Mr. West, you jest. You hold half a dozen projects. We'd love to work with you." Rachel's comment caught the attention of Mr. West. He played along and said unctuously, "Yes, of course. Mr. Quinton, this must be your wife. You're a great man, you are. Business and family, and you get them both. Do you have any children? Maybe our children can be friends." Rachel smiled shyly and buried her head in her chest. She looked at Christopher, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "Christopher's busy with work, so we're not in a hurry to have any children. We're engaged." Then, everyone turned their eyes to Christopher. That made him freeze up, and then a stiff smile pulled itself on the corners of his lips. "She's the one I love. We'll have children, sooner or later." Well, this was a surprise. It'd been five years since they got engaged, and yet they hadn't gotten married. He made it a point to tell everyone he and Rachel had gotten engaged the day after our breakup. I still remembered the hashtags—#You'reMyLove.TenYearsSeparatedUs.You'reMine.#—and the hashtag about Rachel's engagement ring—#BossLady'sRing.DiamondBigAsQuailEgg.# Their loving relationship became the theme of every webpage I surfed. And then a severe voice rang out behind me. His nametag told me who he was. The racecourse's manager. "What's your employee number? Who let you scavenge here? Everyone here's a VIP! We don't let janitors in here. Now get out!" I stared at my hands. They were covered in grime and filth. My clothes were not the exact image of cleanliness either. Yeah, of course they'd think I wasn't one of the VIPs. I explained, "Sorry, but I'm a guest too." Chapter 2 Disgust "I'll find my son and then leave." But the manager pinched his nose in disgust. The look in his eyes told me he did not buy that story at all. "A guest? You smell like manure, and you're picking up trash. Please leave this instance, or I'll have to call security." I showed no disappointment, but I sighed in my mind. I was feeding the horses with my son at the racecourse, but the horse sprayed all over me. My clothes got drenched, and I had no choice but to borrow a set from the passing janitor. The manager wasn't going to let me go any further, so I picked up my bag. I was going to resume the search for my son, but when I raised my head, I met Christopher's eyes. By chance, he turned around. The sight of me stunned him, and a frown creased his forehead. "Queenie? You're scavenging now? How low did you go?" The manager was surprised that Christopher knew me. Eager to patch up his mistake, he asked, "Is this your friend, Mr. Quinton?" That got everyone's attention. They looked at us, and Christopher chortled with disdain dripping from his voice. "She's no friend of mine. This woman's a gold digger, and she tried to use me once." And then I noticed the scorn that painted everyone's gaze. That was directed at me. The manager got the cue, and his attitude got worse. He shoved me away. "Leave, now. I've seen enough women like you. You think you can get yourself a high value man? Please, look into a mirror." I dodged his hand, and the look on my face took on a frosty tinge. "I said I'd leave once I find my son. Don't try to touch me, or I'm calling security instead." Then, I noticed a familiar silhouette passing behind Christopher. My son. I did not have time to waste with these people, so I tried to squeeze my way past them. Panicked, the manager yanked my collar. I struggled and thrashed around to get away from him, but then I fell into Christopher's chest. My collar opened up, revealing the suspenders within. Before I could do anything, he shoved me onto the ground unceremoniously. "This is how you ask for reconciliation, Queenie? You disgust me." The fall scraped my palms. Great, I lost sight of my son. I glared daggers at Christopher and shot back up from the ground furiously. He was full of himself! Since the moment I showed up, he kept coming to conclusions he made up. I didn't even say anything. I couldn't believe he thought I would have any feelings left for him. Rachel held Christopher's arm. There was a frown on her forehead, and a sigh escaped her lips. "Queenie, I know you can't let go of the past. I know you care about the relationship you had with Christopher, but you know he's going to marry me soon." Christopher said nothing. He held Rachel's hand and kissed the back of it. The manager knew this was his chance to shine. He shouted at me, "See? He's loyal to her, and she to him! Stop clinging to people you shouldn't!" And then he tried to push me again. "Enough." A deadpan Christopher pulled his phone out of his pocket. Coldly, he looked at me. "Rachel's the one I've always loved. I only dated you because you looked like her, and I wanted to give a poor girl a chance. But she was never a gold digger like you. "I know you hate how you got nothing out of our relationship, so now I'm giving you a chance. Name your price. I'll give you any money you want." His fingers flew across his phone. Then, he raised his head. "Don't take this the wrong way. I'm just trying to settle the debt I owe you, not because I have any feelings for you," he blurted out. "Once you get the money, marry someone in your league and start fresh." Oh God, that was infuriating. Still, I took a deep breath and put on a smile. "I don't need your money." I really couldn't care less about chump change. The projects I'd handled over the years made enough money to rival his company's revenue. Also, if my husband found out I took my ex's money, his jealousy would probably make hell look like heaven. Chapter 3 Slander "We'll never see each other again. And congratulations on the wedding." I knew that wasn't enough to kill his doubts, so I turned my hand around and showed him the wedding ring. "And I'm married. I love my husband very much." The look on Christopher's face changed faster than I could say another word. He grabbed my hand. "What? When did this happen?" Rachel chuckled and spoke with a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Next time you try to lie, make sure you clean up anything that might ruin it. You've gone through a lot of husbands these past few years." Christopher took the phone from her and flipped through the photos. Then his frown disappeared, replaced by realization. "You almost got me this time. I can't believe you'd lie about marriage just to get my attention. This chance encounter is no coincidence, either. You set it up, didn't you?" Now I was the one frowning. I wondered what he was talking about until I saw the photos. A woman with a build similar to mine posted tons of photos of her going into expensive clubs and spots with different men. That answered my question, but then I noticed my old account in his friend list. It'd been years since I used that thing. "Don't give me any money. I don't need yours," I answered coolly. I really did not want to waste more time on these people. "You scoffed at my pull ring and demanded a breakup. You trampled all over my love, so you don't get to act all high and mighty here." Well, this guy was just full of it. The breakup happened five years ago, and even now, he thought I dumped him because I was a gold digger? We first met each other during a business conference. Then we exchanged numbers, and he started courtship. He was relentless about it. One thing led to another, and then we started dating. Months into our relationship, I noticed crates of photos stashed under his bed. Photos of the same girl. Her name was Rachel Benson, and she was the love he could never get. Then I realized why he dated me. I looked like Rachel. Disappointed, I told him I wanted to break up with him. On my way back home, I ran into a car crash. When I woke up, he was right beside me, his eyes puffy from all the crying he did. The nurse who checked on me told me he stayed by my bed three whole days and refused to eat or drink. Eventually, hunger and fatigue knocked him out. The next day, he tossed out everything that had ties to Rachel. He sat with me and swore, "I won't lie. I used to love Rachel, but I've never seen you as her stand-in. I just want you in my life." I bought that story. The relationship went on for seven long years. I helped him build his career and got his company listed five years after its establishment. I gave him the golden time of my life. But when Rachel came crashing into his life again, that messed up his mind. He would wait in line for the latest purse just because she said she wanted it. He would leave me and go to a concert with her just because she called. Even if my stomach was killing me, he wouldn't care. Even then, I couldn't bring myself to break up with him—until that nightmarish day came. That was the moment of epiphany. And now he was playing the victim? Please, if anyone had their love trampled all over, it was me. "Fine, if you love your dignity so much, here's a chance to make serious cash. Six thousand for three days of your life. You'll run every errand my friends and I need to see done. Deal?" Christopher gave me a card. The look in his eyes was unmistakably that of scorn and mockery. His sycophants played along like the dogs they were. Chapter 4 Mockery "You're generous, Mr. Quinton. Six thousand is enough to last her a year." Then, they turned to me. "Oh, um, what's your name again? Our legs are killing us here, and our throats too. Get us some water, will you?" I laughed mirthlessly. They wanted me to serve them? Just when I finally got some precious days off to spend with my husband? They could die in a ditch for all I cared. I smacked the card away and snapped angrily, "Get your head checked. You probably got hit on the head too much as a kid, and now it's coming back to bite you." My continued refusal irritated Christopher, and his face fell. Rachel quickly stepped in to calm him down. Scoffing, she said, "Gratitude doesn't exist in her world, Chris. If she was ever grateful for you, she'd never have stolen your company's most important techniques." She turned to me. "Should I jog your memory? You told us someone tailed you and took away the technique, but right after you quit, our competitor released a new project. It was supposed to be ours." That did bring up some memories. It was a damp alleyway, and the ground was little better than mud. I could still feel their hands crawling across my body. "Excuse me, they told us to create an accident and cripple her, not…" "Ah, who cares? Her lover's not trying to stop us, so why should we be gentlemen?" All the color was gone from my face. My silence excited Rachel. "I think this whole encounter is a setup you came up with." I loudly interrupted her and clenched my fists. "You'd better be ready for the consequences of your words, Rachel. Slander can land you in jail. Another lie out of that mouth of yours, and you'll hear from my lawyer." My aura was too powerful, and Rachel turned her eyes away. She tugged on Christopher's sleeve. "We should leave, Chris. Don't waste our time with women like her." Christopher's eyes lingered on me. They refused to move away. The tension was getting taut, and someone summoned the manager. "The Halloways' head adores his wife. He hates women who try to climb their way into our circle. Get her out of here, now!" I was starting to breathe heavily. Yes, that night. That night was a nightmare I could never forget. With trembling hands, I took out my smartwatch. I needed to call my husband. He must send some guys to look for our son. And then, paper stars fell out of my pocket. That stunned me, and they reminded me of the things my son said to me when he was making these stars. "I kept my birthday wish in these stars, Mom. Keep them safe for me." I bent over and picked up the stars, but Christopher stepped on them. With a trembling voice, he said, "What's the point of keeping these now, Queenie? It's too late." His shoe stepped on my fingertips. The pain shot up my arm, and I pulled it back. I thought, 'Hey, my son made those stars! What's it got to do with you?' Then, I met his eyes and noticed the tangled emotions within. Another memory came to the surface of my mind. Christopher spent most of his life hopelessly in love with Rachel, but she broke up with him out of nowhere. The trauma left him scared of love. Every time he had to face it, he was always insecure. That broke my heart, so I proposed to him. "I'll prove my love to you, Christopher. If you're happy with something I do, give me a star. When you fill up a whole mason jar with paper stars, you'll be the one to propose to me." He held the jar and cried tears of joy like a child who'd gotten the best birthday present of his life. He wouldn't stop making promises, both to me and himself. Chapter 5 The Past "We'll be together forever, Queenie. I swear, this is our happily ever after." That was ancient history. I'd almost forgotten about it, but he had to bring it back up. Since he wasn't going to move his foot away, I let go instead. I tapped on my smartwatch with my grime-covered hands, but it refused to light up. Worried, I started scrubbing my fingers with my clothes, but then the racecourse's manager charged toward me and snatched my watch away. Suspicious, he checked the watch slowly. When he noticed the diamond-encrusted band, he said with certainty, "This watch is at least six figures. There is no way you could've afforded this. You stole from our guest, didn't you? Get her and take her to the cops, security!" He then grabbed his walkie-talkie and told his men to find out if any of the VIPs had lost anything valuable. The security guards pulled my arms behind me and were going to escort me off to the cops. This was unbelievable. I turned around and shouted, "That's my watch! You have no right to do this to me before you prove that the watch is stolen!" Rachel chuckled, amused by the show. "Oh, please, like a criminal would tell on themselves willingly. We know you're a compulsive thief." The manager bought that story fully and told the guards to take me away. My wrists were burning from the guards' grip, and I thrashed around, struggling to break free. Christopher came up to us and pulled me out of the guards' grip. "Come with me. I'll handle the rest." Then, he dragged me off. It was then that a three-year-old boy came squeezing out of the throng. His face was red, and he called out to me, "Mom! Hold me!" I jerked my head around. My son was waddling over to me like a duck, but when he passed Rachel, he tripped on her heels, and the plastic bottles he was holding flew everywhere. His face scrunched up, and he cried his heart out. His knees were red from the scraping, and it broke my heart. "It's alright, Jon. Don't cry. I'll be right there." Then, someone gasped, "Oh my God, I think I've seen this kid. He was with Mr. Halloway!" Rachel picked my son up and gently cooed, "It's alright, boy. That woman's not your mom. I'll take you back to your family." The other huddled around my son. That scared him, and he cried louder than ever. He wriggled and thrashed and struggled in Rachel's arms. He stretched his arms in my direction. "I want my mom!" Christopher's grip on my hand went tight, and I gasped. His teeth were clenched, and he hissed into my ear, "You can't go around calling just any kid your son. Is this how you're going to torture me?" And then he lifted me up and took me away. My son was going to disappear from my sight, and I smacked his back. "Put me down or I'll hate you forever, Christopher!" He came to a halt, and then a bodyguard in black came crashing into him. Right before I fell to the ground, someone caught me. I turned around only to be met with a group of bodyguards blocking the throng. They parted into a path, and a man in a wheelchair came into the scene. He was wearing a casual shirt covered in children's doodles, yet it could not cover up his elegant air. Everyone's eyes were on him, and I too followed their sights. When I saw the man, my eyes went red. "Honey."