Chapter 11
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Humbert clearly didn’t believe Winifred, and his eyes continued to study her face carefully.
Winifred’s breathing grew tight. She pulled the puppy tight against her chest and backed away until she felt the cool elevator wall against her shoulders.
“I only asked a simple question,” he observed, “but you seem quite nervous, Ms. Nelson.”
“Aren’t you being a little inappropriate, Dr. Pierce?” she shot back.
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he responded, “I’m standing a few feet away, outside this elevator, and you’re calling me inappropriate?” He continued to watch her with a calm, intent expression.
Winifred pressed herself into the elevator’s far corner, watching him with tense wariness.
The elevator chimed insistently, protesting the extended hold on its doors. Finally, Humbert released the button and allowed them to slide shut.
Winifred stared into those piercing eyes until the doors closed. Only then did she exhale in relief, her back damp with sweat.
Her heart pounded as she thought, ‘Did he recognize me? His expression gave nothing away… But even if he did, it changes nothing. Rose is my daughter. I’ll never let the Pierces take her.
‘It’s been seven years. He’s moved on–of course he has. Claire was just a plump girl he’d played with, another distraction for him. Someone like Humbert, born with everything, would want to forget our past even more than I do.‘
*****
Humbert lowered his hand and walked home.
Nemo whined toward the elevator, clearly unhappy about its “son” being taken away.
Humbert seemed to understand. He gave Nemo’s head a pat and let out a light scoff. “You’ve only spent a week with that mutt and you’re already considering it your son? How sentimental of you.”
Nemo wiggled its rear, thumping its tail against Humbert’s leg in disagreement. Then it trudged back to the living room to flop into its bed and chew on a stuffed bunny, sulking.
Humbert sat on the couch and crossed his legs, his eyes falling on a stack of cash on the table -150 dollars.
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He frowned, took a cigarette from the pack on the table, and took a long drag. Pale smoke curled through the air, half–obscuring his sharp features.
Nemo began nosing at the pet snacks in the coffee table drawer. When Humbert walked over, he was surprised to see it was still packed with puppy treats, all bought just recently.
He realized he must have forgotten to pack any of the snacks for Winifred, having only given her the kibble, cans, and formula.
“These are not for you,” Humbert said as he took the treat from Nemo’s mouth. “This is puppy food. You’re too old for this.” With that, he threw it in the trash.
He stared at the drawer full of pet supplies and shook his head. ‘Guess I’ve got too much time on my hands to be doing this,‘ he thought bitterly.
When Winifred brought Spud home, Rosalind’s
eyes
lit up
with excitement.
Having two dogs made the house noisier, but Spud was well–behaved and already house- trained, no doubt thanks to Humbert’s training.
Back at Humbert’s place, Winifred had second thoughts about taking the dog. Spud would clearly have a better life there since she could never afford the premium food and care Humbert could provide.
*****
That night, she dreamed of Humbert and a faceless woman she recognized as Margaret. In the dream, they found her and learned that Rosalind was Humbert’s daughter.
Margaret accused Winifred of using her daughter to scheme her way into their family, scoffing that her dream of marrying into the Pierces was pure delusion.
They intended to take her daughter away. But Winifred knew Humbert would eventually marry well and have a proper family. Then Rosalind would remain his hidden illegitimate daughter.
Her dream then showed her Simon and Vivian with their daughter, Cheryl, followed by her former classmates who pointed and called her a thief.
Voices jeered that the ill–looking, overweight girl had no shame for forcing Humbert to be her boyfriend when she was so beneath him.
She also saw the greedy expressions on her uncle’s and aunt’s faces.
She saw herself lying in a pool of blood, and then witnessed Rosalind cry out and collapse
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from a heart attack.
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Winifred woke from the nightmare with a start and immediately rushed to her daughter’s room without her slippers. When she saw Rosalind sleeping soundly, she finally relaxed.
She leaned down and gently kissed Rosalind’s cheek.
Rosalind woke up and murmured sleepily, “Mom.”
“I’m here,” Winifred said as she lay down and hugged her daughter. Feeling Rosalind’s warm breath and body heat slowly calmed her down.
Winifred couldn’t sleep. After her daughter fell asleep, she got up and stood by the window, looking at the bright moon outside with its soft light shining down.
She couldn’t quiet her mind. As it turned out, she wasn’t the only one lying awake that night— Humbert couldn’t sleep either.
He needed good sleep to be alert for his morning surgery with Werner, but he kept tossing and turning while his mind replayed memories like a movie.
He took a sleeping pill, but Claire’s face kept appearing in his thoughts.
One moment, she was crying and begging him to keep Nemo. The next moment, she was shaking his arm and pleading for him to win her that ugly stuffed rabbit with wings.
Then he was holding her by the waist, his fingers finding their way under her white knit top. Their clothes were rumpled, tangled together in a deserted corner of the gym equipment
room.
He kissed her until she could barely catch her breath. She whispered hoarsely that someone was outside, that students were coming to get equipment. They hid together in a corner, and she trembled against him, terrified they’d be found.
Humbert slept for a short while before waking up again at three in the morning. He sat up gasping for air, his body tense and aching.
He went to the bathroom to change and then threw his dirty clothes into the washing machine,
The night felt unusual, and his temples were throbbing. He couldn’t believe he’d had a wet dream about Claire and even lost control completely.
Humbert smoked two cigarettes and then pulled out his phone in frustration. He opened Discord and saw that Claire’s account was still offline. Frowning, he made a call to his best
friend.
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Mason Darwin’s voice sounded groggy on the other end. “Hey, Humbert, why are you calling so late?”
Rubbing his temples, Humbert said, “Mason, I need you to look someone up for me. Her name is Claire.”
Humbert believed his recent mood swings were mostly due to hearing about Claire’s rumored
death.
‘We had something, once, and I’m not made of stone. News of her sudden death… it would shake anyone, even a casual acquaintance.
‘So the worry, the anxiety, the restless nights—all of it was just a normal reaction,‘ he told himself, holding onto that excuse–it was simpler than facing the truth.
This continued for some time, and eventually, even his hospital colleagues noticed that Humbert seemed different.
“Dr. Pierce, you’ve seemed somewhat distracted these past few days,” a colleague mentioned.
Humbert responded with a noncommittal sound while rubbing his forehead.
That afternoon, one of his colleagues told him that Werner would be treating everyone to dinner at a themed restaurant.
While Humbert was driving to the restaurant, his phone began to ring.
“Humbert, about that person you asked me to find–Claire Miller. There are so many people with that name in Sonisburg, but only two match the age range you gave me.
“One was in a county hospital six years ago. She had heavy bleeding during childbirth. The baby boy died right after being born. The other died two years ago. She was married, had a fight with her husband, and took poison.”
Tires screeched as Humbert slammed on the brakes. His hands tightened on the steering wheel, his entire body going rigid. He stared straight ahead, trembling uncontrollably.
“That’s all I found,” Mason concluded. “Hey, are you listening? Hello?”
Humbert sat completely frozen, as if time had stopped around him.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
