Billionaire's Regrets

1. "Regrets"

It was a chilly night in the year 2030.

Heavy droplets of rain poured down on the roof. I looked above and saw water leaking continuously from the hole in the roof, to the pail on the ground. Soon the water in the pail will overflow.

I stood up and changed the pail. Then, I went back to the living room and continued folding my son's high-school uniform. The television was on, it filled the noise inside the house along with raindrops.

When I looked at the wall clock, I found out that it is already eight in the evening. But my son is still not home.

"Eugene is running late."

My son told me that he will meet his classmates and review with them in the library for their upcoming exam. However, I couldn't help but get worried at Eugene who's still in his adolescent stage. I checked my phone countless times, hoping to hear anything from him. But, I received none.

When I decided to give him a call instead, the news on the television caught my attention.

["Breaking news. Cyrus Desmond, the director of Geelq corporation, was found dead inside his room. According to the investigation, the 39-year-old man took his life by drinking too much sleeping pills at a time."]

My hands shook for unknown reasons. I was so confused why I felt so bothered at the news, only to remember the surname I just heard.

'Desmond.'

In my whole life, there's only one person I know who has that surname. It is Eric Desmond, my college friend and the father of my child.

It's been years already. I tried too hard to forget him but now that I heard his surname, the hatred grew in my heart.

'I hate him to the bone. And I vowed to despise him until the day I die.'

Kring kring~ Kring kring~

When I heard the ringing of the phone, I found myself trembling in madness. It was as if a bucket of ice was poured down in my head, then I turned around to stare at the ringing phone on my hand.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down and answered the call from Gabrielle, a close friend of mine here in our neighborhood.

"Hello, Gab?"

["Jane! You need to go to the police station! Eugene was brought by the police!"]

I dropped my son's shirt.

The news came to me as a complete shock, as if I was electrified. I heard the sound like a bird flapping its wings in panic, battling against the sound of the rain. It was my heart. I was lightheaded, and my skin was cold and sweaty. And when I processed the information well, I ran out of the house with only a jacket to keep me away from the cold, and a wallet that only had a hundred dollars on it.

With my trembling knees, I arrived at the police station. I saw Eugene inside the cell with cuts on his lips, bruises all over his body, blood on his neck and black eyes. Seeing that, I felt as if I was demolished, as if there was a wrecking ball that had swooped in and destroyed my world.

"Eugene!" I shouted before running towards his side.

With tears in his eyes, Eugene walked closer to the cell blocks and called me, "Mom!"

As soon as I walked closer and checked upon his injuries, it made me feel like a knife was cutting through my heart. I felt his pain within my body, both physical and visceral. Because all parents know well how much it hurts to see your child suffer.

"A-Are you okay? Do you feel hurt?"

Crying, Eugene shook his head. "I'm fine, don't worry too much."