I am the Heir

Beautiful

I pushed the bike down the highway as the sky faded into a deep twilight. The night wind whipped against my denim jacket, which was still damp from the splash of water when I’d fished that ring out of the mud. The plan was simple: head back to my cramped studio apartment, pack up the memories, and wait for Mr. Sterling to pick me up in the morning. I was moving into a penthouse downtown. That apartment was going to be my final souvenir from a life of struggle.

As I crossed the Highland Bridge overlooking the churning river below, I spotted a silhouette. A woman was standing right against the guardrail. She wasn't moving; she was just staring blankly into the dark water far below. She was in a lethal position—her feet were only inches from the edge of the concrete ledge.

I slammed on the brakes. My tires screeched against the asphalt. I hopped off without even killing the engine and walked toward her, fast.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" I called out, my voice sharp and commanding.

She turned her head slowly. Her face was deathly pale. Her makeup was ruined, smeared by dried tears. She was wearing a dress that looked expensive but was torn at the sleeve. She didn't say a word; she just turned back to face the river.

"Step down from there. Jumping isn't going to solve your problems," I said, inching closer. I kept my distance so I wouldn't spook her into slipping.

"You don't know anything," she rasped. Her voice was cold, as if the life had already left her body. "I gave him everything. Every single thing."

I took one more step. "I just got dumped by the woman I loved because she thinks I’m a nobody. But I’m not choosing to die on this bridge. Get down now, or I’m pulling you down myself."

At my words, her defenses crumbled. Her legs gave out. She nearly slid toward the drop, but I lunged forward, catching her by the waist and hauling her back onto the sidewalk. We both collapsed onto the rough concrete.

She started to sob. It wasn't a quiet cry; it was a gut-wrenching wail from the depths of her chest. I sat there in silence next to her, watching the passing cars whose drivers didn't give us a second thought.

"My name is Luna," she said after a few minutes, her voice still hitching.

I looked at her, feeling a surge of pity. "If you want to talk, go ahead. It beats taking a swan dive off a bridge."

"That man... he used to be a nobody. I paid for his college. I sold my mother’s jewelry to fund his first business. I worked day and night just so he could be successful."

I listened intently. It was a classic story, but it sounded like a total bastard move every time you heard it.

"And once the company took off and he hit the jackpot, what did he do?" I asked.

Luna let out a bitter laugh through her tears. "He threw me away. He told me I wasn't 'classy' enough to stand next to his business partners. He chose some model fresh out of college. He said all the money I gave him back then was just a 'donation' that he’d already paid back with some chump change. He mocked my sacrifice."

I looked at Luna. She was beautiful, but she carried an aura of deep trauma. She was the polar opposite of Ava. While Ava left me because I looked poor, Luna was discarded after she made her man rich.

"The world is a strange place for honest people like us," I said, handing her a clean handkerchief from my pocket.

Luna took it. She suddenly leaned in and rested her head on my shoulder. Her skin was cold. She started crying again, quieter this time, but it felt even more painful.

"I have no one left. Every cent I had, I gave to him. I’m too ashamed to go back to my parents' place in the countryside looking like this," she whispered.

I went quiet. Her hand gripped my denim jacket tightly, as if I were the only thing left in the world keeping her from drifting away. I felt my shirt getting damp from her tears. I’d never been in a position like this before.

Just this afternoon, I thought I was the most miserable man alive because of Ava’s betrayal. Now, right in front of me, was a woman suffering ten times worse than I was.

I was torn. On one hand, I had to handle my move and prepare to step in as CEO tomorrow morning. On the other hand, I couldn't just leave a woman who had almost ended her life alone in the middle of the night.

I took a long breath and put an arm around her shoulder, trying to offer whatever sense of security I had left.

"Take it easy. You’re not dying tonight," I said, my voice steady. "Come with me. I’ll find you a decent place to rest. Tomorrow, we’ll figure out a way to make that guy regret ever throwing you away."

Luna looked up at me with her swollen eyes. "Really?"

Damn, I thought. How is she this beautiful even when she's crying? She puts every girl I've ever known to shame.