StoriesBlog 
Alex Donovan maneuvered the sleek, black BMW M8 into his reserved VIP spot at the Equinox on Chicago’s Gold Coast. The car, low and aggressive, mirrored the man who drove it. For the last decade, most people hadn’t called him Alex; they called him Mr. Donovan. As the co-founder and CEO of the “Market Hall” grocery empire, he was one of the most successful, self-made men in the Midwest.
He’d built that empire from nothing. His father was an engineer, his mother a public school teacher. Alex decided back in high school that living paycheck-to-paycheck, worrying about the first of the month, wasn’t the life for him. He’d been relentlessly climbing toward his goal ever since.
Donovan grabbed his gym bag from the passenger seat and was heading for the revolving doors when a homeless woman suddenly blocked his path.
— Sir, please, spare a few dollars for food? I… I have to feed my granddaughter. We haven’t eaten.
Alex frowned, annoyed. Where was the club’s security? Why were panhandlers wandering the private garage?
— Ma’am, you need to move.
— Sir, maybe you have some groceries? Anything you can spare, anything at all, — the woman pleaded, her voice cracking. She nervously adjusted a thin, black scarf covering her gray hair.
And that’s when Alex froze. It felt like a jolt of electricity hit his chest. He was staring at her ears, unable to believe his eyes. Peeking out from under the worn scarf, catching the garage light, were two small, perfect forget-me-nots, crafted from gold and sky-blue enamel. Tiny, brilliant-cut diamonds glittered in their centers.
Seeing his fixed stare, the old woman instinctively tried to pull the scarf down over her ears, but it was too late. Alex grabbed her thin arm, his grip tight.
— Where did you get those earrings? Tell me. Right now.
— They’re mine! They’re mine, let go of me! — she mumbled, trying to pull away.
— We can do this one of two ways. You tell me everything, or I call 911, — Donovan threatened, his voice low and cold. — Those earrings cannot possibly belong to you. Ten years ago, I had them custom-made by a jeweler for someone very, very important to me.
The woman went silent, fat tears just rolling down her wrinkled cheeks.
— So, what is it? A conversation, or a holding cell downtown?
Taking her silence as an answer, Alex unlocked the BMW and pulled the passenger door open.
— Get in. Start talking.
His reaction wasn’t just surprise; it was raw pain. The story of those earrings was the single most agonizing memory of his life. He had never, not for one day, forgotten the woman he gave them to. He knew, deep down, that Hannah had been his only true love.
Eleven years ago, Alex was just starting out. He had three small neighborhood markets, a decent condo in River North, and ambitions as big as the Chicago skyline. He had a nice car, cash in his pocket, and plenty of confidence. Tall, athletic, with dark hair and a strong jaw, he never had trouble getting dates.
He wasn’t looking for anything serious. He usually swapped out girlfriends every month or two.
That all changed on one miserable, freezing January day when Alex, having slipped on black ice, ended up in an Urgent Care clinic with a fractured wrist. He couldn’t take his eyes off the young nurse practitioner who was setting his cast…
She was slender, with skin so pale it was almost translucent, and she had the largest green eyes he had ever seen. A heavy, curly mass of light brown hair was pulled back in a tight bun, as if it was too heavy for her small head. She looked delicate, fragile, but her slender fingers were fast, efficient, and surprisingly strong.
— Alright, you’re all set. You can go.
— You’re my savior. I absolutely have to buy my savior dinner.
— First of all, your savior is Dr. Matthews, he read the X-ray. Maybe you should ask him to dinner?
Alex laughed, a real laugh.
— That’s a good one. And secondly?
— Secondly, I don’t have time for dinners. I’m working this job and I’m in my residency. But, maybe… try to be more careful on the ice. Have a good night.
Donovan left, but he wasn’t the kind of man who took ‘no’ for an answer. That evening, he was waiting by the clinic’s employee exit with a massive bouquet of pale pink tulips. In the middle of a Chicago January, they were a statement—better than roses.
— You really made an impression on me. Can I at least drive you home?
— Those flowers are… they’re beautiful. Thank you, but I can take the ‘L’ train.
— It’s 10 degrees out. The flowers will be dead before you get to the platform. Please, get in the car.
She hesitated, then finally agreed.
That’s how it started with Alex and Hannah. She was completely different from anyone he’d ever met. Instead of fancy restaurants and loud clubs, she preferred long walks along the frozen lakefront, or driving out to the suburbs just to see the stars.
She seemed to care very little about clothes. The best gift, in her mind, was always a book. She loved to read. It took Alex a full month to work up the nerve to kiss her, and it was three months before she finally agreed to stay the night at his condo.
After that night, Alex was on cloud nine. He finally understood what “true love” meant. He felt like he could move mountains for her. She seemed to be floating, too.
Alex was her first real, deep love, and she poured her entire soul into him. But reality didn’t stop. She had her grueling anesthesiology residency, and Alex was drowning in work, trying to expand his business. Sometimes, they only managed to see each other once a week.
Finally, Alex convinced Hannah to move in with him. She was hesitant; she hadn’t wanted to just “live together” without a real commitment, but she gave in. And she never regretted it.
Their life became a beautiful, shared story. Alex loved spoiling her. He’d surprise her with gifts, or sudden weekend trips to Lake Geneva. He insisted she learn to drive and bought her a small hybrid to get to the hospital.
And for every holiday, he ordered a custom piece of jewelry from a contact he had in the Diamond District. The last gift he gave her was those earrings: the forget-me-nots.
— Wear these, — he’d joked, — and never forget me.
— You say that like it’s a goodbye present, — she said, looking slightly hurt.
His kisses quickly reassured her. She tried just as hard to make him happy, teaching herself how to be a good partner, how to cook.
It didn’t come naturally. Having grown up in the Illinois foster care system, she’d missed out on those basic lessons. But she learned. She fell in love with cooking, constantly surprising Alex with new, delicious meals…
Alex’s parents, simple, kind people from the suburbs, absolutely adored Hannah. Everything was pointing toward a wedding. But after two years, Alex still hadn’t proposed. He was haunted by some irrational fear of marriage, a fear of losing his “freedom,” even though he was happier with Hannah than he’d ever been.
He could see his hesitation was hurting her. Finally, he gave in to the inevitable. He went to his jeweler and ordered a stunning, three-carat diamond ring. He just… kept waiting for the perfect moment.
I’ll propose on the anniversary of the day we met, he decided.
A week before that anniversary, Hannah left town. She took a bus to visit her only close friend, another girl from the foster system, who lived in Wisconsin and had just had a baby.
Alex decided this was his last chance to say goodbye to his single life. He gathered his buddies, and they hit downtown—first a steakhouse, then a loud, velvet-rope nightclub. The whiskey flowed. Women at the next table were smiling. The music was a deafening pulse, and the smoke from the hookah lounge hung in the air like fog.
Donovan got home, or rather, was poured into a Lyft, in a complete haze. And he wasn’t alone. He’d brought home a tall brunette from the club.
What happened next was a cliché, a scene from a terrible movie.
Hannah had decided to come home two days early. She’d been called in to cover an emergency shift at the hospital. Alex’s phone had been off all night, the battery dead. She took an Uber from the bus station. She let herself into the condo.
The scene she found froze her in place.
In their bedroom, on their bed, her Alex was fast asleep, one arm thrown over a naked woman with long, black hair.
Alex would never, ever forget that morning. Hannah had entered silently, but he woke up anyway, as if he could feel her stare.
The look in her eyes… it was a universe of bitterness, disappointment, and pure, agonizing pain. It was the look of a betrayed child. His heart still seized up whenever he remembered that look.
Hannah slowly turned around and walked out of the bedroom, not saying a single word.
He scrambled out of bed, shoving the other woman.
— Hannah! Wait! Please, I can explain!
She didn’t even turn around. By the time Alex was frantically pulling on a pair of jeans, she was already out the apartment door.
He sprinted out of his building onto the street, shoeless, just in time to see her climbing into the backseat of a yellow cab. It must have been the cab that brought her, still waiting at the curb.
He never saw Hannah again. Never.
It sounds impossible, but she vanished. She called the hospital and quit her residency that morning. By the time Alex drove there, frantic, they told him she’d left her resignation letter with HR five minutes earlier. Her phone went straight to voicemail, and by noon, the number was disconnected.
She took nothing. Not the car he’d bought her. Not the gifts. Not her clothes. She left with only the small suitcase she’d taken to Wisconsin.
Alex didn’t know her friend’s address or last name. He felt trapped, suffocated. He regretted, with every fiber of his being, not marrying her…
He couldn’t even file a missing person’s report. Legally, he was nobody to her. He used his connections, he hired a private investigator, but it was useless. She was gone. He wanted to howl with helplessness.
He started drinking, heavily, for the first time in his life. It was his parents and his growing business that finally pulled him out of the tailspin.
From that day on, Alex buried himself in work. In ten years, he built his empire. But he never married. He couldn’t. He was afraid to love anyone. His relationships, few and far between, never lasted more than a few months.
…So, to see those earrings, here, in this parking garage, on this beggar.
— They… they’re my daughter’s earrings. Hannah’s, — the old woman said softly from the passenger seat.
Alex looked at her closely. She didn’t look like a typical panhandler. Her clothes, though worn, were clean and of decent quality. There was no foul smell. The only odd things were the black scarf and the exhaustion etched onto her face.
— Don’t lie to me. Those earrings belong to Hannah. She’s… an old friend of mine. But she doesn’t have a mother. She grew up in the foster system. Where is she?
— Hannah’s in prison, — the old woman choked out a sob.
— What?
— She’s innocent! — the woman added hastily. — If you know her, you know she’s not capable of doing anything wrong.
— Yes, I’m sure of that. She’s an anesthesiologist. What happened?
— She was in surgery. The Chief of Surgery at her hospital… his wife left him, he’d been drinking. He came into the O.R. hungover. The patient died on the table. They blamed Hannah.
— They said she used the wrong anesthesia, that the patient died from anaphylactic shock. She fought it, but the Chief had the hospital board in his pocket. They gave her five years.
Alex was in total shock. He felt a dizzying mix of joy—she’s found!—and pure rage at the injustice.
— Who are you? Why did you call her your daughter?
— I’m Hannah’s neighbor, — she said, calming slightly. — She and little Julia moved to our town about five years ago. Hannah took out a mortgage on a small condo. We lived on the same floor.
— They? With who?
— Her daughter, Julia. You… you didn’t know?
— No, — Alex said, the word forced through his clenched teeth. — I didn’t know anything. How old is the girl?
— She’s nine. A beautiful little girl.
Alex didn’t doubt the answer for a second. Nine years old. And the name… Julia. That was his mother’s name. It told him everything.
— Where is the girl? Right now. We’re going to her.
— But why?
— Because I’m her father…
— What? Hannah… she never told Julia about her father. The subject was… forbidden.
— Nevertheless, I am. I made a colossal mistake. I lost Hannah, and I never even knew about my child. Who is with her?
— She’s with me. Hannah managed to sign temporary guardianship over to me during the trial. She was so terrified Julia would end up back in the foster care system. Thank God she didn’t.
— We’re going. Tell me the rest on the way.
— There’s not much to tell, sir. I’m her neighbor, Valentina. All alone. My husband died years ago, we never had children. I bonded with Hannah. We helped each other. I’d watch Julia, and Hannah, being a doctor, would check my blood pressure, look after my health.
— We started spending holidays together. She even took me to Florida with them once. We became family. Then this… this disaster.
— I’m so grateful I got guardianship. But the money… we’re renting out Hannah’s condo just to cover the mortgage payments. We live in my apartment. All that’s left is my Social Security check, and that barely covers the utilities. We need food, medicine…
— My savings ran out fast. Hannah had none; everything went into the condo. I… I sold Hannah’s other jewelry. I hated to, but we had to eat.
— Only these earrings. She begged me, begged me, not to sell them, no matter what. She said they were for Julia. So she could remember her father. I… I put them on today just to keep them safe. We had a maintenance guy in last month, and afterward, the grocery money from my cookie jar was gone.
— I don’t know who took it. And my check doesn’t come for another week. All we have in the house is a box of pasta. So I came here. I saw your car. I figured you had money… I just prayed you had a kind heart.
— You won’t have to worry about money ever again, Valentina. ‘Grandma Val,’ is it?
— Yes.
— Thank you, Valentina. For everything. I still… I can’t believe I’m her father.
— Oh, I’m sure you are. She looks just like you. But… you won’t take her from me, will you? I can’t give her to you. Not without Hannah’s permission.
— I’m not going to take her, Val. I’m going to get Hannah back.
When Alex Donovan saw his daughter for the first time, he couldn’t stop the tears. Standing in the doorway of the cramped apartment was a miniature version of Hannah. The same cloud of curly hair, the same delicate features…
But the eyes… they weren’t green like Hannah’s. They were dark, deep brown, just like his.
Alex stared at the little girl, and the reality hit him: We made this. She is my blood. I am a father.
He dropped to one knee and just hugged her, pulling her tight.
— Grandma Val says you’re Mommy’s friend.
— Yes, sweetheart, I am. Oh, God, I didn’t even bring you a gift, I’m so sorry. Do you… do you want to go, right now, and buy anything you want?
— Can I have a piece of chocolate cake? And… a cheeseburger?
Alex felt his heart crack. His daughter, who should have been raised like a princess, was worried about her next meal.
— Sweetheart, we are going to one of my stores. I own it. And I want you to imagine it’s all yours. You can have anything you see.
— Really? Anything? Wow!
He drove Valentina and Julia to the flagship “Market Hall” in downtown Chicago. He sat them down in the cafe, handed his black card to the store manager, and gave him simple instructions: “Their credit limit is the sky. Get them whatever they want. The best of everything.”
— Valentina, I’ll be back. I have to go see my lawyer. We have to get Hannah out.
Alex met with the best defense attorney in the state. A few days later, he was in the visitor’s room at the state penitentiary.
— Forgive me, Hannah, — were the first words out of his mouth when she sat down behind the glass.
— And you forgive me, Alex. For not telling you about our daughter.
She looked up, and his heart ached. She was the same, but different. Thinner. Exhausted. The light in her huge green eyes was dimmed.
— I only found out I was pregnant after I left. I was afraid to tell you. I knew… I sensed you weren’t ready for marriage. I was terrified you would ask me to… to get an abortion. And I couldn’t do that…
— And then that morning… when I saw you… with her. I felt like the only person in the world I trusted had betrayed me. I decided you preferred that life… the parties, the women. And there was no place in it for me, and especially not for a baby.
— Hannah, I was going to propose, — Alex said, his voice thick. — I had the ring. I still have the ring. It’s sitting in my safe. I was an idiot that night. I was a stupid, arrogant kid. I have regretted it every single day for ten years.
— Alex, I wanted to find you so many times. To tell you about Julia. But… I was scared. I saw you in the news. You became so successful, so rich. Always surrounded by beautiful women. I thought… maybe you wouldn’t even believe she was yours.
— What are you saying? Hannah, I looked for you for years. I never married. I couldn’t love anyone else. How did you… how did you survive?
— I moved. Far away, almost a thousand miles. I got a job at a hospital, worked double shifts. Rented a tiny apartment. I saved up what I could before she was born. When Julia was one, I went back to work. I had a good reputation.
— Then, five years ago, they offered me a good position back here, in Chicago. I took it. It felt like home. I wanted… I wanted Julia to be ableD to meet you, someday. I always told her her father was a good man, that something terrible happened that kept us apart. I bought the condo. Life was… it was finally getting stable. And then this nightmare at the hospital happened.
— Hannah, I am getting you out of here. And when I do, you’re coming home. To my house. You, Julia, and Grandma Val. And I hope, this time, you won’t fight me on it.
She looked at him, a real, shaky smile spreading across her face.
— No, Alex. I won’t fight. I’ve grown up. We’ve already lost ten years. We have everything ahead of us.
— Hannah…
— Yes, Alex. Can we… can we tell Julia you’re her father? I’d really like that.
— Yes. Of course.
Alex drove straight to Val’s apartment. Julia, surrounded by new toys, ran to him, but her first question was for her mother.
— Uncle Alex! Did you see Mommy? Is she coming home soon?
— Yes, sweetheart, I did. Mom sends all her love. And we are all going to be together very, very soon.
— And… one more thing, Julia. I need to tell you something. I’m not… I mean, I am Alex… but I’m not your uncle. I’m your dad.
Julia’s face broke into a massive grin.
— I knew it! — she giggled, and threw her arms around his neck.
A month later, Alex and Julia stood outside the gates of the penitentiary. Grandma Val was waiting for them back at Alex’s sprawling estate in the suburbs. She had already kicked his private chef out of the kitchen and was, at that very moment, baking apple pies.
The gates opened. Hannah walked out, blinking in the bright sun.
— Mommy!
— Oh, my baby! Alex…
She melted into his arms, crying and laughing, holding her daughter and the man she never stopped loving. Alex’s soul, which had felt empty for a decade, was finally full. He was, at last, truly alive.
And waiting on the backseat of the BMW, he had a massive, overflowing basket of fresh, blue forget-me-nots.
After all, if it hadn’t been for those earrings, who knows how this story would have ended.