- to. His shoulders trembled, whether from the
wind or from grief, I couldn’t tell.
My words seemed to have drained him of all
life, leaving him like a puppet, staring blankly
at the ground, tears streaming down his face.
I watched him impassively, continuing, “It’s
good that you revealed that secret, John. At
least now, nothing can hurt me anymore. No
one can hurt me again.”
“Amy…” John looked at me intently, his lips.
parting and closing several times before
<
setting on a single word, Sorry.
I ignored his apology, glancing at my watch.
“My time’s up. I have to go.”
John didn’t follow me. He just stood there,
frozen. He was still there when we finished
dinner.
Chloe saw him and muttered, “How did he
find us here?”
“Who knows,” I said dismissively. “He’s
pathetic.”
Chloe nodded, a smile spreading across her
face. “You know, my ex–husband finally
agreed to the divorce. I finally have nothing to
worry about.”
“That’s wonderfull Lotle
“That’s wonderful! Let’s celebrate again tomorrow,” I said, turning to her with a smile. My gaze fell on John, standing motionless.
He was watching me, his eyes following my
every move. Our gazes locked.
John managed a stiff, strained smile, like the
first time we’d met.
Back then, I’d thought he was endearing.
Now, I just felt disgust. I looked away and
continued walking.
The three of us–Chloe, Mr. Xu, and I-
started our own company, creating our own
brand of electronics.
く
Our success in the northern market attracted
many business partners.
With our first profits, I told Chloe about the
impending real estate boom.
Without questioning my source, she invested
all her savings in property.
Together, we ventured into the construction
industry, building our real estate empire.
The electronics factory paid dividends
quarterly. Mr. Jones had received his share,
so I called him to get his bank details so I
could transfer his money.
“Keep it,” Mr. Jones said. “I never expected to
see that money again.”
Confused, I insisted on sending him the
money.
Mr. Jones hesitated, then finally confessed,
“Amy, that $50,000 was from John. He said
you wouldn’t accept it from him directly, so
he asked me to give it to you as an
investment.”
He said everyone thought my business
venture was doomed to fail.
No one had been willing to invest in me.
When he’d told John, John had given him his
savings to give to me.
I thought for a moment, then sent the money
back to Mr. Jones.
“The factory isn’t doing as well as it used to ”
“The factory isn’t doing as well as it used to,”
I told him. “Use this money to help the
workers who get laid off.”
The people at the factory had been kind to
- me. This was my way of repaying their
kindness.
Chloe finally finalized her divorce. We went to
a photo studio to celebrate.
Compared to a year ago, we had both
changed. We were stronger, more resilient.
Chloe traced her finger over the photograph,
tears blurring her smile. “Amy,” she
whispered, her voice thick with emotion, “I
never imagined life could be like this.”
Tears welled up in my eyes, too. “The past is
Tears welled up in my eyes, too. “The past is
behind us now.”
From now on, life would be good. I believed it
with all my heart.
