I blankly said, “Okay.”
After Mark left.
I called Sarah back in.
And handed her the signed divorce papers.
“I signed. Can you give these to the lawyer,
handle everything?”
Sarah glanced at the papers.
Then she scoffed.
“Lily, you’re just gonna let him get away with
く
this? That’s too easy on him!”
I gave a sad smile.
“What else can I do? Fight over him with his
ex?”
Mark and I had been together for two years
while dating.
And three years married.
Love and a baby.
Were still not enough.
What’s the point of fighting for a man like
that?
He said he’d be back in an hour.
But he never showed.
I spent the night alone in the hospital.
The next day, I felt a little better and decided
to leave.
Mark rushed around, taking care of the
discharge stuff for me.
He was still acting like he was gonna drop me
if he didn’t hold me carefully.
Mark walked me to the car.
I was about to get in, but I saw his ex sitting
in what was supposed to be my seat.
She was wearing a white power suit, with her
chestnut hair in big curls.
Г
Just expensive and perfect from head to toe.
“Hi, Mrs. Johnson.”
She smiled sweetly.
But there was something in her eyes that was
definitely taunting me.
I looked at Mark.
So, he spent the night with her, and picking
me up was just a convenient stop along the
way.
“Lily’s on leave, so Ashley’s filling in for her.
After we take you home, we’re gonna head
straight to the office.”
Not bad, I thought.
I nodded, trying to understand.
“Ashley’s family, it feels better than using an
outsider.”
“It makes you happy, it makes me happy.”
Mark looked relieved.
I went to the backseat and pulled the door
open.
As soon as the car started moving.
Ashley started trying to make me feel
comfortable by listing all the things I’d done
in high school.
く
Then things took a turn for the worse.
Ashley smiled and said, “Mark and I, on the
other hand, would sneak out of class and
hang out somewhere else. A couple of times
we got caught, and our parents were called.”
“Mark, do you remember what the vice
principal said to us?”
“I don’t remember.”
Mark’s voice was gentle, full of the fondest
memories.
“He got so mad that he hit us and then said,
‘You two are a match made in heaven!‘ It
surprised even him.”
storted laughing
Ashley started laughing.
And Mark joined in.
“I remember now.”
Ashley finished laughing, turned back to me,
and asked,
“Mrs. Johnson, what kind of girl do you think
Mark likes?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.”
“He likes women who are like older sisters.
He doesn’t like the innocent type. That’s why I
was so shocked when he married the cutest
girl in the school.”
“Oh, really?”
Ashley’s every word reminded me of how
close she and Mark used to be.
She was trying to get to me.
But I didn’t react at all.
She kind of stopped laughing and pulled a
box out of her purse.
“Mrs. Johnson, are you hungry? Mark drove to
the bakery and bought this.”
I pressed my hands tight.
く
Then I lightly shook my head.
“I’m not hungry, thanks.
“Oh, my God, Mark! You remembered that I
love mango shortbread!”
Ashley bit into one of the cookies.
“This is so good! It tastes exactly like I
remember!”
She ignored me, feeding the other half to
Mark.
“Mark, do you want a bite?”
Mark swerved.
Then he glanced in the mirror, noticing that I
く
was looking at him.
I was still calm.
As if I were too stupid to understand what
was happening.
Mark gave a lame excuse.
“Lily, don’t get the wrong idea. We were
always like this back in school.”
“I agree. Mrs. Johnson, please don’t
misunderstand,” Ashley said.
Mark was afraid I would get upset, and
added,
“Lily, I was going to get you matcha cookies, but they were sold out, so I just got a box of
く
mango cookies.”
“I understand.”
The truth is, he didn’t have to say anything.
I can let him and Ashley be together.
But I know he won’t get divorced.
Ashley rejected Mark in the past. That’s when
I saved him when he was almost attacked.
I was also the one who was with him when he
climbed to success.
In order to marry him, I even argued with my
family.
On our wedding day, he swore to God.
く
He would never marry any woman but me.
Otherwise, he would be struck by lightning
and die.
I freaked out.
And grabbed his hand.
“Honey, don’t say that. You can marry
someone else, but I don’t want you to die.”
Yes.
That’s all I wanted from him.
But he changed.
The car stopped in front of the beach house.
Ashley asked me, “Mrs. Johnson, you’re
pregnant, right? You probably aren’t planning
on going to the office?”
I gave a soft “yeah.”
Her lips curled.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Johnson, I’ll help you at
work and keep an eye on Mark.”
“Thanks.”
“Lily, it’s windy, go back inside.”
Mark spoke gently.
But when the car turned around and drove
away.
<
I saw him taking a cookie from Ashley.
Thankfully.
I’m not upset at all.
Letting go of a relationship isn’t hard.
You just need to be dating someone who is
the bad guy.
I went back to the house.
Then I started to pack.
I wasn’t bringing that much.
But the baby’s room was filled with presents.
packed them up and sent them to the
<
I packed them up and sent them to the
nearest children’s hospital.
It was already night.
Mark called and said he was at a meeting and
asked me to take care of myself.
I told him that work came first.
Mark came back two days later.
I was sitting on the porch, trying to move on.
The sun was warm and reflected on the jade
bracelet in my magazine.
