Chapter 3

"Whether there's anything going on between you two or not, I'm still your ex-husband," I retorted.

It didn't matter that we'd gotten married nine times, only to end up divorced again and again. The fact remained that I was her ex-husband.

Silence settled between us, and a strong gust of wind swept through the night, carrying my words away.

After a long moment, Teresa raised her head and tried to explain.

"I know I was wrong to divorce you, but I couldn't let people accuse Hansel of having an affair with a married woman."

I took a couple of steps back, growing increasingly irritated. I couldn't understand her reasoning, and frankly, I didn't want to.

She kept insisting there was nothing going on between them, yet she was so concerned about protecting Hansel's reputation that she'd divorced me to spare him the accusations.

What about me? Was I supposed to just accept being divorced nine times?

"I'm sure you've thought everything through, Ms. Sloan. I have nothing more to say."

I lowered my head and avoided her eyes.

Teresa opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something else, but her phone rang.

It was Hansel.

I glanced at his name on her screen and said, "You should go be with him. We can talk about us some other time."

Teresa looked at me for several seconds before finally walking away and answering the call.

I returned to my apartment and shut the door firmly behind me, as though I could lock everything that had just happened, along with everything that had happened before, firmly in the past.

…

Time passed quickly.

Once I'd finished handing over my responsibilities at work, my departure date drew closer and closer.

With no job to worry about and Teresa no longer in my life, I cut myself off from my social circle in Yelby and found that life was much more enjoyable.

Only Stephen, who now knew about my plans to move abroad, occasionally shared the latest gossip with me.

For instance, after our encounter at the mall, Teresa and Hansel had apparently gotten into a huge argument, prompting several of their mutual friends to try to patch things up between them.

On another occasion, Hansel had snapped at Teresa during a party, leaving her standing alone in a corner for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.

I listened to everything Stephen told me, feeling neither sadness nor satisfaction.

In the past, whenever I'd heard that Teresa and Hansel had fought, I'd immediately seized the opportunity to beg her to remarry me ahead of schedule.

But this time, I didn't even feel like entertaining her messages.

Even when Stephen casually mentioned that Teresa had been asking him how I was doing, I felt no urge to contact her.

What surprised me even more was that Teresa had actually started calling me herself.

I repeatedly declined her calls, to the point that even Stephen, who was having coffee with me at the time, thought I was being cruel.

"Is that how women work? The more you push them away, the more they want you?" Stephen joked.

I kicked him under the table.

Then, he couldn't help sighing again. "Still, Teresa used to treat you pretty well."

His words brought back memories of the past, and my thoughts drifted to the time when I'd first met her.

I was still in college back then. Teresa was only six years older than me and happened to be one of Mom's business partners.

When Mom went abroad, she'd asked her to look after me.

She was already a prominent businesswoman in Yelby, but she indulged me in just about everything, treating me like a younger brother.

When I sprained my ankle during a track meet, she'd rushed onto the track and helped me off in front of everyone.

When I failed an exam, she'd called me an idiot before picking up my textbooks and tutoring me herself.

And when a company cheated me out of 1,600 dollars in wages during an internship, she'd pulled every string she could to put the company out of business.

I couldn't say exactly when I'd fallen in love with the woman who treated me like her little brother.

All I knew was that I'd grown increasingly attached to her, and I never hesitated to show her just how much I needed her.

Teresa was so accustomed to spoiling me that she never noticed anything unusual until I finally confessed my feelings to her.

Her expression shifted before she let out a sigh.

"There's someone else I like."

That was the first time I learned about Hansel, a man who looked a little like me.

My confession had ended in complete rejection, but it was only the beginning of my nine years of heartbreak with Teresa.

During those years, Hansel returned from abroad. He and Teresa got together, fought, struggled to make their relationship work, and eventually broke up.

One night, while I was drinking with Teresa to make her feel better after the breakup, I foolishly confessed my feelings to her for the second time.

She responded with a kiss, and we slept together. I was her first, and before long, we were married.

But then, Hansel came to Yelby, and Teresa asked me for a divorce for the first time.