LOGINClearly, Austin hadn't expected this response of mine. He faltered for a second and then spoke up again, "I resigned from my job and sold the house. I have also cut off all ties with Elsa. I have nothing else left now. All I wanted was to come here for you." I set the file down and glanced back at him. "If you have nothing else left, how dare you claim that you'll give me a good life? How shameless of you."His face turned even whiter. "I now realize I was wrong, Serene…" "What did you do wrong?" I asked, leaning against the side of the table with my arms crossed. I prompted further, "C'mon, tell me more." He parted his lips, but that was it. "Look at you—you can't even explain where you went wrong. How could you possibly promise you wouldn't repeat the same mistake in the future?" "I won't do it again!" Suddenly, he raised his voice, shifting forward slightly on his knees. "The greatest regret in my life was getting wasted that night. Wait, no—my greatest regret was s
I was in a meeting on the fourth floor of my office when Austin arrived at the ground floor of the building. Then, I received an internal phone call from the receptionist."Ms. Frost, there's a man here who claims to be your husband. He's insisting on entering and seeing you even though he doesn't have an appointment."My husband? Had Austin finally found me? It had been over a year since the court granted me our divorce. I couldn't believe he still had the cheek to refer to himself as my husband."Let him in," I said, curious to see what he had up his sleeve. When the door was pushed open, I was standing next to the photocopy machine, taking some documents. I wore a white shirt and a pair of formal pants, and I had tied up my hair loosely. In his eyes, I looked like a regular office lady. "So, this is actually where you are, Serene!" he blurted in a deep and urgent voice as he approached me, as if he had finally uttered the words he had been longing to say. I straightened
Bit by bit, the color drained from Austin's face, turning his face completely ashen. He tried to voice a defense but found that he had nothing left to say.Elsa was right. His hands were even more tainted than hers.After that night, the rift between the pair could no longer be patched up. Austin began to avoid Elsa intentionally, leaving home early in the morning and only returning late into the night. Sometimes, he wouldn't even come home for days at a time.Elsa tried to win him back by making his favorite dishes, buying his favorite drinks, and even wearing dresses he once said looked good on her. Yet, he never even looked her way.She stopped him in his tracks. "Austin, can we just sit down and have a proper talk?" she asked in the most submissive tone ever.Austin peered at her coldly. "Life still has to go on for Shalom and us in the future. Since—""There is no 'future' for us," Austin interrupted. "I never loved you. You, of all people, should be very well aware of tha
Another week passed. Yet, the private investigators still made absolutely no progress.Austin's patience had run out. He developed insomnia, sitting in the living room the entire night, scrolling through the old photos of him and me on his phone.I had smiled so radiantly in those photos, my smile reaching my eyes. I loved him so much throughout our eight-year relationship. We were together from college till graduation, from renting a place together till buying a place of our own. We had gone from being lovers to being a lawfully wedded husband and wife.For him, I learned to cook and remained in my hometown, leaving behind a chance to build a career of my own.As for him, he slept with the person I trusted the most, while I placed all of my trust in him.All of a sudden, Austin flung his phone at the wall, the impact causing the screen to smash into pieces all over the floor. Jolted awake from her sleep by the sound, Elsa ran out of the room, barefooted. She was scared out of
When Austin arrived back home at night, he noticed that the lights in the kitchen were on. He was caught in a daze momentarily, thinking I had returned and was preparing his favorite dishes like I used to. "Austin, let's have dinner together with Shalom tonight. She hasn't seen you in a really long time," Elsa prompted in a gentle voice while carrying two bowls of soup. Austin snapped back to his senses once he got a good look at the woman before his eyes. He lowered his head and brushed her off."Just get the nanny to accompany her.""But she wants you—""As I said, get the nanny to eat with her!" he interjected, raising his voice without warning.Elsa froze, her eyes welling up with tears. She set the bowls down and walked to Austin's side. Then, she extended her arms, wrapping them over his shoulders. "What's wrong? Has work been too tiring for you?" she asked.However, Austin shunned her, leaving her arms hanging in midair. The air came to a standstill for a few seconds.
Meanwhile, after all Austin had splurged on the search for me, he finally received word of my whereabouts. "Mr. Ramos, we found that Ms. Frost has already left this place.""Excuse me, what?"Austin clutched his phone so hard that the veins at the back of his hand bulged. "Where has she gone? Just tell me already!" "I'm sorry. Ms. Frost used some rather unconventional methods to board her flight. I haven't been able to track her down, even until now." Austin took a deep breath. "Keep looking, then. You have to find her no matter how long it takes." He refused to believe that someone who loved him so much would be willing to just disappear into thin air. After all, the thing I used to do the most in the past was to accommodate him. After needing the call, Austin paced restlessly in his office. Elsa showed up and handed him a cup of coffee. In a gentle voice, she reassured, "I believe Rennie hasn't gone very far. She has always had a strong sense of responsibility, even since







