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At long last, the divorce was finalized, and I heaved a sigh of relief.
I was truly free now, no longer trapped in Felix’s life.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at me. He had never envisioned a future without me.
by his side.
“Honey…”
I raised my hand to interrupt him. “We’re already divorced.”
Felix’s emotions were a jumbled mess. He managed a bitter smile and started to reminisce
about the past.
“Hailey, I vividly recall our wedding day. It was raining, but we convinced ourselves it was a good sign, believing that our lives would only improve with each passing day. I never expected that we would get divorced. Do you remember that we buried time capsules under the big tree
at school that day? We promised to come back to dig them up in ten years…”
“Just go by yourself. Hailey doesn’t want you anymore, and she won’t care about the time capsules, either! Moreover, the rain on your wedding day was probably a sign from God that your marriage was a mistake!”
Oscar suddenly appeared beside me. Without giving Felix a chance to speak, he pulled me
away.
As we walked, he continued, “Hailey, you have to throw away things that are dirty. Don’t waste your pity on them. You can pay attention to new things. They are better!”
When he uttered the last sentence, Oscar patted his own chest repeatedly.
Felix went to the school alone. He came to the big tree and dug out the time capsules.
It had only been eight years now, falling short of the ten–year period they had originally
agreed upon.
He opened his own time capsule first.
Inside, the paper had aged somewhat, yet the handwriting remained distinctly legible.
[I long to be with Hailey forever. In this life, she is my only beloved woman, and I will only be good to her. They say that there will be a seven–year itch in marriage. On our seventh wedding anniversary, I’ll take Hailey to the Arctic. I am determined to shatter this ominous rumor with my affection!]
These words hit Felix like a thunderbolt!
All his strength was instantly drained from his body.
So, what was he doing on our seventh wedding anniversary?
Debra claimed she was headed off on a business trip and, pleading her unfamiliarity with the destination, begged Felix to tág along. And he agreed.
Felix returned a week later, only to find a torn–up plane ticket.
At that time, he didn’t pay attention to the destination. Now, the memory suddenly flooded
back.
It was the Arctic.
15:14 Sun, 16 Mar
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At that time, ne aiant pay attention to the destination. Now, the memory suddenly flooded
back.
It was the Arctic.
His beloved Hailey had gone there alone!
Felix couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into tears.
He had lost his beloved Hailey forever.
Three months later, a medical report caused a stir in Felix’s circle.
It was Debra’s.
She was an HIV carrier.
Those men panicked and rushed to the hospital for check–ups.
Sure enough, a significant number of them were infected.
After an investigation, they found that Debra was the source. Given her long–standing penchant for engaging in casual sexual relationships, she had contracted the disease from some of her previous partners and then transmitted it to Felix’s friends.
Felix didn’t get infected. As he had claimed, he really hadn’t had sex with Debra.
But so what? It had nothing to do with me anymore.
Later, I heard that a man was so devastated that he stabbed Debra more than a dozen times and that they both died.
After our divorce, Felix gradually became thinner and thinner.
Some of our mutual friends reached out to tell me that he was living like a zombie, staying in
the house we once shared and drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day.
They asked me to persuade him and get him out of the depression.
However, I blocked them directly.
Everyone chose their own paths, and I had to respect their destinies.
