Chapter 9
+25 BONUS
I said the very thing I’d kept bottled up all these years. “From the very beginning of our marriage, Ivanna was always there. I’ve always been curious. If Ivanna was so great, why didn’t you just marry her in the first place?”
Theodore’s lips trembled. “Because I loved you.”
Ivanna, who was standing off to the side, looked visibly hurt when she heard those words.
I let out a cold laugh. “Love? How ridiculous. You say you love me, yet you kept getting involved with Ivanna. You say you love me, but then you teamed up with Scott to trick me into a divorce so you could marry Ivanna.
“Your love is awfully cheap, isn’t it?”
As I spoke, Hayden wrapped his arm around my shoulder and said in a low voice, “If I had known back then that you’d treat
Theodore.” Janice this way, I would’ve tried to win her back no matter what. You’re a pathetic excuse of a man,
All of them were rendered speechless.
Hayden lifted my hand in front of them to show off the ring he had placed on it.
When we returned to our lodgings, Hayden couldn’t help but come and knock on my door.
As soon as I opened it, I felt a chilling intensity engulf me.
Hayden pulled me into a tight embrace and murmured, “Janice, please… You won’t fall for Theodore’s sweet nothings again,
will you?”
I could feel the deep anxiety and uneasiness radiating from him.
ww
I patted his back gently and forted:
softly,
timo I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
and pieces of our time apart.
That night, Hayden and I held each other and ta
talked
Out all the years we had missed. We filled each other in
about
the bits
www
The next morning, I stepped out of the guesthouse to watch the sunrise.
to
his knees.
Theodore was standing in the courtyard desolately.
When he saw me, he tried to come toward me. But he lacked the strength to stand and collapsed
I looked at him coldly and walked right past.
1
“Janice, is there really no chance for us anymore?
he asked from behind me.
I didn’t answer, believing that silence was the best response.
When I reached the shore, Hayden was already
he best waiting!
The moment he saw me, his face lit
up
with a
smile.
In his eyes, I saw the boy I once knew.
“You came,” he said.
for me there.
I nodded and embraced him tightly.
Behind us, the brilliant morning sun rose. From that moment on, there were no more shadows in my life.
