C09
After we sent the last of our customers away, Rammy’s eyes landed on John, standing stiffly in the distance. Her expression darkened.
“What terrible luck,” she muttered under her breath. “I’ll go get rid of him.”
Before she could storm over, I caught her wrist and gave a small shake of my head. “Rammy, he can’t hurt me
anymore.”
She hesitated but eventually relented, though her watchful gaze never left him as I stepped forward.
John seemed at a loss, his usually composed demeanor shattered. His lips parted as he took in my appea je, his eyes filled with something akin to disbelief. “Rachel, it really is you… You look so beautiful now.”
I stilled for a moment before glancing at my reflection in the glass storefront beside us. He was right–there was no longer any trace of the exhausted, hollow woman I used to be. My shoulders were straight, my lips curved in a quiet confidence. The light in my eyes had returned.
“John, we are divorced.” My voice was firm, unwavering.
Panic flickered across his face. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crumpled document–the
divorce papers I had sent him. “Rachel, I’m sorry. It was my fault, but please… Can we not go through with this?” His voice cracked, the papers trembling in his grip. “I swear I’ll change. I’ll be better. I already kicked Yurie out of the
My husband Force Me Seven Times Abortions for My Sister–in–Law
Smith Family. We can have a fresh start. We can have children in the future-”
“Children?” I cut him off with a bitter laugh. “John, do you even realize how many lives you’ve taken away from me? How many times you personally killed our children? And now you want to pretend as if none of it happened? Why should I betray my own heart just to make up with you?”
He flinched as if I had struck him, his hands clenched into fists. Desperation replaced his panic and he stepped forward as if to grab my hand. “Rachel, I swear, I’ll change-”
Before he could reach me, Rammy yanked me behind her, her expression filled with disgust. “What right do you have to be here, John? You’re the one who hurt her. No one else. If you dare to cause trouble, I’ll have security throw
you out.”
For the first time in his life, the once–arrogant John fell to his knees. His eyes were bloodshot, his voice raw. “Rachel, as long as you forgive me, I’ll do anything. You love designing, don’t you? I’ll start a company just for you. I’ll give you anything you want. Just… don’t leave me.”
His words ignited a fire deep inside me. I clenched my fists, my patience snapping. “John, are you done?! Go marry your precious sister–in–law, stop pestering me! When you abandoned me–sick, hurting–over and over again just to run to her, did you ever think of this moment? Did you ever think of the day I would finally walk away?”
The sound of my slap echoed through the air, sharp and unforgiving. I had put all my strength into it. Red fingerprints bloomed across his cheek and for a moment, he simply sat there in stunned silence.
I took a deep breath, my voice turning calm, almost cold. “Don’t you see? I’m living a much better life without you.
I have my best friend by my side. I have my own career and my own dreams. I’m happy, John. Happier than I ever was with you.”
He looked utterly lost, but still, he refused to give up. “Rachel, I swear I’ll make it up to you–please, just one more
chance.”
A hollow laugh escaped me. “Make it up to me? And what about the lives of the children we lost? How do you plan to compensate for that?”
He fell silent, his head hanging low.
In the end, Rammy signaled for security and without another word, they dragged him away.
For days after, Rammy stuck to me like glue, keeping a watchful eye in case John tried anything reckless. She even hired bodyguards. “I have to protect the most valuable person in our company!” She joked, though I knew her
concern was real.
But I was no longer afraid. I had already moved on. Even so, John refused to give up. Every morning, he stood outside the entrance of our company, holding a bouquet of flowers in his hands, waiting.
am.”
“Rachel, since you won’t forgive me, then let me pursue you again. I’ll keep waiting until you see how sincere I
I didn’t stop. I didn’t even spare him a glance.
As I walked past him without hesitation, I murmured softly, “The other meaning of ‘New Life‘ is that even flowers that bloom from pain can shine brightly under the sun. And when the light finally touches them, all the wounds wil| fade away.”
With each passing day, I buried my past a little deeper. My hands remained busy with designs, my mind filled with creativity.
My days were full. My heart was light. And I had never been happier.
The storm raged outside, sheets of rain slamming against the pavement, but John was still there, standing in front of my company like a man without reason. His once–proud figure was now drenched and pitiful, a shadow of
the man he used to be.
Rammy and I were just about to drive home when he stumbled toward us. his knees hitting the wet ground with a
7:08 PM
