Later, I followed that man to Dallas.
He treated me with care, always gentle, never annoyed. Even when I joked casually, he’d remember–and make it happen in no time.
I hadn’t planned to return, but he kept asking for a proper status. So I came back to finalize the divorce with Johnson.
I sat down with Michelle. She was only three, but clearly inherited her father’s chatterbox nature. She wasn’t shy at all and started chatting with my old classmates like she’d known them forever.
I glanced at my phone, checking the pinned WhatsApp chat.
He still hadn’t replied–probably still upset over the marriage license delay.
I was about to send a message to coax him when the conversation turned
to me.
“Adeline, is this your daughter? She’s beautiful, just like you were in college.”
“Yeah, back then if she’d dressed up even a little, the line of guys chasing her would’ve wrapped around campus.”
“Do
you think Johnson’s coming tonight? He’s not just some guy now- he’s CEO…”
“What really happened between you and Johnson four years ago? You vanished, no word at all. We thought you actually…”
Chapter 10
Before the sentence finished, the private room door opened again. Everyone turned to look–including me.
Johnson stood at the door, breathing hard, eyes scanning the room until they landed on me.
Michelle stepped forward, curious about the strange–looking man, but I pulled her aside.
I bent down, fixing her collar. “Michelle, this man really hates me. You should stay away from him, okay?”
In Johnson’s eyes, surprise and joy battled it out. But I was cold as ice. “Let’s talk outside.”
Without waiting for his response, I picked up Michelle and walked to the rooftop garden.
This place was familiar. Even after four years, I could still picture him proposing here. Words couldn’t describe how magical it had been.
“Adeline, it’s really you… Have you been okay these years?
“Your condition… did it get better?
“What happened back then was my fault.
“I shouldn’t have treated you like that or said those things that hurt you. I was just… worn out from your emotions. I lost patience.
“But I never wanted a divorce.”
It had been so long. I’d nearly forgotten what his voice sounded like.
I stopped and looked back at the man who had once pulled me out of hell.
Back when he’d just started his company, I helped him with everything—
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Chapter 10
social events, hosting, logistics–whatever needed to be done, I stepped in.
Once, when he was away, I met with George Turman from a branch office. on his behalf.
George was 53, bald, with lewd eyes that roamed over me. It almost ended horribly.
I still remember how Johnson, bloodied from the guards‘ beatings, kicked down the door and dragged me out.
After that, I got a condition. The hardest kind to cure–depression. Our struggling company nearly collapsed from George’s retaliation.
I asked Johnson once–did he regret it? He looked me in the eye and said
he didn’t.
So in the end, he saved me. And he hurt me.
We’re even.
