Therefore, I chose to leave him.
After a long while, he stood up and walked to the side silently. He lifted the phone and made a call.
“Joseph, send over two sets of clothing.” He hung up and went into the bathroom.
After a while, he came out, and there was a knock at the door. He wrapped a towel around his waist and answered it.
When he came back, he held two bags in his hands. He did not shy away from me at all. He simply changed into his clothes and blow-dried his hair in front of the bed.
I lay in bed while he stood at the window. With a low and reserved voice that held a hint of helplessness, he said, “Here are some clothes. From now onward, I will not bother you anymore. You are free.”
He put the bags on the bedside table. Then, he took his phone and car keys and turned to leave.
“Ashton!” I called out to him.
He stopped in his tracks. His slender back stiffened. He did not turn to look at me but replied faintly. “Yeah?”
I let out the breath of air that I was holding in. Biting on my lips slightly, I said, “If it is possible, I would like for the both of us to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get divorced.”
The air froze instantly. His hands balled up into fists. Veins popped up on the back of his hands.
“Sure!” He uttered that clear solitary word after a long while.
Watching him leave, I could only lie on bed and let my tears flow freely.
Life is a long journey. Now everything was back to square one. In the next life, I wished that instead of having the kind of love that was breath-taking and fiery, just an ordinary encounter and subsequently growing old together with the love of my life would suffice.
That night was destined to be another sleepless night.
After sleeping for a few hours, I was groggily awakened by my ringing phone.
It was a call from Nora. “Scarlett, I did it. F*ck! I did it last night.”
My head was throbbing. I did not understand what Nora meant. “What do you mean by you did it?”
“Err…” she paused for a bit and said, “I slept with Armond last night. And I think it was quite wild.”
I was stunned. Going along with what she said, I questioned, “Wild?”
Nora replied, “Yes. My clothes were completely ripped! You won’t believe this. He even destroyed my newly-bought lingerie!”
“Is this your first time?”
“No!” she exclaimed. Then, she suddenly realized something. “F*ck! I didn’t see him around this morning. I couldn’t have broken him, could I?”
I… I was at a loss.
To be honest, this was the first time I encountered a situation like this.
“Err… Shouldn’t you just call him?” Armond looked like he was over thirty. He couldn’t be so inexperienced that he would get hurt from having intercourse.
“Yeah, I should. I’ll hang up now!” Nora did not behave bashfully and nervously at all for a girl who just had sex.
I was just about to hang up when she was reminded of something and suddenly asked, “Oh yeah, where did you go last night? Linda called me just now and told me she was absolutely wasted. She couldn’t remember who you left with.”
I pursed my lips and couldn’t help but ask, “Hold up. Didn’t you drink until you blacked out last night? How did you know you were with Armond?”
She snorted in laughter. “Are you kidding? I may be drunk, but my brain is still fully conscious. Besides, how could I miss the chance to sleep with the man I liked? That would be unlike me. Now spit it out. Who were you with last night?”
“Ashton!” There was no point in concealing.
Nora exploded with excitement on the other side. “Damn! You were with him last night? How was it? Did you make up?”
“No,” I sighed, “if everything goes according to plan, I will probably get the divorce papers these few days. Then, we will go back to J City to finalize the divorce.”
She went silent for a bit. Then she asked, “Scarlett, I need to ask you seriously – Why?”
I smiled faintly. I could feel that I was over it. “Many things happened in the past. There is just too much that can’t be clarified between the two of us. So, I can’t stay with him. I guess this is fate.”
She sighed and advised, “Perhaps you have already made up your mind and you have your own plans in mind. If so, I support your decision. But Scarlett, I really do think that you will only meet and love a man like Ashton once in a lifetime. In the future, you might regret letting go of him.”
I nodded. “Maybe it will be as you said. However, bear in mind, Nora. Life is full of choices. No matter what we decide, we will always regret the path we did not take. So, we should just roll with it!”
She mumbled in response. There was a hint of pity in her tone, but she did not say anything else.
After hanging up, I looked at the time and noticed that it was almost eight-thirty.
I had to go to work! Hastily, I got up, washed up, and put on fresh clothes. Soon, I was out of the door and on a taxi to the company.
When I reached the entrance, I realized that I may have forgotten Armond’s breakfast.
“Good morning, Scarlett!” I could hear Nora greet me from behind.
I was quite surprised. “Why are you here?”
