5
486words
After initial panic,I managed to calm myself down.
“Did you bring it?”
She blinked, confused“Bring what?”
I scoffed.
“The divorce agreement.It’s missing your signature.”
Her expression changed, and she stepped forward, looking emotional.
“I won’t divorce!”
She wrapped her arms around me.
“James,I searched for you for 128 days!”
“I was going crazy—how could you be so cruel to me?”
Her breath enveloped me,bringing back the warmth I once craved.
Even now,it dazed me.
But the thought that she might have arranged the accident and taken my kidney for Nathan jolted me awake.
“You have the nerve to say that?”
Her words stopped, and her expression turned uncertain.
“You…you really know everything?”
I closed my eyes,hiding my exhaustion.
“So,Emily,either sign the divorce or I’ll call the police.”
“Choose.”
I knew reporting her would likely be futile.
I had no evidence on my phone,and even if a case was opened,Emily could afford top lawyers to clear her name.
I wasn’t sure I could endure the mental toll of a long battle.
I might break before she faced justice.
My only goal was to persuade her to sign the divorce papers.
The past was the consequence of my misjudgment of her.
But I never expected Emily to refuse so adamantly.
“Report me.I know I was wrong.”
“James,if jail makes you forgive me,I’m willing.”
“I’ll replace your kidney.If you want to paint again,I’ll get you the best resources.We can start over!”
I stared,incredulous.
Her red eyes brimmed with sincerity.
These words came from her heart…
But why now,when it was too late?
My heart was a gaping wound—even if it healed, it would leave an ugly scar.
Tears streamed down as pain and hatred mixed.
I shoved her away,screaming for her to leave.
She stumbled and collapsed.
Stunned,I probbed her with my foot.
“Stop pretending.”
“Emily?Emily!”
Realizing she’d fainted,I panicked,calling nearby teachers.They carried her to my room and summoned the village doctor.
“She’s fine,just hasn’t slept or eaten in days,”the doctor said,shaking his head as he set up a basic IV.
“James,who is she to you?”
I’d told everyone here I was an orphan.
I sat,dazed,before muttering,“No one.When she wakes,she leaves.”
The teachers weren’t fooled.
Seeing Emily waste away searching for me,they knew she wasn’t a stranger.
“I’m James’s wife.”
Her warm hand gripped mine—she’d woken,clinging to me as if afraid I’d vanish.
“Ex-wife.”
Emily,agitated,tried to sit up.
“No!We’re not divorced—just fighting.”
The doctor restrained her.
“James,she’s weak.Don’t upset her,or it could get worse!”
The teachers urged us to talk it out.
I hesitated,and Emily wrapped her arms around my waist.
“I messed up and made my husband mad.I’ll do anything to make it right.”
“Need more teachers?I graduated from an Ivy League school.I can stay and teach.”
Everyone was stunned.
Despite her disheveled state,Emily’s custom clothes and million-dollar watch suggested wealth.
Even the least worldly teachers recognized her diamond-encrusted timepiece.
