Chapter 9
“Susan, you’re finally willing to see me-‘
Ray’s words hung in the air, but before he could finish, I didn’t hesitate. The bucket of paint I had been holding was tilted over in one swift motion and a splash of white poured over him, drenching his expensive suit. The paint splattered across his chest, dripping down to pool at his feet, creating a stark contrast against the polished
concrete. For a moment, he stood frozen, staring at the mess in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing, as if trying to form words that would make sense of the absurdity of it all.
I couldn’t help but feel a small, vindictive satisfaction as I watched him standing there, covered in a mess of my making. Ray blinked, shook his head and after a long pause, managed a weak, pitiful smile.
“Do you feel better now?” he asked, his voice tinged with a strange blend of sorrow
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and resignation. He raised a hand as if to wipe the paint from his face but thought better of it. His fingers dropped back to his side. “If not, you can hit me or curse at me, but you can’t abandon me.”
I stood motionless, arms crossed, watching him with a cold detachment I hadn’t thought myself capable of. Every word he spoke felt like an insult to my intelligence. He thought a bucket of paint could fix everything, could erase the years of hurt and lies?
nall-
고래
But the final straw came when he pulled a small, velvet pouch from his bag and slowly, almost ceremoniously, reached inside. His fingers fumbled for a moment before he extracted a jade bracelet, holding
it up toward me with a tentative, almost
hopeful look in his eyes.
This is something I owed you,” he said, his
tifvoice more subdued now, softer. “I
searched the world, Susan, but I couldn’t
find one with the same quality as yours.
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Chapter 9
This one is about 70-80% similar.”
I didn’t even glance at the bracelet. My eyes stayed locked on his, unwavering, as I
spoke with the same cold finality, I’d come to know so well.
‘No need,” I said, my voice flat. “I don’t want anything from you.”
my paused, my gaze sharp. “Ray, let me say inthis one last time–I don’t love you ejanymore. I have a new life now. You’re
nothing but my past.”
the watched him flinch at my words, the histmask of confidence he had been clinging to usly racking just slightly. He opened his ad for mouth, perhaps to argue, to beg, but I cut
brim off before he could speak.
ntati
i vou
¡sofe
- bu
ualiti
No,” I said, my voice harder now. “I’m not oing back.”
His face twisted into something darker- omething desperate. “No, we still have a hance–as long as you’re willing to come ack.”
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I sighed heavily, the exhaustion of dealing with him threatening to overwhelm me. He was relentless, shameless in his pursuit and it sickened me.
I raised my left hand slowly, deliberately, showing him the massive diamond ring on my finger. His eyes immediately dropped to it and I could see the disbelief in his expression.
“I’m married,” I said, the words coming out. sharper than I intended. “My husband only has eyes for me. What do you have to compare to him?”
For a long moment, Ray said nothing. His gaze shifted from my hand to my face, as if waiting for some flicker of recognition, some sign that I was still the same woman who had once adored him. But I was no longer that person.
His lips curled into a bitter, hollow smile. “Susan, stop joking. I don’t believe you’d marry any man but me. You swore you’d only ever be my bride in this lifetime.”
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I couldn’t suppress a dry laugh. “Believe what you want,” I said, turning on my heel, preparing to walk away. The conversation was over and I had nothing more to say to him.
But before I could take another step, I felt a shadow fall over me. A presence looming behind Ray caused him to stiffen and I heard a voice that was deep and familiar.
“Susan, are you alright?”
Ray froze. His eyes widened, the color draining from his face as a tall figure appeared behind him. Gabriel.
Before Ray could react, Gabriel stepped forward, closing the distance between them in a few strides. He reached out, grabbed Ray by the collar and yanked him back, landing a solid punch right to his jaw. The sound of the hit echoed and Ray stumbled, his feet skidding on the
pavement. He looked utterly disoriented,
his pride shattered by the force of the blow.
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I stepped over Ray, who now lay crumpled on the ground and without a glance in his direction, I threw myself into Gabriel’s arms. He caught me effortlessly, his embrace warm and strong. For a moment, the world felt safe, as if nothing could
touch me here, not even Ray’s relentless pursuit.
“Ray,” I said coolly, glancing over my shoulder at him, “did you see that? My husband is back. If you dare to pester me again, I’ll have him beat you until you’re searching the ground for your teeth.”
Gabriel’s grip on me tightened slightly as he turned his gaze on Ray, his expression a mixture of amusement and quiet threat. Ray, on the other hand, was struggling to pull himself together, wiping the blood from his lip, his face a mask of humiliation and disbelief.
I didn’t feel the slightest bit sorry for him. In that moment, it became clear–Ray was no longer the man who had held any power
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over my life. My past, all of it, was behind
me now.
***
The first time I met Gabriel again was on an ordinary afternoon. I had been sketching in the park, capturing the flow of people as they moved in and out of the crowd, when I felt a familiar presence. The voice that greeted me from behind was casual, almost nostalgic.
“Long time no see, Susan.”
It took me a moment to recognize him and even then, it was a bit of a shock. Gabriel, my childhood neighbor–someone who had once been a fixture in my life, but had faded into the background as I grew up. Our families had been close and they had decided, long ago, that we would marry. It was something that had always felt
inevitable, but also entirely foreign to me.
I had spent my teenage years wrapped up in the illusions of first love, blind to
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everything else. But Gabriel had
understood me better than I had ever realized. He had never forced me to feel anything for him, never pressured me into fulfilling any obligations. He had quietly accepted when I chose Ray instead. And when I had been consumed by my chaotic relationship with Ray, Gabriel had stepped away, leaving to study abroad, giving me the space I needed.
Now, years later, I saw him in front of me, a completely different man. Tall, handsome and confident, he stood there as though no time had passed at all. He had grown into someone remarkable, someone I had unknowingly needed in my life all along.
We caught up and before I knew it, I had invited him to dinner. The evening was warm, full of shared memories and laughter over the food we had both loved as children. Gabriel, ever the gentleman, had a few too many drinks and by the end of the night, he had stayed at my place.
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Later, as we sat in the quiet of my living. room, I curled up on the couch, watching TV. Gabriel, now sobered up, wandered off to wash his face. He came back grinning like a fool, his messy hair falling into his eyes. He wore one of my oversized unisex shirts, looking more like the boy from my childhood than the man who had grown. into his own.
“Did you find money in the bathroom?” I teased, a playful glint in my eye.
“No,” he grinned, his voice slightly slurred, “I saw treasure.”
He walked over, sat beside me and the couch sank unevenly under his weight. I almost toppled off the edge, but he steadied me, pulling me toward him with a quiet laugh.
And in that moment, something shifted between us. There was no need for words; there was only a quiet understanding, at connection that had always been there, lingering beneath the surface. Gabriel had
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been there for me in ways that Ray never had and I realized–perhaps for the first time–that I had been looking for him all along.
