Oddly enough, despite 10 years of insomnia when I was with Jonas, I slept soundly that night with Benjamin by my side.
The next morning, I woke up early and drafted a set of ground rules. Then, I brought them to my new husband.
The agreement clearly laid out rules: no interference, no meddling in each other's personal lives.
But when Benjamin got his hands on it, he ripped it to shreds without hesitation.
He raised an eyebrow and looked at me.
"I like you."
"You think all this isn't stabbing straight into my heart?"
His... sudden confession... caught me completely off guard.
Then, his phone rang. After answering it, he casually ruffled my hair.
"I gotta head back to the company to take care of some things."
I nodded absentmindedly, still processing everything.
Seeing my dazed state, he let out a soft chuckle.
"Relax. If you're not cool with it, I won't touch you."
I nodded again, but as soon as I heard the sound of the door unlocking, I snapped back to reality.
I called out to him, "Why do you like me?!"
He stopped in his tracks and replied softly, "Love at first sight."
With that, he left.
When Jonas pursued me back then, didn't he also claim it was love at first sight?
But I never believed in it. I'd rather trust in a love that grows slowly over time.
Not long after Benjamin left, Jonas showed up.
When I opened the door, I was surprised to see him, especially since he'd brought Ashier along.
Jonas's first words to me? "Andy! Did that punk touch you last night?"
I almost laughed out loud.
"No, he didn't."
He visibly sighed in relief, but I wasn't done.
"And even if he did, what's it got to do with you?"
My words made Jonas lose it. He scanned me up and down in a frenzy.
"Where did he touch you?! That bastard!"
Seeing me frown, he quickly tried to explain.
"Andy, no, that's not what I meant. Even if someone else touched you, I wouldn't mind! I still love you!"
I cut him off sharply.
"Jonas, do you not understand plain words? I'm married now, and so are you. We're nothing to each other anymore."
"And look, you might not mind me making love with another man, but I sure as hell mind you acting like you're still my husband!"
My words snapped the last shred of control he had. His face crumpled, and tears began to well up.
"How can you say we're nothing? There's still Ashier! He's your son—you carried him for 10 months!"
He dragged Ashier in front of me and shouted, "Call her Mom!"
Terrified and unwilling, Ashier whispered, "M-Mom."
But I threw his own words back at him.
"Ashier's not my child. He's not even in my name, right?"
Jonas's face went pale at that. He stammered, trying to recover. "W-What about the memories? 10 years of them! How... How can you just let that go, Andy?"
I interrupted coldly. "You let it go first!"
The mention of those 10 years brought all my bitterness rushing back.
"I wasted 10 years on you, Jonas! Do you even realize what you're asking? I gave up everything for you—I could've lived comfortably as a rich girl, but instead, I struggled with you, a nobody! What bad luck I had, falling for someone like you!"
"You think you're so charming, juggling two women? And you expect me to just stick around and live with you?"
"Hey, don't be so greedy. You overestimate yourself."
Those words had been stuck in my chest for so long, and now that I'd finally let them out, it was such a relief.
Each sentence seemed to drain more color from Jonas's face.
He stood there, silent for what felt like an eternity before finally speaking in a trembling voice.
