A New Destiny That Ends Beautifully, After a Painful Parting

When the car accident happened, Henry Walpole again chose the intern who only had a scratch, leaving me with serious injuries to fend for myself.

It was the beginning when I suddenly realized I didn’t love him as much as I thought.

Seeing the intern post their cheek-to-cheek selfie with the caption, [Meeting you is just the beginning of the story.]

I didn’t feel panicked, trembling, or furious anymore. Instead, I calmly liked it and left comments.

[Next time, take a photo of the right side of his face; it’s even more handsome than this.]

Then I clicked on a movie I had been collecting for a long time and I watched it with relish. Before going to bed, I found dozens of missed calls on my phone.

“Inez is a very playful kid, so don’t take it seriously. Wait until I go back tomorrow to celebrate your birthday.”

I didn’t reply. Instead, I enjoyed the enthusiasm of the main character in the film who said, “The world is so big, I want to see it too.”

——

The next day, Henry didn’t keep his promise to come home to celebrate my birthday. I had grown accustomed to it by now and felt no disappointment.

Instead, I submitted my resignation application as soon as I arrived at the company early in the morning. Then I booked a flight to fly abroad in a week.

I’ve always been impulsive and stubborn. Only in love did I feel trapped and unable to make a choice.

A week later marked our sixth anniversary together. It was a perfect time for a beginning and an end and it was considered complete.

On the third night, Henry came home drunk. He waited at the entrance for a long time with his coat in hand.

But he didn’t wait until I stepped forward to take my coat and take out my slippers as usual. He glanced at me, shook his head and smiled at me, who was working on the travel guide on the sofa.

“Are you still angry that you haven’t replied to my message?”

“Fine, I’m back to be with you now. My head hurts like hell. Make me some hangover soup.”

He had frequent social engagements and disliked taking liver-protecting medicine.

Long ago, I got a hangover soup recipe from an old traditional healer. Whenever he came home from a gathering, a warm bowl of soup was ready for him.

I was deep in thought about where to plan my second stop abroad, so I replied without looking up. “There are hangover tablets on the bedside table. Just take one if you feel uncomfortable.”

There was sudden silence in the living room and I raised my head after realizing it. Henry didn’t look pleased.

“Jeanne, even if you’re upset, there should be a limit, right?”

“Inez is so young and struggling alone in this city. No one can help her except me. Can you stop getting jealous over a child?”

He forgot that Inez Merz was only three years younger than me. I pointed at my bandaged foot.

“I’m not angry or jealous. I injured my foot in a car accident that day and couldn’t stand for long periods.”

“If you really want that hangover soup, why not invite Inez over? I’ll teach her how to make it?”

He looked in disbelief. In the past, just hearing Inez’s name would set me off. Now I was calmly suggesting she come over to make Henry a hangover soup.

“Is your foot okay?”

“That day, Inez got hurt. She has a phobia of blood and said she couldn’t breathe. I wanted to take her for a checkup first, then come back.”

He met my eyes and fell silent. Inez’s injury was just a scratch on her right hand and she had to put a large band-aid on it. The “then come back” part was purely a joke for me.

He gave a dry cough to hide his embarrassment and pulled a plastic bag from his bag. “You love Inez, right? I especially brought it for you.”

I replied, “The doctor said seafood and river fish are trigger foods. I have to avoid them while injured.”

After running into setback after setback, he, who was usually in control, finally got upset. “What a waste of good food!”

He threw the plastic bag heavily into the trash can and went into the bathroom. His phone vibrated on the coffee table. I picked it up instinctively.