06
On the day of the divorce, Ryan Carter didn’t show up. I didn’t bother calling him because I knew he was at the hospital with Emma White. She survived, but she had multiple fractures and temporary blindness. Their brief separation seemed like a honeymoon; they were inseparable. Ryan even contacted the best treatment team abroad. Such “deep affection.” I laughed at myself. Since we had signed the agreement, I decided to proceed with the litigation process with my lawyer, simply to expedite things.
I randomly bought a plane ticket to the south, changed my SIM card, and deactivated all my social media accounts. As I sat on the plane, I looked at the layers of white clouds outside the window and suddenly remembered our childhood with Ryan. Our familles were close friends, and our parents decided to buy houses together. However, my parents loved traveling, often separately, exploring different parts of the world.
As a child, I didn’t understand, and I foolishly asked Ryan, “Why don’t your parents travel separately?” “Do they not like it?‘ I was 7 then; Ryan was 11, already a little adult. He stiffened for a moment and handed me a candy “In the future, I only play with you.” I didn’t understand at the time, which led me to ask him again when I grew up. By then, he’d graduated from university and officially taken over the company, so busy he barely had time to eat.
A week before my sophomore year break ended, he came back late one night because he was so busy. We barely saw each other during the whole break. That night, I foolishly asked him the same question again. But this time, he didn’t give me candy. I remember him taking off his coat, holding my face with emotions I couldn’t quite read in his eyes. He had been drinking. As he got close, I smelled the strong scent of alcohol mixed with a faint tobacco smell. I wanted to retreat, but he held me firmly, not letting me move. His lips were close to my ear, whispering words that made my face flush. “Tonight, it’s just the two of us playing” I froze, and before I could react, his lips pressed hard against mine. The September night breeze carried a slight chill, but flowers shouldn’t bloom quietly.
The announcement on the plane woke me, realizing I had fallen asleep. I can’t remember the last time I dreamed of childhood. When I got off the plane, memories of what happened after that night flooded back. That night, Ryan and I confirmed our relationship, skipping the dating phase. Because that afternoon, he took me to get the marriage certificate and informed my parents. I complained he was too controlling, giving me no time to prepare. He said, “I’ll only feel at ease marrying you early. We have plenty of time for romance.” “Grace, after you graduate, we’ll hold the wedding immediately. At that time, I was fully immersed in happiness. I forgot that every sequence has its reason for existing. We skipped the dating phase, so later… someone would naturally fill this time.