Trapped in the Residual Warmth of Past Love

In the fifth year of our marriage, I received pregnancy test photos from his secretary.

[I'm sorry, Mrs. Vanderbilt. I sent it to the wrong person.]

This wasn't the first time she had made this mistake.

Late on Valentine's Day night, she posted a photo of a tie lying in a trash can.

That was the birthday present I bought for him.

"Let's get a divorce."

I thought he would agree to me readily.

However, his eyes were red.

"In this life, I don't want anyone else except you."

This sentence once had trapped me in my marriage, but now I didn't want my old love or him!

I wanted to let myself go and break free from resentment and hatred.

I waited from noon to night.

Still no one responded to the text message I sent Xavier Vanderbilt about divorce.

I called his assistant and found out.

[Mrs. Vanderbilt, Mr. Vanderbilt is attending a dinner party tonight.]

I didn't ask who his female companion was tonight.

After all, three years ago, our mutual schoolmate, Angela Mitchell, joined the company.

From then on, Angela always stood by his side in all activities.

"Mrs. Vanderbilt, dinner parties are so tiring. I can do it from now on."

Xavier was present to listen and expressed his agreement with silence.

At that time, I had just had a miscarriage and really had no energy.

He became busier and busier after that period of time.

I wanted to talk to him, but I had to confirm his schedule with Angela in advance.

In the meantime, I also had a big fight with him about this.

And what he replied to me was bank checks for increasingly larger amounts.

It was like a price was put on his guilt.

To this day, I had done almost all the things that could make people laugh in marriage.

There was nothing to struggle with anymore, I just wanted to be free.

At twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, I didn't receive any news from him, but I did receive news from Angela.

[Mrs. Vanderbilt, Mr. Vanderbilt drank too much tonight and slept in the hotel.]

As usual, she kindly sent me the hotel room number.

There was also a cute and playful emoji.

I raised my head and looked around this huge and deserted villa.

This was bought for me in the second year of our marriage, with the first pot of money he earned.

"Ruby, I promised that I would let you live a life that everyone would envy."

Later, I did become the richest among my classmates.

But I had a choice, I still preferred the small onebedroom house we lived in when we first got married.

Might it be because the fouryear campus love in college finally came to fruition at that time.

And now, this love was finally going to end.

I carried a suitcase and took a taxi away.

I had a rare good night's sleep in the large flat in the city center.

I bought this with the money I saved from my salary.

I had been running the company with him until I had the miscarriage.

I found out I was pregnant after a drinking party.

But it was too late. The child could not be saved after all.

The doctor said that it would be difficult for me to have children of my own in the future.

"Ruby, without children, it's convenient for us to enjoy our own life."

He held me and comforted me all night.

From then on, he asked me to withdraw from the company on the grounds that I needed to rest and recuperate.

And Angela was the one he personally picked out shortly before the drinking party and chosen to work in the company as his secretary.

I also asked him why he chose Angela at first sight among so many younger schoolmates.

"Don't you think she looks a lot like you?

"I believe that if she joins the company, she will be as capable as you."

No.

She was much more capable than I am.

No matter how big or small his matters were, Angela could always arrange them just right.

Before long, our schoolmates in the company all said that Angela was a talent.

Gradually, I became more and more distant from them.

At the same time, Angela completely replaced me in the company.

When I woke up, my phone was still silent.

After some hesitation, I called my best friend, Christina Walker, whom I hadn't contacted for a long time.

"Are you still working at the law firm? I want to do divorce counseling."

Christina was not surprised and quickly handed me a lawyer's business card.

"Yohan Baker?"

"It's me."

In the famous coffee shop, he looked younger than I thought.

Before coming here, I checked the information and found that he had never filed for divorce before.

Sensing my confusion, he looked at me calmly.

"Ms. King, I have indeed never taken on a divorce case.

"But that doesn't mean I won't."

I smiled lightly and got down to business with him.

Suddenly, Xavier came.

He walked past my seat and bought two cups of coffee.

I stopped talking and watched him walk out with two cups of coffee.

Through the glass, I saw him naturally hand one of the cups to Angela who was sitting in the passenger seat.

Was this a coincidence?

I didn't think so.

Angela was always curious about everything.

She would write down all the famous food stores, cafes, and even game halls in the city.

Then she sent them to me and Xavier, saying it would facilitate our date.

When I first received it, I actually persuaded him to try it with me.

"Ruby, the company is just starting out. I really don't have the energy."

After so many times, I stopped mentioning it.

Now, he and Angela seemed so familiar with the shop, as if they were regular customers.

"Ms. King, what happened?" Yohan was a little nervous.

At this time, the coffee I ordered was brought by the waiter.

"Excuse me, does the man who just went out often come here with his girlfriend?"

For some unknown reason, I asked the waiter.

"Yes.

"They come every few days.

"One is steady, the other is lively. They are indeed a good match."

After thanking the waiter, I tasted the coffee. It was indeed good.

I looked up and apologized to Yohan, and then continued the topic of divorce.

It wasn't until I finished talking to Yohan that Xavier called me.

"Ruby, what happened recently?

"I'm sorry I haven't paid attention to you recently.

"When I get home tonight, we'll have a good chat and clear up the misunderstanding."

The problems between us were never recent.

But I still agreed.

He came back in the early morning.

After a moment of silence, he started talking about how busy his work was.

I interrupted him softly.

"I moved out yesterday. Do you know that?"

He was stunned for a moment. "I finished my drinking party too late last night. And I didn't come back because I was afraid of disturbing your sleep."

For some reason, I laughed. "Then do you know what I took away from our room?"

He moved only a little and then gave up.

"You don't know." I said the answer that already existed in my mind.

After all, someone who didn't even go home probably didn't even know what his bedroom door looked like.

He maintained his usual silence.

"Do you remember what the birthday present I gave you was two years ago?"

"It's a tie, burgundy twill," He answered quickly and easily.

"Where is this tie now?"

"Isn't it in our closet?"

My expression told him that he was wrong.

That tie had already been thrown into the hotel's trash can by Angela.

[I'm sorry, Mrs. Vanderbilt. I meant to send it to Mr. Vanderbilt.]

[When he wakes up, he'll know. I threw away the tie because it was dirty.]

Angela, who was known to be a very good social person, knew that it was a birthday present I gave him.

Seeing that he looked confused, I told him the correct answer directly.

After hearing this, he quickly denied it.

"Impossible.

"Angela knows her limits and won't throw it away so easily.

"Did you misunderstand?"

Having said that, there was no need to continue the conversation.

Anyway, no matter what I said, he would probably choose to believe Angela.

Putting the pregnancy test photo in front of him, I advised him to learn from his mistakes and stay with Angela till the end of his life.

He wanted to say something, but finally shut up.

I knew then that he was aware of this matter.

I handed him my lawyer's business card and was about to turn and leave.

He suddenly grabbed my wrist tightly.

"Ruby.

"I was too drunk that night, so I mistook her for you. Just once.

"We didn't tell you because we were afraid of hurting you.

"Don't worry. She said she would get rid of it."

We.

He used the word to describe Angela and him.

They even had a child, but he still said they were afraid of hurting me.

I looked at the sincerity in his eyes and tears welled up in my eyes without me noticing.

"Ruby, I like you. Are you willing to be with me?"

"What do you like about me?"

The young man held the rose in his hand and spoke nervously, "You are lively and cheerful. And everything about you is good."

We were in love for four years and married for five years. A total of nine years.

All those beautiful vows of the past had become nothing.

When I first met him, I was cheerful like Angela.

I met him in the club when I first entered college.

From club activities to private dates, he always took good care of me.

At our wedding, all our schoolmates marveled at our love.

"Ruby, I envy you for having a boyfriend who loves you so much."

"Boyfriend? He should be her husband now!"

Amid the cheers of my friends, I took his hand and smiled happily.

Remembering what he used to look like, I pulled my wrist away.

As I turned to leave, I tried my best to hold back my tears and resisted the urge to cry out loud.

In the taxi, Angela called me.

She threatened to commit suicide and made me rush to the riverside of a park.

"Ruby, I can't abort this baby."

Seeing her weak appearance, I nodded lightly.

"I know that it is me and Xavier who let you down.

"But the doctor said that if I abort, it will be difficult for me to get pregnant again in the future.

"Ruby, how about I give birth to the child, and you just pretend I don't exist and raise him.

"After all, you both like children so much, but you just can't get pregnant."

I looked at her kind face and didn't want to say anything more to her.

Seeing that she didn't look like she would jump into the river, I turned around and was about to leave.

After a few steps, there was a sound of someone falling into the water from behind.

Before I could run up and pull her up, someone jumped down faster than me.

It was Xavier.

I watched him carry Angela to the shore.

Angela kept sobbing. And he patted her back and comforted her in a gentle voice.

After a long time, he turned to look at me.

"Ruby, no matter how wrong Angela is, you can't just watch her jump into the river, right?"