I had just sat down in the coffee shop when Gabrielle walked in.
“Have you been waiting for long?”
“No, I just arrived.”
Gabrielle studied me for a few seconds, and I could tell that she was debating whether to say something or not.
“If you have something to say, just go ahead. We don’t need to beat around the bush with each other,” I told her.
She sighed, as if she was worried about hurting my feelings.
“When I went into the office to take the morning off, I heard from HR that Alicia is getting ready to start work at Millenia.”
I immediately understood why she had hesitated.
Because of Alicia, I had spent the past few years of my married life as a joke.
When she and I fell into the pool together, Jonathan had unhesitatingly gone to save her, and I had thus become gossip fodder for those in our circle.
Now that Alicia was joining Millenia, it felt like a slap in the face.
“Gabrielle, you don’t need to keep track of what happens between the two of them in the future,” I said, my tone light.
But she still looked at me with concern. “Are you able to stomach Jonathan doing this?”
I chuckled helplessly. “And what if I can’t? Millenia isn’t mine. I don’t make the calls.”
“You’re quite accepting of this…”
“That’s pretty much all I can do. At this point, I just want a divorce.
Gabrielle sighed and took my hand, apparently thinking I was very sad.
I blurted, “Stop looking at me like I’m all pitiful. Once I get divorced, I can still start a new life!
She nodded, but her concern for me was still obvious.
I could only change the topic. “Oh, right. Do you know Frederick Guzman? He was the one who saved me when I fell in the pool.”
“You don’t remember him anymore?” she asked, surprised.
She suddenly leaned in real close, her eyebrows furrowed tightly. “Elise, do you need to go to
the hospital to get checked out? I’m seriously getting worried about you right now.”
I glanced around me before whispering. “Gabriel, to be honest. I have amnesta
Maybe it was because I had asked her a lot of absurd questions before–like how Jonathan and I knew each other so she wasn’t that shocked right now.
“I genuinely thought your brain was waterlogged”
She nodded to herself before continuing, “Everything makes sense now. No wonder you’re asking for a divorce from Jonathan.”
Curious, I asked her, “Did I really love him that much back then?”
She pursed her lips, seemingly not wanting to recall my past humiliating moments.
“It wasn’t just plain ol‘ love. You had no limits when it came to him. I had never seen you behave so fanatically before!
“Frederick was your friend previously, too. He even pursued you, but you rejected him. After that, you met Jonathan and the two of you got married in a flash. You stopped interacting with other men after that,” she explained.
She then rolled her eyes at me. “Of course, Jonathan didn’t like you hanging out with me either, so we had a falling out, too.”
1 stuck my tongue out at her, feeling apologetic. “I’m sorry.”
Gabrielle stared at me indignantly. “Even though you’ve lost your memories, I still want to ask
-is Jonathan really that much more important than me? I can forgive you for putting love over friendship and placing me in second place, but did you have to really kick me out of your life completely?”
I fell silent for a long time before answering, “I can’t answer that question because 18–year- old me would never abandon Gabrielle Harrison for anyone.”
She moved her lips, but she didn’t say anything. After a while, she finally grumbled, “Fine. I’ll forgive you this time, but you’re not allowed to pull the same stunt again.”
With that, we smiled at each other.
She then quickly contacted Frederick for me. Since she needed to go back to work, we had arranged for our meeting today to be at a coffee shop right by Millenia’s office building.
When Frederick arrived, Gabrielle said her hellos before taking off.
He took a seat in front of me, a barely–there smirk on his face. “I can’t believe you dared to ask to meet me privately, Elise.”
Just like the day he saved me, he still had that roguish air about him, and he exuded untamed wildness.
ense of
Chapter 1
“It wasn’t enough to threaten Jonathan with divorce that day? Now you’re even meeting me alone on purpose just to piss him off?”
A Fast Free Bonus Time Is Running Outl
Chapter 18
