Love and Revenge: When His First Love Keeps Challenging Me

It was a hot summer day. My husband told my father that he wanted some watermelons my father grew back at my hometown.

Dad rode his tricycle into town under the scorching sun, and collapsed because of heatstroke on his way.

My father was about to draw his last breath when I finally made it to the hospital.

"Chris wanted some melons I planted. Remember to take them over to him..."

After finishing that sentence, Dad closed his eyes forever.

I called Chris only to hear him grumble, "Where's Dad already? We're still waiting for his watermelons!"

And Annabella snatched his phone and spoke to me aggrievedly, "Please don't be mad, Eileen. We were betting that your father is willing to do whatever Chris tells him to do..."

That night, I received a text message from Chris.

"Dad made me lose the bet, and consequently I have to take Bella to the countryside on a vacation."

I felt dead inside.

It was not until I had taken care of everything about Dad that Chris returned home, exhausted.

He slumped down into the sofa and ordered me, "Go cut me some slices of watermelon."

My father had been taking care of his orchards and fields in the countryside, and he would bring us some fruits and vegetables that he grew himself from time to time.

If it were the past, I would prepare for Chris a plate of fruits without him asking me.

But I ignored his words this time without even looking at him.

Seeing that I didn't respond, Chris asked acidly, "Are you angry?

Blame Dad for not keeping his word if you really want to find someone to blame! He promised to bring me watermelons, but I never saw any single slice of watermelon that day at her birthday party!"

"Do you know how embarrassed I felt that night?

A bet is a bet, and I'm a good loser. I promised Bella that I'd take her on a vacation if we failed to have watermelons that day, and I don't break my promises."

My father lost his life trying to bring Chris the watermelons he wanted, and he was still worrying about Chris until the very last moment of his life, yet Chris was here blaming my father for not bringing him the watermelons in time...

Resisting the urge to slap him in the face, I questioned, "You were celebrating her birthday in your air-conditioned room while telling my father to bring you some mere fruit from that far away in the hot sun? Surely you do have a conscience, don't you?"

Chris begged to differ, "Dad loves me; he won't mind."

Realizing that I could never see my father’s gentle smile again, I felt my eyes reddened.

Seeing that I was about to cry, Chris's tone softened as he tossed me a plastic bag.

"Cool down, please. Here's a gift for you."

I took out what was inside the bag; it was a vintage-looking hand fan.

Chris continued, "It goes well with your dresses, doesn't it? I bought it from a local craftsman in the country especially for you."

However, I happened to have seen this fan in a picture Annabella posted online yesterday.

"Thanks to a certain someone for this new fan. Forgive me for always loving me something new" was what she posted alongside a selfie of herself acting all cutesy while holding a fashionable fan in her hand.

The fan in my hand right now was lying inside a trash can next to her in her photo.

Did Chris actually pick up some garbage that Anabella didn't want and give it to me as a gift?

As it finally turned out, a perfunctory performance of nicety was what he believed to be enough for his own wife.

I threw the fan into the trash can and replied to him in a cold, decisive tone, "We are divorcing, Chris."

His face darkened as he sneered, "When did you become this snob, Eileen? You should put a limit on your jealousness, you know?"

"Do you seriously want to divorce me because of something this trivial? I don't mind divorcing, but think about how Dad would feel about this!"

He actually had the nerve to mention Dad? My kind-hearted and honest Dad had lost his precious life because of what Chris deemed "trivial"!

I really didn't want to waste any more time to him; even breathing the same air with him in the same room became so unbearable!

I emerged out of the bedroom carrying my luggage that I had packed long ago, and threw in front of him the divorce settlement I drafted.

"Sign this, Chris Shawn, and we'll arrange a time for all other procedures."

Finishing that sentence, I disregarded his expression of disbelief and walked out of my former home without looking back.

I took my father's ashes back to where I grew up.

The hustles and bustles of the world dropped away at my hometown with its beautifully serene hills and waters.

My father's field lay just opposite my family house.

Looking at the mellow fruitfulness, I couldn't help but envision my father's busy figure in the fields before collapsing and bursting into a rage of tears.