Five years had passed since my divorce when I ran into Evren Hendrix again in a high-end boutique.

The store clerk was wrapping the tie I had chosen for my husband. When she spotted him entering, her tone instantly grew warm and eager.

“Mr. Hendrix, your wife already picked out your suit; it’s all set.”

Giving a slight nod, his eyes paused on the tie in my hand. “Add hers to my bill, too.”

I turned it down politely and placed the cash from my hand on the counter.

A quiet sigh left him. “Paisley Maynard, even after all these years, you still hate me.”

I smiled faintly and didn’t answer.

Who still had the time to hate someone?

I had already let it go long ago.

——

Grabbing the shopping bag, I slipped it into the canvas tote full of groceries and started to walk away.

The early fall wind blew hard.

Following my usual route to the bus stop, the gusts whipped my hair across my face until I could barely see.

When I finally brushed it aside, I saw Evren’s car stopped right in front of me.

Seeing my reddened eyes, his eyebrows pulled together.

“Get in. I’ll take you home.”

“No need, but thanks. I’m taking the bus.”

He looked me over, and when his eyes landed on the canvas bag over my shoulder, he asked carefully, “Have you been doing alright these years?”

“I’ve been fine.”

It was clear he didn’t believe me. “Come on, get in. Let me drive you, just this once.”

The bus behind me honked again and again, yet he didn’t move at all.

With everyone staring, I unwillingly got into the car.

“Strathand Villa,” I said flatly as I gave the address.

For a few seconds, the car stayed quiet before he spoke with an awkward tone. “Why are you staying in that place? It’s been deserted for years, and for you to live there alone, and…”

He couldn’t bring himself to continue, but I already knew what he meant.

That was where my mother had died.

Ten years ago on this very day, she had refused to attend my wedding with Evren.

She jumped from the tenth-floor rooftop.

The back seat had plenty of space, but the heat felt too strong, so I lowered the window a little.

“You’ll get sick from the wind. Close it, if it’s too hot, I’ll just turn the temperature down.”

I smiled faintly and shook my head. “Not anymore. Do what you want.”

He stayed quiet. After a while, his phone rang. “Sweetheart, did you pick up your clothes? Where are you right now?”

The voice from the car’s speaker was familiar, yet it carried a playful tone I could hardly recognize.

“I did. I happened to meet Paisley. I’m giving her a ride.”

The line went silent for a few seconds.

“Paisley’s back? It’s been ages. Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You didn’t even ask me to come along?”

I had known Leah Terrell for over ten years, and I had never heard her talk like that before.

She used to be quiet and shy, caring only about her painting.

Even when someone stole her competition piece, she would just hide somewhere and cry.

It had been me who used a baseball bat to destroy that person’s painting in front of everyone, who wrote a report to expose the cheating, and who spent three days in juvenile detention for standing up for her.

Yes, when affection ran deep enough, it could become part of you.

“It just happened by chance. She has things to take care of. I’ll head home after dropping her off.”

“A coincidence means we were meant to meet. Why not treat an old friend to dinner?”

“Leah, that’s enough.”

Silence followed from the other side.

When Evren tried to comfort someone, his tone was always soft, yet once he decided on something, no one could change his mind.

Leah should have known that better than me.

The call cut off suddenly, just as the car stopped at the entrance to the complex.

“Thanks.”

After saying it politely, I stepped out.

Evren shifted his eyes away from the surroundings and called out to me.

“May I ask, Paisley, who that tie was meant for?”

“For my husband.”

With a faint, weary smile, Evren rubbed his temple, as if my reply was only meant to stir him.

“That same brand and design, you used to get it for me all the time five years back.”

“So what?”

My eyes met his, calm and sure.

“You don’t have to act like you’re fine. After all these years, I only hope you’re doing alright, not like this.”

Like what?

In the glass by the community gate, my reflection appeared.

Simple clothes, plain flats, and a canvas bag packed with groceries.

I looked like any ordinary person working to get by.

For someone who once dressed in fine clothes and jewelry, this wasn’t bad at all.

With no irritation, I smiled. “I think it’s pretty good.”

For a moment, his expression wavered. “Paisley, you really don’t seem like the same person anymore.”

“Yeah, people tell me that a lot.”

Saying that, I turned and walked off, never once turning my head.

After climbing five floors, I unlocked the door.

Inside, the place still looked nearly the same as it had the year before.

Beside the old TV stood my mother’s photo, the candle before it long gone out.

I set new ones in place, tied on an apron, and headed for the kitchen.

Soon, I had three dishes and one soup ready.

Across the table sat a bowl of rice that no one had touched, and I ate slowly.

“Mom, I saw Evren today.”

“Don’t get upset. He can’t push your daughter around anymore. I’m not as naïve as I used to be.”

Only silence answered back.

With little hunger left, I laid down my utensils and walked into the bedroom, pulling out an old photo album.

“Let’s look at your beauty again, Mom. Staring at that black-and-white one all the time gets dull.”

Before I could flip open the album, a photo slipped loose and dropped onto the floor.

When I bent down to grab it, the faces in it came into view.

Evren and Leah.

Three young faces smiling easily at the camera.

I stood in the center, arms hooked around both of them, my smile the widest, one of my right canine teeth missing, making me look a little goofy.

That had been the summer when we were thirteen.

Debt collectors had tracked down Evren’s house, shouting and threatening to hurt people.

None of the neighbors dared to step in, not even my parents, but I ran in anyway.

The punch meant for Evren’s face landed square on mine.

My tooth broke right then, and my face stayed puffy for half a month.

My mother, upset and shaken, told me I must never have anything to do with the Hendrix family again.

But she never expected his mother, dragging her disabled legs, to kneel before my parents, bowing in respect.

With that, my mother’s heart softened.

For almost ten years, through every season, there was always one more pair of utensils and an extra bowl waiting for Evren at our table.

During every holiday or festival, there was always another set of new clothes, boys’ sizes.

Whenever she had free time, my mother would help Riley sell at her stall, and if anyone dared to cause her trouble, my mother’s temper would flare until no one ever bothered her again.

They began calling each other sisters.

Yet no one ever imagined that the quiet, self-conscious younger sister, who could barely speak without stuttering, would one day climb into her older sister’s husband’s bed.

That day when I walked through the door, the entire house was in ruins.

In the center of the room, my mother stood sobbing so hard it seemed she couldn’t catch her breath.

Across her face were five red handprints.

My father, meanwhile, stood shielding the woman clinging to his chest.

“Let’s divorce. You can take everything, I just want Riley.”

Next to me, Evren looked terrified, reaching out to grab Riley’s hand, but my mother struck her twice.

I shoved her, and she dropped to the floor, staring up at me in complete shock.

At that moment, I cried as well, but what I said cut straight to the heart.

“Mom, what gives you the right to hit Evren?”

Those broken pieces of memory stopped on the small picture I was holding.

After divorcing Evren that year, I had burned every single thing tied to him, yet I hadn’t realized one had still escaped the fire.

Just as I was ready to throw it into the trash, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

I figured it was Thelma Wagner, who always came by around this time every year, so I opened it right away.

What I hadn’t expected was to see Leah standing there, holding Evren’s arm.

Her smile was bright. “Paisley, long time no see! So many years have passed, and you haven’t changed at all.”

“Evren couldn’t refuse me. We just stopped in unexpectedly, hope we’re not disturbing you?”

I looked at the two of them calmly. “I’m not letting you come in. What do you want?”

A faint pause crossed Leah’s smile as she looked somewhat pitifully at the man beside her.

“She only wanted to see you, and she even brought a gift, nothing else in mind.”

After speaking, Evren set what he was holding down on the cabinet by the entryway.

Right away, Leah began introducing it with bright enthusiasm.

“These skincare products are the ones I’ve really liked lately. I happened to have an extra set at home. We used to share things like this all the time, so I thought I’d bring it over to you.”

Dropping my eyes for a quick look, I saw it was the same brand my housekeeper uses.

“That picture…”

Tears suddenly welled in Leah’s eyes.

“Paisley, after so many years, you still haven’t moved on, have you?”

I crushed the photo in my hand and tossed it easily into the trash. “Not that serious.”

She looked like she wanted to take my hand, but stopped partway.

“I know there’s still resentment in your heart. If you and Evren were still together, today would mark your wedding anniversary.”

“About what happened back then, I really didn’t have a choice. If you truly don’t mind anymore, let us buy you dinner. And if you ever need help with anything in your life, just tell us, we’re old friends after all.”

I was just about to turn them down right away when the candle in front of the memorial tablet suddenly crackled with a loud pop.

I gave a faint smile and changed my mind in an instant.

“All right.”

Leah spoke more than she used to. Her small gestures had also become more frequent.

As she talked about her and Evren’s trip to Turkey last month, she leaned over at a red light to apply her lip balm to his mouth.

“Every autumn and winter, I always have to remind you, last time you kissed too hard, you even bled a little, can’t you ever remember?”

Evren caught her wandering hand and looked slightly impatient. “Stop it.”

“Oh, I almost forgot, Paisley is here too.”

“Paisley, you don’t mind, do you? Evren and I have always been like this…”

I cut her off calmly. “Of course not.”

“I even saw the two of you rolling around in bed back then, so how could I care about something this small now?”

The car went completely silent. At last, quiet settled in.

As I turned my eyes to the view outside the window, I thought that if my mother were still alive, she would probably be stunned by how much everything had changed.

Back then, when Dad insisted on divorcing her for Riley, it almost drove her mad.

And when I secretly became Evren’s wife, that was what took her life.

At first, my anger was only toward my father and Riley.

They were the ones who betrayed my mother, forcing her to turn from a confident, unbreakable woman into a fragile, bitter person who lost control over the smallest things.

Time had been especially harsh on her, slowly taking away every bit of life she still had left.