He turned to leave, but paused, returning to deliver a menacing warning. “If you ever mention what you just said to Melody, you’ll face the consequences.”
Cynthia bit her lip, tasting blood as she’d bitten through it forcefully.
“Have you fallen in love with Melody?” she yelled.
Christopher paused at the door, turning to deny it. “No.”
“Who are you fooling? You clearly love her. That’s why you no longer like me and want me to leave,” Cynthia said, clenching her fists.
He tossed his drink and replied emotionlessly, “My feelings for you have nothing to do with my feelings for her. I’ve told you what we had ended two years ago. You betrayed me for money and left. There’s no chance of us getting back together.”
However, Cynthia refused to accept this, believing he no longer loved her because of Melody.
“When I returned, you said it was fine, that you understood,” she cried. “How could I stand up to your grandfather? He threatened me. What else could I do? Did you want me to be driven out of the city?”
Christopher pursed his lips. “What I meant was that it’s fine for us to be ordinary friends, not to restart a romantic relationship.”
He’d reflected on it. Though he’d tried to get closer to Cynthia, he couldn’t take the final step; the guilt and betrayal toward Melody held him back. What he’d thought was love for Cynthia was an illusion. He didn’t truly love her anymore.
“Stop twisting my words! What do you mean by ‘just friends’? Could you kiss a friend or let her stay in your wife’s room?” Cynthia scoffed angrily.
“You still love me. Why won’t you admit it? We have three years of history. Two years apart can’t erase everything unless you never truly loved me,” she continued, trying to provoke him. “I admit I was wrong to go abroad, but I had no choice. I was a victim! If you really loved me, you should have gone with me. You should have protected me when your grandfather threatened me. Instead, you did nothing and let me leave, and now you’re blaming me!”
Cynthia’s manipulative distortion of the truth left Christopher silent. He retreated to the master bedroom, unable to refute her.
“Christopher! Come out here! You said you don’t love Melody, so that means you still love me!” she shouted, banging on the door. “Come back to me! Let’s live together. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. You and Melody are divorced now. You two have no feelings for each other. I forgive you for the marriage, so let’s start over!”
Inside, Christopher sat on the bed, his mind in chaos, holding the signed divorce agreement. Did he not love Melody? Was he still in love with Cynthia? Was her departure his failure to protect her? Was marrying Melody a betrayal of their love?
His head ached; his thoughts were a jumble. He held his head and stared blankly at the carpet. He tried to ignore Cynthia’s words. The only thing he was sure of was that he and Melody were not divorced. Whether it was a photocopy or the original sent to Daniel, it was fake.
His gaze sharpened; his mind cleared. He showered, ignoring Cynthia’s voice. As the steam rose, his mind fixated on whether he truly loved Melody. Her absence had brought not only anger and frustration, but panic and anxiety. He’d become so accustomed to her presence that he couldn’t eat or sleep; everything reminded him of her. Watching college videos of Melody, he found himself drawn to her brilliance, wondering if they would have fallen in love naturally had Cynthia not been there.