Back to Love: A New Beginning
Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

I thought my heart had already hardened, but I still ached at what I was seeing.

My husband had never kissed me so passionately.

I had even completely forgotten what day it was until I saw a man walk by with a bouquet of roses in his arms.

Shane and Vivien must have come to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

He had never remembered such occasions. I had foolishly thought he was just down-to-earth and sensible by nature, and had even convinced myself that this made him a suitable partner.

Needless to say, I regretted everything my younger self had believed in the past.

Now, the realization that these two were always in heat for each other, no matter what day it was or where they were, turned my stomach.

“Hey, isn’t that Dr. Hayes over there, what a coincidence, has he come to celebrate Valentine’s Day with his mistress?”

Louise had shouted on purpose, turning the heads of the people milling around us.

The shameless couple finally parted their mouths and separated. At first, Shane raised a sly eyebrow at Louise, but when he finally saw me, he froze. A strange gleam appeared in his eyes.

“Eveline?” exclaimed Vivien in shock. It was clear she couldn’t believe it was me. I knew why they were so surprised.

I wasn’t one to dress up. In fact, I only wore plain clothes. And as long as the garment was repairable, I never threw a single garment away. But every woman wanted new clothes from time to time, everyone knew that. Every woman wanted to give herself a beautiful look. It was the painful realization of my extreme finances that prevented me from that luxury. In the end, all I got in return for my prudence was a betrayal. What bitter irony

Today, however, Louise had made me up from head to toe. Even I had been almost incapable of recognizing myself when I had looked in the mirror, let alone these two, who had always given my paltry appearance a miss.

“I must say, Doctor Hayes has excellent eyes. His wife is really attractive. She has the standard face of someone who has gone under the knife.”

Saying this, Louise sneered at both Shane and Vivien at the same time. In turn, they had identical, sour expressions. “I can’t believe what you’re doing, Eveline. You’ve lost your job and you still have the nerve to play games like this.

You don’t even seem to want to support your mother anymore.” Perhaps Vivien had realized that Louise was not someone she could play with, and that was why she had shifted her barbs to me.

The mention of my mother made my chest ache. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Louise take a step forward in Vivien’s direction. My hand was instantly raised to stop her. I knew she was about to attack the enemy.

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And Vivien deserved a beating, but the four of us would humiliate ourselves if we took this any further.

Knowing my intention, Louise sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

She looked Vivian up and down, her eyes full of contempt.

“Let me ask you, Mistress Mistress, do you know how to get people to know your name in a matter of moments?”

The sudden question puzzled Vivien. She was visibly confused.

Then Louise looked down at Vivien’s belly and scoffed. “That’s when you walk down the hallway with a bulging belly, or worse, with a baby in your arms. Then everyone would know your name, am I right?”

Vivian blanched and became enraged. But she continued to direct her anger at me.

“So what if I do any of those things? The fact is, Shane wants to marry me and start a family with our son. What about you, Eveline? You’re pathetic. Look at you, did you dress up today to try to seduce some unsuspecting idiot? Who would be so blind as to marry a jerk like you?”

To be honest, if Louise hadn’t called them first, I would have pretended I didn’t see them.

But now that the bitch who had stolen my husband was acting all self-righteous and blaming it on me, I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Indeed, there was an idiot who was blind enough to marry an asshole back then. But anyway, that jerk had been replaced by another jerk now.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Louise flashed me two thumbs up.

Shane’s face grew redder.

Vivien, for her part, gaped and blinked. It was the second time they had both been insulted in the same instant, and it was obvious she didn’t know how to respond. In the next second, she reached over to Shane and clung to his arm.

“Did you hear that, Shane, in the past she was just pretending to be meek! Turns out she’s pretty good at making suggestive comments.”

I snorted, lifting the corners of my lips. Then, in a very calm voice, I said, “I never make innuendo comments. My words are always spoken with intent. If you feel insulted, it’s because I meant to insult you.”

Louise’s eyes lit up with pleasant surprise. She leaned against the wall and tilted her head toward me with unmistakable approval. It was as if she was telling me that I now had the ability to deal with this immoral couple.

Well, I felt much better about rebuking those who had wronged me instead of suppressing my anger.

Inspiration came to me. I laughed softly and slowly approached Shane.

“What are you doing, Eveline?”

Vivien tightened her hands around Shane’s arm, clearly fearful that she might snatch him away. I thought briefly about how ignorant and childish I was. Had I forgotten that this man was still legally bound to me? Not that that mattered to me anymore.

I reached out and dropped a piece of mint gum into Shane’s suit jacket pocket.

“Chewing a piece of gum before kissing a woman,” I reminded myself quietly, “is one way to show her some respect.”

He frowned at me immediately, as if I was the one who had betrayed him.

I knew what kind of person he was. Even if he had abandoned me, he would still expect me to cling to his leg and beg for his affection just to satisfy his vanity

Well, I was done stroking his ego. I wanted to show him that I didn’t care at all.

I was pleased with Shane’s reaction, so I turned on my heel and walked away. I didn’t want to stay in this place one more second.

“Who do you think you are?” shouted Vivien behind me, “You’re nothing but a discarded woman who’s been thrown out by her own husband.” That made me stop in my tracks.

How dare she? She was the whore who destroyed other people’s marriages.

My wounds had not yet fully healed. If they kept poking at it, I might never get over the pain.

I gritted my teeth. My fists were shaking at my sides. Just when it looked like I was about to collapse, a strong arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me against a broad chest. Next thing I knew, my back was pressed against the wall.

“I chewed a piece of gum,” Derek said hoarsely. His face was inches from mine, and his burning eyes were fixed on my lips.

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