I was completely unprepared for Chloe’s reaction.When she heard my words, she first froze, then burst into laughter, as if she’d heard the most absurd joke in existence. She clutched her stomach, her laughter hearty and clear.“Don’t joke like that,” twenty-year-old Chloe said, still laughing. “Why would I ever divorce you?”
I looked at her, my expression calm. “There’s no endless feast, even you and I will eventually part ways.”“Impossible,” she declared, cutting me off. Her words shot out without thought. “If you said we never got together, fine. But since we’re married, there’s no way I’d ever leave you.”Her words made me want to laugh.Because she truly had forgotten so much.She’d forgotten the cruel, even harsh, and incredibly unfavorable property division that I had to endure;She’d forgotten the cold, still, numb expression on her face when she placed that divorce agreement in front of me.She’d forgotten saying to me herself, “Let’s just end it. We’ll both be free.”That’s how Chloe was, with her memory stuck at twenty.She remembered nothing, knew nothing, blindly believing that our future together was destined, that we’d be forever united, never to be separated.So, at that moment, malice churned in my heart.
Why was it always me, the man, who got hurt or victimized?No.I wanted to hurt her too. I wanted to make her suffer.So, I asked her in return, “Why?”“Why do you think we won’t part ways?”Chloe looked at me.At that moment, the twenty-year-old and thirty-year-old versions of her seemed to merge, converging into one.But her gaze was so focused, so earnest.She looked at me intently and said, “Because I’ve liked you for so many years.”“After finally getting you, how could I ever let go?”
