Lily stomped right up to John. “Daddy, is this
nasty woman bothering you again?” She then
threw herself at me, flailing her arms. “Bad
woman! Why can’t you leave my daddy alone?
I’ll beat you!”
Lily’s voice was loud enough for everyone in
the convention hall to hear.
Heads turned. People were staring. Lily kept
at it. “You’re such a bad woman. You ruined
my mommy and daddy’s relationship!”
I ran a coffee shop. There were bound to be
some like–minded friends around, and I could
see them now, looking at me with a mix of
L
“Can you believe Wendy’s like that?”
“I thought she was so innocent. Turns out
she’s a homewrecker!”
“You can never really know someone, can
you?”
I felt my face burn as those words hit me. I
yanked my arm free of John’s grip and
shouted, “John Rivers, I made myself clear
about the divorce. You’re the one dragging
your feet on signing the papers. And now
you’re parading your illegitimate child in front
of me. What the hell is your problem?”
The gossip reached a fever pitch.
“Wait, that guy’s Wendy’s ex–husband? Did
<
he cheat on her with that kid’s mom?”
“Looks like it.”
“What a scumbag!”
Seeing the tide of public opinion turning
against them, Elle rushed forward, pretending
to be apologetic. “Oh, Wendy, I’m so sorry.
Lily really wanted to come here, and John had
no choice but to bring us. Please don’t be
mad at him.”
“Elle, John and I are getting divorced. Do me
a favor, and keep your creepy games to
yourselves. I’m so over it.”
John’s brow had been furrowed since this
whole thing started. “Wendy, how many times
do I have to tell you, Elle and I aren’t like
く
“Oh, really? So, you call me Wendy, but you
call her Elle? John, why can’t you be a man
and own up to your sleazy affair? Maybe then
I’d actually respect you.”
“Wendy!” John’s voice went up an octave,
laced with authority and pressure. Normally, I
would have caved, abandoned my principles,
and obeyed.
But now? I’d lost my child. I wasn’t about to
lose my dignity, too.
“John,” I said, my voice cold and hard.
“This divorce isn’t a joke. If you refuse to sign
the papers, I’ll have to divorce you for
adultery. It’ll be ugly for both of us.‘
く
I turned and walked away.
John was in a sensitive position; a divorce
would be a stain on his career. That’s why he
was so stubborn. But adultery would ruin him
completely, so he wouldn’t risk it.
The next day, John showed up at my coffee
shop, alone this time.
“What can I get for you?” I asked, like he was
any other customer.
“Wendy, I want to talk about us.”
I had a pretty good idea what he wanted to
say, but I didn’t want to waste my time. I
tossed a menu at him. “I don’t chat when I’m
working. If you don’t want coffee, leave.”
く
John had no choice. He sat down and ordered
a black coffee.
I stared at him, confused. He was allergic to
coffee, especially black coffee!
He looked at me, almost expectantly, as if he
wanted me to remind him about the allergy.
Back when we were together, I’d been so
careful about his diet, making sure he didn’t
eat anything that was bad for him. Even when
we ate out, I’d pick out the scallions from his
food, even though he hated them.
But it was exhausting. I didn’t want to live like
that anymore.
I made the black coffee, placed it in front of
him, and John frowned again.
く
“I came here to talk about Elle.”
I stopped what I was doing and looked him in the eye. “I’m not interested in you and Elle.”
“I know, but Elle’s divorced now, and she has
Lily. She’s all alone. I think I should help her.”
“Then marry her,” I said without hesitation.
“If you love her so much, marry her. Give her
a legitimate family. Don’t let her and her
daughter suffer. Her kid already calls you
‘Dad‘ anyway.”
“Wendy, it’s not like that! I just want to take
care of Elle. I don’t want anything else.”
“John, I know Elle was your first love. I know
L
she dumped you to marry someone else, and
that’s why you settled for me. She’s divorced
now. You can be together. I’m letting you.”
John was about to say something when his
phone rang. It was Elle, her voice shrill.
“Johnny, they’re here again! What do I do?
Come save Lily and me!”
“Elle, don’t worry, I’m on my way!”
John rushed out of the coffee shop, not even
looking back.
I watched the cold coffee he’d left behind and
dumped it down the drain. Then, I called my
dad. “Dad?“.
“Wendy, what’s up?”
L
“That blind date you set up for me? I have
some free time now. I’d like to meet him.”
“Great! I’m so glad you came around. I’ll set it
up right away.”
John and I were both from influential families,
but our paths were different.
He and Elle had grown up together, childhood
sweethearts, their parents in the military.
My father was in politics. They knew each
other, but weren’t close.
I fell for John hard. Back then, Elle was dating
some high–ranking official’s kid, and she
dumped John to be with him. That’s when I
stepped in.
<
