Chapter 5

I wasn't that meek Mrs. Larson from the Larson family anymore. Now, I was Nicole Walls, my true self.

These days, I had truly started a new life. Sometimes, when I saw kids, memories of Robert flashed through my mind and left me dazed for a moment, but aside from that, everything had changed for the better.

A few weeks later, Kamari finally reached out to me. He wanted to meet up and discuss the divorce.

I thought it over and told him to meet me at a café nearby.

When I saw Kamari, he wasn't the lively, spirited man I used to know. Instead, he looked completely worn out.

I didn't say much. I just skimmed through the divorce papers and was about to sign my name.

But Kamari stopped me, with a gloomy look on his face.

"You're signing so fast. Is there someone else in your life now? Is that why you don't want Robert either?" he said.

I looked at Kamari being so stubborn and couldn't help but laugh.

He reminded me of myself back then, when I confronted him about his relationship with Laurel.

I ignored him and picked up my pen, ready to sign.

But Kamari suddenly grabbed the divorce papers away, and there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Nicole, we met when we were twenty, got married at twenty-two, and spent ten years together. Are we really going to give up on us just because of Laurel? I swear, I'll let her go and never see her again."

I shook my head.

This marriage had dragged on for too long; deep down, it was already falling apart.

The first two years of our marriage were truly happy.

I would never forget how excited Kamari looked when I was pregnant. The man who was always so composed and in control in the business world was grinning like a kid.

After Robert was taken away, he comforted me, promising he'd always be by my side, that nothing would ever change that.

But somewhere along the way, those promises started to crumble.

It started when he began to dislike my body after I gave birth, when he felt we had nothing in common anymore, and when he kept coming home later and later from all those business dinners.

Even if it hadn't been Laurel, there would've been someone else. There was always another woman waiting in the wings.

It was never really about Laurel. The problem was always us.

Kamari's eyes were bloodshot as he ripped the divorce papers to pieces and shouted, "I'm not divorcing you. I refuse!"

I was silent for a moment. "If you won't cooperate, I'll just let the lawyers handle it."

With that, I snatched up my bag and walked out.

From then on, I spent my days working at the bakery and talking to lawyers about how to start the divorce process.

I thought the next time I'd see Kamari would be in court, but somehow he tracked down my new address and camped out at my doorstep, waiting to confront me.

When I saw him again, he looked even more worn out than before, stubble all over his face, a total mess, nothing like the corporate hotshot I used to know.

He said, "Nicole, I really know I messed up. I've already let Laurel go. If we want, we can try for another child. I swear, we can get back to the way things used to be."

As he spoke, he pulled out a faded old photo album, with photos from when we first started dating.

There were pictures of our first trip to the amusement park, the first time we held hands, our first vacation together...

But after our second year of marriage, there were no more new photos.

Kamari pointed at the words on the cover, his face flushed with emotion.

"Look, we once promised we'd be together forever. We even signed and sealed it," he said.

I gently ran my fingers over those promises we made when we were young.

Back then, we really did vow to spend our whole lives together.

But those vows were as fragile as sand. One breath of wind, and they were gone.

All that was left between us was the mess and scraps of a broken marriage.

I asked him calmly, "Kamari, do you remember what you said the day my dad was sentenced?"

Before my dad was sent to prison, he screamed at me, calling me a cold-blooded traitor, an ungrateful brat, swearing that someone like me would never come to a good end.

Kamari reached out and gently covered my ears, shielding me from those harsh words.

"Don't be afraid. I'll be your rock, the one who treats you better than anyone else in the world. I'll give you a happy home," he said.

I would never forget that rush of emotion I felt back then.

But now, that boy who once made my heart skip a beat was the same man who threw my pain back in my face, making a joke out of my suffering and sharing it with anyone who would listen.

In the end, he became someone ugly and cruel, nothing like the person I used to love.

Kamari seemed to realize it too, and his expression turned anguished.

"Nicole, I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance. I'll do better from now on. But nothing ever happened between me and Laurel, I swear. That night, I was just drunk. Nothing happened, really."

I shot back, "So you really think that's not cheating? Be honest with yourself. Who were you constantly glued to your phone, chatting away with every time you came home?

"Everyone at work thought she was your girlfriend. Even Robert probably thinks of Laurel as his mom now, and barely remembers I'm his real mother. Isn't this exactly what you let happen?"

Kamari's face went pale, and his voice trembled as he tried to explain, "Nicole, Laurel was just like a sister to me, I never..."

"That's enough!" I cut him off.