Chapter 4

His words made me sick.

Back when Ryan was poor, he believed he wasn't worthy of Louisa. Now that he had found success, he could finally reclaim his pride in front of his former love.

He got what he wanted, but the price was our hard-won child and me.

I yanked my hand back and snapped, "Shut up. I don't want to hear a single word from you."

My phone buzzed.

It was Arthur Gilmore.

I answered, and Arthur's calm voice rang out sharply in the silent room.

"I'm downstairs," he said.

"Okay, give me five minutes," I replied.

I hung up and grabbed the suitcase I'd already packed.

Ryan's face hardened, tension and suspicion creeping into his pale features. "Who was that? What are you doing?"

I gave a sarcastic smile. "Louisa is your dream girl. Well, guess what? I'm someone else's dream girl, too."

Actually, I wasn't Arthur's dream girl, not even close.

He was just a senior I happened to know back in college.

I said it only to let Ryan feel how disgusting it was.

However, since I barely socialized, Ryan assumed I was only trying to provoke him. He raised his hand and swore he would never see Louisa again.

He even blocked her WhatsApp and phone number in front of me.

When I remained unmoved, his expression darkened as he glanced out the window.

Arthur stood by the car, impeccably dressed, composed, and refined.

He was definitely not the Uber driver Ryan was expecting.

Ryan immediately felt threatened and started to head downstairs to confront Arthur.

I said flatly, "If you want to turn our divorce into a public circus, I don't mind going all the way.

"All that money you spent on Louisa's maternity care and those luxury gifts? That's our shared money. Should I drag her out of the center right now?"

Ryan froze, staring at me in disbelief.

After a moment, weariness crept into his eyes as he lowered his stance. "Vera, can we stop this?"

That was ridiculous. Even now, he still thought I was just making a fuss, begging for his attention and affection.

I grabbed my suitcase and walked out without looking back, not even bothering to waste another word on him.

Once I got into Arthur's car, I thanked him with a hint of apology.

He didn't expect that I would call her.

Arthur only came because I was looking to rent, and he happened to have a place.

As we chatted casually in the car, I saw Ryan's car rush out of the garage, heading toward the postpartum care center he'd arranged for Louisa.

I let out a cold laugh, muttering under my breath, "His dream girl really does have a hold over him."

"Yeah." Arthur sighed, dragging out the word.

I glanced at Arthur in confusion, but he avoided my gaze and started the car.

The apartment Arthur was renting out was in a high-end residential area downtown, with a hefty price tag.

At market rates, two years' rent would have been enough for a down payment on a regular apartment.

I signed a three-year lease and didn't even blink, burning through Ryan's money without a shred of guilt.

He no longer had the emotional capacity to make up for what he'd done, so compensation in money felt only fair.

I was honestly happy for Arthur because back then, he was a poor student.

During freshman orientation, Arthur helped carry my suitcase, and I asked for his WhatsApp.

He blushed and said his phone didn't have WhatsApp. I figured he was just trying to brush me off.

It wasn't until later that I realized that Arthur was genuinely struggling.

He used an old-fashioned phone that could only make calls and send texts.

Whenever I saw him in the cafeteria, he always had just two veggie dishes.

Back then, I'd often joke about dieting and coax him into helping me finish the meat from my side dishes.

After a while, we just understood each other. If I frowned even a little, he'd take all the meat off my plate without a word.

When Arthur graduated, he was snapped up by a foreign company because he was so talented in his field. They offered him a five-year contract with a fat salary.

Before he left, he treated me to a fancy dinner and even bought himself a smartphone so he could finally add me on WhatsApp.

I thought that he must have known that all those years, my talk about dieting had only ever been an excuse.

Arthur got a little choked up as he thanked me, saying that when he came back, he'd treat me to all the best food around.

After Arthur went abroad, those vague, unspoken feelings slowly faded away.

I met Ryan and started showing off on Instagram.

At first, Arthur would still like my posts.

Later, it was as if he vanished completely from my life.

It wasn't until recently, when I asked my college roommate, Carolina Huffman, to help me find a place, that Arthur reached out to me himself.

He said that he had a place to rent. That was when I learned he had been back in the country for two years already.