Chapter 5

By noon, I was so wiped out that I didn't want to pick up my fork.

I was sprawled out on the table at Samantha's guesthouse restaurant.

Henry was sitting across from me.

He'd been training all morning.

He showed no signs of fatigue. His appetite was even excellent.

Being young really was something else.

I massaged my aching arms. "Do you do this every day?"

"Pretty much," he replied.

"Doesn't it get exhausting?"

"I'm used to it."

I sighed. "I used to have a routine too."

Henry looked up. "What was it?"

"Sleeping in," I replied.

He chuckled.

Out of nowhere, Richard popped into my head.

We'd been married for six years.

He was up at six thirty every morning, had breakfast at seven, and went out by eight. He never missed a beat.

I woke up whenever the mood struck.

Sometimes he sent me messages after his noon meeting, and I had only just woken up.

Richard: [You up?]

I: [Yeah.]

[Time to eat.]

[Don't feel like moving.]

Half an hour later, the housekeeper would bring lunch right to my bedroom.

Back then, I took it for granted.

Now, I couldn't really put my finger on how I felt about it.

Just then, my phone buzzed.

It was Richard.

I didn't pick up.

The call ended.

He called again right away.

Henry glanced over. "Not going to answer?"

"Just a telemarketer," I said.

But the screen was flashing "Richard" in big, bold letters.

Henry was polite enough not to call me out on it.

The third time, I finally picked up. "What do you want?"

There was a pause on the other end.

He probably wasn't used to me talking like this.

Back when Richard used to call me, my first words were always, "Honey."

I switched up my tone pretty fast.

"Are you eating?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Why did you miss your flight yesterday?" he asked.

I froze, fork in hand. "How do you know that?"

"Liam checked your itinerary," he said.

I got annoyed right away. "Why are you checking up on me?"

"I'm not checking up on you." His tone was flat. "The driver scheduled to pick you up couldn't find you, so he called Liam. That's how he found out."

That made sense.

I poked at my food. "I went to the wrong terminal."

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end.

I could practically picture Richard's face right now. He must have considered it expected.

"Why didn't you let the driver take you?" he asked.

"I wanted to try it myself," I said.

"And how did that go?"

"Cost me 900 dollars."

Henry couldn't help but laugh out loud.

I shot him a glare.

It went quiet on the other end.

After a moment, Richard asked, "Is there someone with you?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Samantha?" he asked.

I glanced at Henry across from me.

Out of nowhere, I thought of that twenty-two-year-old girl he was seeing. That inexplicable urge to win flared up in me again.

"No," I said.

"Then who is it?" Richard asked.

"A man," I replied.

This time, the line went dead silent.

My mood instantly lifted.

I lowered my head and grabbed a rib with my fork.

That was tasty.

After a few seconds of silence, Richard finally spoke. "Mia."

"Yeah?" I replied.

"You've only been in Seasiaven for two days."

"I know."

"Don't do anything reckless."

Just when I was starting to feel better, my mood tanked again.

"What do you mean by 'reckless'?" I asked.

"You know exactly what I mean," Richard said.

"No, I really don't."

"Your emotions are all over the place right now."

"I'm totally fine."

"Fine enough to have dinner with some guy you barely know?"

I glanced at Henry.

He kept eating quietly. His expression didn't change at all.

Suddenly, I felt a bit uneasy.

Richard was actually right about that.

I really had just met Henry.

But why should I feel uneasy?

Richard was the one who asked for the divorce.

I set my fork down. "Richard."

"Yeah?" he replied.

"When you liked Chloe, did you know her for a long time?" I asked.

There was silence on the other end.

I gave a short laugh. "Just asking."

I hung up on him right after.

That felt so damn good. But that high only lasted a few seconds.

I looked up.

Henry was watching me. "Your ex?"

"How did you figure that out?" I asked.

"Sales calls don't usually care who you're having dinner with," he replied.

That actually made sense.

I ducked my head and took a sip of water.

Henry suddenly asked, "Who's Chloe?"

"A twenty-two-year-old girl," I said. "I mean, the girl he likes."

Henry nodded. He didn't ask anything else.

But somehow, that made me feel more awkward. "Don't you have anything to say?"

"Like what?" Henry replied.

"I don't know, maybe say something to cheer me up?" I said.

He thought for a moment. "You're thirty?"

My face fell. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Honestly, you look pretty young," Henry said.

My expression softened a bit. "Keep going."

"You really don't look five years older than me," Henry said.

I was about to smile.

But then Henry had to add, "If we stood next to each other, people would probably think we're siblings."

I stared at him. "Henry."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."