Ariel couldn’t ept this reality. She thought she had already taken a big step forward. After being told her life might be nearly over, she had thrown herself into change. She had even felt proud and grateful for the person she had be.

    Humans would instinctively avoid difort, cling to theirfort zones, and avoid taking on too much risk or responsibility.

    She felt that she had done well to get this far.

    And yet, despite all her growth, she had never truly escaped this cage of love that had hurt her.

    So she couldn’t forgive Jayson’s deception. This was a personal assault on her emotions.

    She wasn’t aputer program that could just delete memories at will, forget with a click, or erase the past entirely. The suffering she had endured belonged only to her, and it wasn’t something she could just let go.

    “I’m sorry.” As Jayson stared at her eyes, which were clouded with moisture from anger, his Adam’s apple bobbed. He instinctively reached out to wipe them.

    But Ariel stepped back. Exhausted, she said softly, “There’s nothing left to say between us.”

    What could she even argue for?

    When she thought about the absurdity of her situation, it even struck her as ironic.

    Ignoring Jayson’s expression, Ariel reached for the door to close it.

    However, he ced a hand against it. He knew Ariel wasn’t one to lose control, but some things needed

    an outlet.

    “Yes, I regretted it. I didn’t want you ito /ileave,” he said.

    Ariel looked at him, feeling incredulous.

    “Ariel, I’m not as omnipotent as you think. Hiding the truth from you was just me avoiding the issue. I used to pride myself on never regretting anything, but with you, I can’t make absolute decisions. There were reasons for divorce and reasons not to. I think you should understand that.

    “I know you probably don’t want to see me now, and maybe you can’t even hear me, but I’m right next door. Ariel, when you’re ready, we need to sit down and talk.”

    She needed time to process. Anyone would be overwhelmed. Jayson understood the impact this

    revtion had on her.

    Ariel ignored him. She closed the door, then walked over to the couch and sat down. She stayed like that,

    watching everything in the room.

    This whole thing was too absurd. She needed time to think.

    Through the night, she listened to the steady patter of rain against the window. Her mind was restless, so sleep eluded her.

    She thought about a lot of things–her past with Jayson–the good, the bad, the sad, and the painful.

    Breaking a cycle wasn’t easy. Deciding to divorce Jayson had been like stabbing herself in the heart. Watching him with Nancy during the process was like enduringshes of barbed whips. But she had

    endured it all and came out stronger.

    She had managed to build the life she had now, and for that, she was grateful.

    And now, after all that pain, he had just told her, “You never really escaped. It was all a joke.”

    That fact was impossible for her to ept.

    Ariel closed her eyes and let out a wry, bitterugh. The troubles in her life just seemed never–ending.

    It wasn’t until dawn that she finally forced herself upright. The rain had stopped, and the air was thick

    with the smell of wet earth.

    She felt as if her whole body was damp.

    Ariel pressed her hands to the table and massaged her temples. A sharp headache was pounding in her

    head.

    Her biggest concern now was figuring out how to deal with this.

    Jayson had admitted they were never divorced, but she still had no idea how things had gone so wrong

    in the first ce. (13

    She felt numb today.

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