Divorce, Ending, And New Beginning

Gwen noticed her friend’s silence.

“Callie…” she gently said.

“No!” Callie exclaimed and raised her right hand to emphasize what she said. “I know what you’ll say, but I don’t want to reminisce about my past anymore. I was stupid and naïve at that time! I didn’t feel anything toward Seth Parker before; if there were any, it would probably be simply disgust. Nothing else!”

Callie could still feel cold shivers every time she remembered Seth. Everything about him was just pure embarrassment.

She took a bite of her burger and looked at Gwen. “I just didn’t expect that you’ll sleep with Seth. This is such big news!”

Indeed, how could these two people, who had nothing to do with each other, end up in the same bed in one night?

Gwen sighed, also feeling the same as Callie. What happened still felt like a dream to her.

Or a nightmare. Remembering the scenes from last night just proved how true these all were.

In the next few days, Gwen didn’t leave her home. If Callie didn’t show up at her door and dragged her to the mall, she wouldn’t leave her bed or sofa at all.

She and Callie walked inside a luxury store.

“Do you like that bag?” Gwen’s shoulders jumped when she heard Callie’s voice from behind.

Callie actually noticed that Gwen had been holding and staring at the bag for a while now.

Gwen looked at the bag with adoration before returning it to the stall. “Never mind. I still have a lot of bags at home.”

Callie’s face contorted in disapproval. She grabbed the bag again and gave it to Gwen. “Nonsense! If you want it, buy it!”

The saleslady appeared beside them. “Miss Cooper is right. If you like the bag, just buy it. That’s the only stock left of that design, Ma’am. Bags of that design are very hard to find.”

Gwen looked at Callie, hesitant and uneasy. Her life was different now. Unlike before, she couldn’t just buy a thousand-dollar worth of designer bag without blinking.

Callie instantly read what was in her friend’s mind. She smiled at the saleslady and said, “We’ll get this bag!”

She turned to Gwen and beamed. “This is my treat, okay?”

“No, Callie, you don’t have to do this,” Gwen panicked. “If you buy this bag, I won’t go shopping with you anymore!”

Callie pouted and studied Gwen’s serious expression. In the end, she gave up.

“Fine.”

Callie put the bag back in its place. Two seconds later, a slender hand hastily grabbed the bag. Callie looked at the woman beside her, and her jaw almost dropped when she saw who it was.

“This is pretty! I want this one,” Lacey happily said.

Callie scowled.

“Hey!” Lacey protested when a hand tried to snatch the bag from her and accidentally scratched her.

“What’s wrong?” Hayes, dressed in a black suit and holding a phone in his hand, went to Lacey’s side. His gaze immediately dropped to Lacey’s hand.

When he saw a red mark, his expression became dark and hostile. “What’s going on?”

He raised his eyes, only to find Gwen and Callie looking at him.

“Say sorry to her,” he said in a commanding voice while looking at Callie. The customers in the store started looking at their crowd.

Gwen almost scoffed. Seeing her ex-husband riled up about a mere scratch was new to her.

Meanwhile, Callie raised her chin and brow. “Why would I apologize?”

Gwen glanced at Callie. It was true that it was their fault, but one glance at Hayes, and it felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Hayes looked around the store. “There are CCTV cameras in this store, Miss Cooper. If you don’t want to apologize to Lacey now, maybe you’ll want to apologize in front of the police.”

Callie gnashed her teeth as she stared at Hayes’s angry eyes. She opened her mouth and was about to speak when the door of the store swung open, revealing two new customers.

“What’s taking you so long? We’ve been to hundreds of stores already. Just pick a damn bag,” Seth muttered, annoyed. A young girl in a red chiffon skirt walked beside him.

Lacey was also wearing a red dress. If both were compared, Lacey would win without a doubt.

Seth’s eyes widened when he saw Gwen. He walked toward her and smirked. “I didn’t expect to bump into you again, Miss Lewis.”

Lacey looked at them curiously. “Since when did you become close with Gwen?” Lacey asked Seth.

Seth’s eyes brightened as if he remembered something great. “Ah! A few days ago. That one fateful night…” he answered meaningfully.

Gwen wished Seth would just shut his mouth now. She glared at him, but Seth only looked at her innocently.

The young girl shook Seth’s arm. “I’m starving, Seth! Let’s go!”

Seth glared at her. “You’re hungry all the time! Your appetite is unnatural.”

The girl only puckered her lips and sniffed.

Seth sighed. “Shall we go?” He asked and looked at Hayes and Lacey.

“No!” Lacey protested. “Miss Cooper scratched my hand. She should apologize to me.”

Seth glanced at Callie. “She hurt you? Can I see your wound?” He stepped forward and grabbed her hand to inspect it.

“Where does it hurt?”

Lacey pointed at the faint red mark. “Here!”

Seth raised his head and looked at Lacey. “Yeah, this wound is too deep!”

Callie and Gwen’s brows furrowed, ready to protest until Seth spoke again.

“This scratch is too deep that it will completely disappear sooner,” he sarcastically said and chuckled.