Seeing Me Live A Good Life, My Ex-Wife Found Her Conscience

Five years after our divorce, I ran into Kelly Jackson at a luxury boutique. She came when the salesgirl was wrapping up the silk scarf I had picked out for my wife.

The salesgirl's tone turned warm. "Miss Jackson, you're here. The evening gown your husband has chosen for you is ready."

Kelly nodded slightly, her eyes resting on the silk scarf in my hand, then she said, "Put it on my tab as well.”

I declined politely and placed the cash on the counter.

She sighed. "Mac, after all these years… you’re still angry with me.

I smiled without saying anything.

Who has the time to stay angry that long? I had let it go a long time ago.

——

I took the bag, tossed it into my canvas tote filled with groceries and turned to leave.

The early autumn wind howled, stinging my eyes shut as I walked down memory lane to the bus stop.

When I lifted my gaze again, Kelly’s car was parked right in front of me.

Seeing my reddened eyes, her brows furrowed.

“Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”

“No need, thanks. I'll take the bus.”

She scanned me from head to toe. When her gaze fell on the canvas bag slung over my shoulder, she asked cautiously, “Have you… been doing well these past years?”

“It's pretty good.”

Kelly obviously did not believe me. "Get in the car. At least, let me give you a ride."

Behind us, the bus kept honking, but she didn't move.

With every eye on us, I had no choice but to get in.

"The Serenity Residential Area," I said casually.

Silence fell. Then, when she spoke, her voice was tense. “Why do you live in that kind of place? It's long been abandoned, not to mention you ....”

Although she didn’t finish the sentence, I knew exactly what she wanted to say.

That was the place where my mother died. It had been ten years since she refused to attend me and Kelly's wedding. Instead, she jumped from the rooftop of a ten-story building.

The backseat was spacious, but the heater was cranked too high. So, I rolled down the window slightly.

“You always start coughing when you catch a breeze,” she reminded me. “Close the window, I’ll just turn the temperature down if you feel hot."

I shook my head and smiled. “Not anymore. Do whatever you like.”

She said nothing anymore.  Moments later, her phone rang.

“Honey, did you get the clothes? Where are you now?”

The voice from the car speaker was familiar, yet tinged with an unfamiliar warmth and brightness.

“Got them. I ran into Mac just now, so I'm giving him a ride.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Is Mac back? It's been a long time. Why didn't you say earlier that you're having a reunion? Why didn't you invite me?"

I had known Leo Jobb for over ten years and I had never heard him speak like that.

Back then, he was a reserved and quiet man who was pouring himself entirely into painting. When someone stole his spot in a competition, he would just hide away and cry.

It was I who publicly smashed that person's entry with a baseball bat, wrote a letter exposing the competition's corruption and served three days in juvenile detention to get him justice.

Indeed, absolute favoritism breeds deep affection.

“It was just a chance encounter. He has things to do. I'll be back after dropping him off.”

“A chance encounter means we're meant to meet. What's wrong with treating an old friend to a meal?”

"Leo, stop it!"

Silence fell on the other end of the line.

Kelly was always gentle when coaxing people, but once she made up her mind, no one could stop her. He should know this better than I do.

The call ended abruptly just as the car pulled up beneath the apartment building.

“Thanks.”

After thanking her politely, I got out of the car and left.

Kelly withdrew her gaze from the surroundings and called after me. "Mac, may I ask, who did you buy that silk scarf for?"