In the Years That Followed, There Was No Trace of You in My Life

On the way to the birthday party, Josephine received some WhatsApp messages from Roderick.

Roderick: [Katie said you blocked her number. Josephine. How long are you going to keep acting this way?]

Roderick: [At twelve noon, Katie and I are going to hold a wedding ceremony. If you still want to remarry, come to the wedding venue and apologize to Katie. I'm warning you, this is the last chance I'm giving you.]

A few minutes later, he sent two more messages.

Roderick: [Josephine, you really disappoint me too much. It's obvious that you were the one who was wrong in the first place, why do you just refuse to apologize?]

Roderick: [The wedding is about to start. Hurry up and come over! Katie is still waiting for you. She said she would forgive you as long as you apologize.]

Looking at the constantly refreshing chat box, Josephine felt annoyed and decided to block him as well.

Not long after blocking him, Roderick switched to texting again and sent it over.

Roderick: [Josephine, you have gotten bold. Do you even dare to block me too? If you keep this up, I really won’t tolerate it anymore! I'll give you one last chance, add me back and come over immediately to apologize, or else don’t even think about me agreeing to remarry you.]

Josephine was speechless to the extreme, so she decisively blocked all of Roderick's social media accounts to regain some peace to herself.

After the birthday banquet ended, she was about to get into the car to leave when she happened to run into Roderick and Katie.

Roderick’s face was so dark that it could drip ink. “Josephine, it's really you! Since you're here, why don't you find Katie and apologize?”

“Roderick, don't be angry. I think it must be because there were too many people at the wedding and Josephine was embarrassed.”

Josephine only then realized that their wedding and birthday party were held at the same hotel.

“Don't think too much. I came to attend the birthday banquet. And it has nothing to do with you guys at all.”

Roderick sighed helplessly. “Josephine, don't be tough. Bernard's birthday banquet only invited friends. How could you possibly get in?”

“Forget it, Josephine. I don't need you to apologize. Roderick is just afraid that public opinion will affect me and my child, so he was kind enough to help us. If you really mind, hit me and scold me all you want. Please don't hurt my child anymore, okay?”

Katie suddenly knelt down, crying with tears streaming down her face. Roderick wrapped his arms around her.

“Katie, don't beg her. With me here, no one will dare to harm you and your child.”

“I've already said it's just a fake marriage. It's not like I don't want her. She’s so petty, insisting on causing trouble for no reason!”

Josephine was uncomfortable by their arguing. She felt a dull pain in her stomach. She irritably covered her stomach in annoyance. 

Her voice clearly impatient said, “Are you two done acting? If you're done, get out of my way. I don't have time to waste with you.”

After she said that she was about to get into her car and leave. However, Roderick couldn't guess what Josephine was thinking.

He tugged on her arm. “What exactly do you want to do here today?”

Josephine held up the accompanying gift in her hand. “Look at the name on it. Don't get your hopes up.”

Roderick's eyes widened in shock. “Do you really know Bernard?”

“Whether I know him or not is my business. What does it have to do with you? Don't forget, we're already divorced, okay?”

Josephine got into the car without looking back.

***

In the rearview mirror, Roderick grew smaller and smaller until he was just a blurry speck. Josephine lowered her head and tenderly touched her abdomen.

“Baby, let's go home.”

Watching the car drift away, Roderick felt a hollow emptiness in his heart, as if he had lost something forever. He used his assistant's WhatsApp to send a message to Josephine.

[Josephine, I know you're upset now, but Katie and I are only married in the name. After we get the certificate later, I will come back to accompany you and the child. You wait for me at home obediently.]

Josephine replied with a smile. [Roderick, I won't wait for you anymore.]

She turned off her phone and got on the plane without hesitation. Everything was over. From now on, she was going to run a brand new life.