The Times We Had

Lisa spent the night at the hotel, composing herself before finally returning home.

As soon as she opened the door, she found a familiar pair of stilettos right behind it.

The living room was empty, but the bedroom door was ajar.

Feeling a bad premonition, she rushed to the bedroom door and opened it, freezing up at the sight before her.

The whole place was a mess—the vase on the nightstand had been knocked down to the floor, with the flowers and water scattered all over.

There were clothes thrown carelessly on the bed, while Susan beside it, wearing her slippers with a sweet, innocent smile as she held Lisa and Chuck's honeymoon photobook.

Lisa took a deep breath and tried to fight back her rage. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Adams." Susan shrugged. "Chuck asked me to get him an important document and a change of clothes… Can't wear what we were wearing yesterday, since things got a bit intense…"

Susan's provocation was barenaked, as she dropped the thick photobook as Lisa watched, the contents a mess as everything spilled out.

Lisa could see the blissful smiles on her and Chuck's faces—it was just so ironic now.

"Whatever."

Since she was leaving forever tomorrow anyway, she ignored Susan's provocation, walking past Susan to reach for her bedside drawer.

However, Susan followed her and snatched the tiny totem she reached for!

"What are you doing?!" Lisa sprang to her feet right then, glaring at the totem as Susan lifted it high over her head.

Susan's eyes lit up with glee when she saw Lisa's concern. "So you actually can care about something, Ms. Adams? A love token, perhaps?"

Lisa spaced out as she remembered—it was indeed a token of love, but it was from Hank.

When she was infected with the epidemic disease that year, she went to several hospitals, but the doctors couldn't do anything, saying that even if she survived by chance, she would suffer serious brain damage from the fever.

After going to every hospital asking for help but to no avail, Hank braved storms and climbed a mountain, reaching a monastery at the summit where they gifted him with the blessed totem.

As soon as the next day arrived, her burning fever miraculously subsided.

Hank told Lisa then that totems had spiritual value and would ward off plights.

And this was the only keepsake Lisa had of him.

Having grown up in an orphanage with Hank before they married, the totem was therefore as much a symbol of familial warmth as a keepsake of her late husband.

As Susan's fingers slowly loosened around the totem, Lisa dove for it—but it was too late.

She could only watch as the totem split down the center as it crumbled into many tiny pieces.

Still, she reached for the fragments frantically as she tried to piece them back with trembling fingers.

The fragments were cutting her, but she didn't seem to feel it, holding every piece in her palms before she slowly stood up.

Naturally, Susan was laughing triumphantly as she watched Lisa's face turn pale…

Smack!

The slap cut short her laughter, just as a man shouted in shock from the door, "Lisa! What are you doing?!"

Susan was suddenly a sympathizable victim who kept trembling as she apologized to Lisa, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Ms. Adams, I was just helping Mr. Smith collect some documents… I didn't know you were here, and I was careless… Mr. Smith and I really have nothing to do with each other. You can hit me all you want, but don't question Mr. Smith's loyalty…"

Chuck glowered hideously as she sobbed, and he strode up to Susan's side, bumping Lisa viciously on the shoulder as he passed her!

Gathering Susan's face in his hands, he studied her for a second before wheeling on Lisa the next and bellowed, "Apologize to Susan now!"

Lisa was taken aback—he had never taken up that tone with her before.

Still, she looked up straight into Chuck's eyes as she spoke calmly. "She broke into my bedroom without permission and broke my things. Why should I apologize?"

Chuck somehow felt flustered when she saw how calm Lisa was, but he quickly abandoned the thought and rubbed between his brows irritably. "Susan told you—I sent her to get documents and some clothes. It's my fault if she knocked something over, and it's just a trinket. You'd assault someone over a lifeless thing?"

Lisa was suddenly reminded of the other bidders teasing her and felt the teasing of her colleagues at the bidding meeting that day, and her still heart seemed to feel a pang of phantom pain again.

This was the husband whom they said treasured her—blaming her for hitting his other woman and making her cry, without noticing her bleeding fingers.

Lisa's silence, however, further irritated Chuck. "Did you hear a word I said? If you're only going to be so unreasonable, I guess I shouldn't have catered to your whims and spoiled you for so many years!"

It was a very familiar voice, but the words were so unfamiliar to Lisa.

"You regret everything now? Then you can leave." Lisa's voice was at once quiet and weary.

Chuck was left further furious. "What?! You're leaving me over a broken trinket?!"

Huffing twice in rage, he suddenly took Susan's wrist and deliberately held it right in front of Lisa's face. "Unbeleiveable! Let's see you find another man who can tolerate your bad temper after you leave me!"

With that, Chuck stormed out, banging the door loudly along the way.

Lisa could still see Susan's smug smile as they left and reached up to touch her own chest.

Strangely, there was no pain—there was only a dull churning sensation, as if there was a thin veil thrown all over her senses, denying her sorrow, let alone joy.

Sighing, she carefully put the pieces of the totem in her bag, still strangely calm as she packed all her luggage.

She took out the fake marriage certificate that she had used to deceive Chuck before, finally feeling a pang of pain as she remembered his dazzling smile.

There really was a time when they were earnestly in love.

Unfortunately, the heart was utterly volatile, changing in just an instant.

And with it, the sweet bliss of the past was all but forgotten with the enticement of a younger and more attractive body.

Lisa's fingers trembled as she touched Chuck's face before abruptly and viciously tearing both marriage certificates into pieces.

Leaving the pieces of paper all over the floor, Lisa pulled her suitcase along and walked out the door without looking back.