Resign with Grace, Return with Fire Chapter 22
Sandra started crying in earnest when I didn’t react. “Fred, I fell down. Are you really going to just stand there and watch? Don’t you feel bad for me?”
“We’ve already broken up, which means we’re strangers now. What’s there to feel bad about?” I asked coolly.
She stared me down, trying to catch any flicker of emotion in my eyes. When she saw how calm I was, she finally understood that I wasn’t sulking. I had truly moved on from her.
It was odd, really. Even I didn’t know when I’d stopped feeling anything for Sandra. I didn’t get angry when she was affectionate with Lester, and my heart no longer fluttered when I looked at her. It remained still.
A dull ache hit Sandra’s chest, and an inexplicable wave of panic crashed over her. She forced herself upright
and awkwardly crawled off the ground. She limped toward me, reaching out to grab the hem of my shirt. “Fred, I was wrong. Please give me one more chance…”
I dodged her again. Her hand grabbed at empty air and froze.
I said coldly, “You’re not getting another chance.”
Then, I walked away without looking back, ignoring her sobs. She covered her face and wept, bowing her proud head for the first time. It was too bad, I no longer wanted to stop for her.
After that day, I stopped paying attention to these menial matters.
One day, Mom called to ask when Sandra and I were getting married. She’d asked me that question at least a
hundred times.
I suddenly remembered that she didn’t know we’d broken up. This time, I told her about it.
Mom was surprised but didn’t say much because she was worried I’d be upset. The next day, she sent me a woman’s phone number.
“Fred, this young woman is five years younger than you. Remember Mrs. Jensen from next door? She’s her daughter. You two should get to know each other. Even if you just become friends, that’s fine.”
I didn’t want to worry Mom, so I agreed.
After I started texting the young woman, I learned that her name was Ariana Jensen and that she actually lived in the same complex as me. Her building was across from mine.
We shared the same hobbies and hit it off right away, talking like old friends.
In comparison, Sandra and I had nothing in common. She couldn’t live without spicy food, while I preferred lighter flavors. She hated working out, and I loved exercise.
So, for years, I’d bent myself to fit her interests and lifestyle. Now that I’d met someone I naturally clicked with, I found myself thinking well of Ariana.
She took the initiative to invite me out. “Want to come down for a walk?”
I had nothing going on, so I said yes. I changed into casual clothes and headed downstairs, where I saw a stylish, pretty young woman scanning the area.
Maybe it was just a coincidence, but I caught a glimpse of the Sandra I knew in her college days-young and vibrant, just like this.
“Are you Fred Sloan?” Ariana walked up to greet me.
I nodded. The two of us fell into step and started talking like we had endless things to say.
On the way back, we ran into a stray cat with an injured back leg. Ariana crouched to bandage it, then bought it a sausage. She was kind and gentle enough to help.
My mind wandered for a moment when I saw her taking such good care of the cat.
The truth was that I’d always liked cats. However, Sandra had severe germaphobia and hated small animals. She said they carried fleas and bacteria and were filthy.
To accommodate her, I’d given up on having a cat. But even when I fed strays on the street, she’d criticized me more than once for being too “saintly”.
She said that if I really meant well for the strays, I’d let them starve to death so that they wouldn’t reproduce and bring more death.
