Divorce Day Reset: My Wife Back at Seventeen Chapter 11
It was only after I was discharged from the hospital that I found out Maurice had been arrested for the hit-and- run. After being treated for his injuries, he was transferred to prison to serve time for intentional assault.
He’d come all this way to end up behind bars. What was the point of that?
Still, at least the nightmare that had weighed on me for so long had finally come to an end. My worries and suffering could be laid to rest, and at least, I could set sail toward a brand-new life.
Once Rina heard that I’d recovered, she went right back to visiting me every day. She still wore a fresh flower pinned in her hair as she sauntered toward the shop. The bell over the door rang out in clear, bright notes when
she entered.
I turned to see her come toward me, a wide smile on her face. “How are you feeling? Any better?”
She’d actually been hurt worse than I was, yet she acted like it was nothing.
“Thanks for asking. I’m back to normal now,” I said. “The usual today? A box of donuts to go?”
Rina rubbed her hands together. “If it’s okay… could I also order a custom confession cake?”
I was sure this was just how she was-so relentlessly optimistic. After everything we’d been through, we’d basically faced life and death together. It was only natural that she wanted to take things a step further.
“I’m sorry. I’m really too tired. There was a time when I poured my whole heart and soul into a 17-year-old young lady. I thought what we had was unbreakable. That young lady was Liliana.”
At that, Rina froze for a moment.
If a promise held onto for ten years could be shattered in a single instant…
She said, “I can wait. No matter how long it takes, I can wait. Even if we’re old and gray by the time it happens, we can still sit together and watch the sun go down. Honestly, I’ve never believed in marriage. I never thought a law
could define love…
“But later, after thinking about it, I realized I’d be willing to carry a thousand rules and restrictions for you, if
that’s what it takes.”
“Let’s just start as friends, okay?” I suggested.
We looked at each other and smiled. Maybe we both already understood that whatever came next was something only time could answer.
And so, just like that, we stayed friends for two whole years. We talked about everything under the sun, and I made her countless cakes-just never one that said “I love you” on top.
One day, a few young ladies I was familiar with came into the shop, chatting away as they carefully picked out desserts.
“You’ve seen her before, too, right? She’s really pretty,” one of them said.
“Of course. You’re talking about the one in the wheelchair, right? She sits there all day. Who knows what she’s waiting for?” another replied.
“Maybe she’s waiting for the person she loves. Such devotion… I wonder if this other person will ever answer her feelings,” a third chimed in.
They chattered away, imagining Liliana as some romantic legend in the making, waiting for her destined man to chance upon her. It was something that moved them deeply.
I only smiled quietly to myself. Well, back when I was their age, I would’ve thought the same thing.
I didn’t tell them the truth. I decided to let that pretty little bubble of a story float on for a bit longer
As the sky darkened, I closed up shop and went home. I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered the expressions on those young ladies’ faces earlier that day. They’d been energetic, lively, and curious.
Young, tender feelings like that filled me with a bittersweet nostalgia. I drifted off to sleep while holding onto that feeling. I figured that, even in my dreams, I’d get to relive that kind of love again-the kind brimming with fantasy and possibility.
And sure enough, in my dream that night, a lively, adorable young lady walked toward me from beneath a canopy
of leaves.
“Si, it’s me, 17-year-old Liliana,” she called out lightly, a slight bounce in her steps. “Are you happy now?”
I gently wrapped my arms around her, feeling my eyes sting with tears. “Thank you. I’m very happy.”
That was probably the most peaceful, comfortable night of sleep I’d ever have.
