Divorce Day Reset: My Wife Back at Seventeen Chapter 06
Third-Person POV
The hospital corridor reeked of disinfectant, and every so often, someone’s sobs sliced through the air. The low, cold ceiling lights made the lobby feel distant and unreal, but that did nothing to stop one human tragedy after another from unfolding there.
Liliana rushed Maurice to the ER, and the doctor gave him a thorough, careful checkup. The doctor concluded,” Don’t worry. Mr. Gray is fine. He just needs some rest.”
Maurice clearly wasn’t satisfied with that verdict. If he was perfectly healthy, how was he supposed to keep milking Liliana’s sympathy?
He protested, “B-but my stomach really hurts. Doctor, are you sure you didn’t miss any tests? Did you check my stomach? Did the punch cause any damage?”
His voice trembled as he spoke from his seat, but his eyes kept flicking sideways as he stole glances at the anxious Liliana. He had no idea that the anxiety wasn’t for him.
Liliana and Simon had parted in such an ugly fashion. Every bit of her disgrace had been laid bare in front of him, so there was no way she could just walk away with her head held high.
Right now, she was a bundle of nerves. She tried to guess what he was thinking, tried to gauge his mood, and tried to figure out whether this whole mess would be the last straw that ended things between them. Unable to find an answer, she was trapped in a spiral of guilt and moral self-interrogation.
Maurice watched as she paced back and forth from his side to the ER doors, frowning up at the sky outside as the night slowly bled into gray. Another dawn was about to arrive for the world, but she was terrified it would be the last one for her and Simon.
She said, “Maurice, I really can’t stay with you any longer today. I’ll come visit when I’m free, I promise.”
Maurice caught her sleeve. “Liliana, I know I’m just a momentary distraction for you. With Simon around, I’m destined to live in his shadow.”
He paused for a beat, letting his face collapse into an even more pitiful; helpless expression. “But you’re still carrying my child. Can you really bear to leave your baby’s father here all alone?”
Liliana wavered as she looked into his puppy-dog eyes.
Naturally, he had to press the advantage. “I know I can’t love you the way Simon does… Maybe I’m just selfish, but I want you and the baby to stay by my side. I’m sure Simon will understand.”
In the end, torn and conflicted, she still chose to stay with Maurice.
In her eyes, that was what Simon was-endlessly forgiving, endlessly tolerant, and a man whose dignity could be trampled again and again because it was no big deal.
She really believed she could keep fooling him forever, that he knew nothing about what she’d done behind his back. If she hadn’t slipped up that day and gotten caught red-handed, she probably would’ve gone on thinking he was clueless, leaving her free to flirt and fool around without a care in the world.
She and Maurice always managed to sync up their flimsy excuses anyway. With just a few sentences, he had convinced her to spend the whole night with him.
Patients and doctors kept flowing in and out of the ER, and the long night was slowly worn away by emergencies
and alarms.
Just before dawn, Maurice finally had enough and stopped clinging to Liliana. And right then, the message Simon
had sent was delivered.
“Liliana Coolidge, we’re done.”
That text had been sitting unsent in their chat for a long time. But for the sake of 17-year-old Liliana, Simon stopped himself from hitting send.
Now that 27-year-old Liliana had wasted all three chances he’d given her without a second thought, it was time for him to make good on his promise.
Liliana’s mind went blank for a moment when she saw the message.
No matter how many times she refreshed the screen, the text announcing that they were over stayed right there in the chat window, cold and unmoving.
“N-no. This can’t be…”
She dialed Simon’s number. The familiar ringtone echoed in her ear again and again, but the only response she got was a cold, mechanical voice, insinuating that nothing would ever happen between them again.
