After His Ex-Girlfriend Came Back

After work, Hugh took me to our favorite restaurant.In truth, the food and decor of this particular restaurant were nothing special. Based on our current circumstances, it would have been well within our means to go somewhere better.However, this was the place where we'd first met.Three years ago, I had first seen Hugh sitting alone at the counter, crying despondently over a single serving of the food.At the time, I'd handed him some paper napkins to dry his eyes and he'd thanked me for them.I felt sorry for him—a grown man sitting there sobbing like a child—so I struck up a conversation.He said he was the boss of a clothing company that had seen a huge drop-off in sales. All his money was tied up in the business and now he was left with nothing.At the time, I had just received a prestigious award for my own clothing designs and was in between jobs, with offers coming at me from left and right.Something about his plight really moved me. Despite all the other offers, I chose to

I looked at him, my voice calm yet serious. "All these years, I've never asked you about your past. You know I'm not the sort of person to care about what happened before we were together.""I know." His expression was one of shame. He couldn't even look at me."But ... " I kept my gaze fixed on him. "I don't want, nor can I allow, your past to interfere with our future. Your behavior toward Cecilia is not only unprofessional with regard to her employment, but it's unfair and irresponsible with regard to our relationship.""I'm sorry," he said, "I'll make it up to you!""Make sure you deal with it appropriately. Right now, I only have one demand.""What is it?" His expression changed, as though he'd suddenly caught sight of a ray of hope in the darkness."Fire her." I looked him straight in the eye."I ... " His face fell, the light of hope snuffed out. "I'm not sure ... "I picked up my suitcase and walked straight out the door.As I was waiting to board the plane, I noticed Cecilia h

She was wearing white from head to toe and her whole being radiated a kind of helplessness, a pathetic yet strangely alluring melancholy, as though she was the victim and not the source of everyone's trouble."I'm sorry. I'm here to resign." She said, haltingly. "I heard what you were saying. I promise I didn't do anything on purpose. My father's been ill, I've been worried about him, maybe it's made me a little distracted. I thought those designs were my own, but I guess I must have seen them somewhere else and they stayed in the back of my mind. I never meant to copy anyone. I'll go. I won't cause any more trouble. Please, don't be unhappy on my account."And with that, she lowered her gaze to the floor, turned around, and hurried out of the room, as though she couldn't stand to be there anymore.Hugh hesitated, but in the end, he followed her out.Shortly, I heard a scream from outside.When I rushed out onto the street, I was greeted by a gruesome sight....Cecilia escaped the acc

I stared at him in silence. I felt conflicted and hurt, but above all, I was disappointed.I breathed a deep sigh before saying, as calmly as I could, "So it's my fault? I was being cold with you. Do you really not know why that is? You like to say you love me, but all the while, you keep pushing the boundaries with her. You know what you're doing is hurting us, but you choose to keep doing it without a thought to my feelings. What do you think love is? We can't go back to how things were. You can't just put the pieces back together of the thing you broke and go on pretending not to see the cracks. I told you, we're over. You need to get that through your head."His expression was becoming even more desperate. He opened his mouth to try to explain himself, but I cut him off. "I've made up my mind."When I got back home, I immediately called a moving company and packed up my belongings. That same day, I moved out of the house we'd bought together, taking my stuff to my parents' home as

It didn't take me long to settle into my new job and soon my life felt like it was back on track.The pall that my breakup with Hugh had cast over me gradually dissipated and I realized how much I was enjoying my new life.He would still contact me from time to time, asking me to take him back. I even received a call from his parents, who I had always got along well with. While it pained me to disappoint them, I resolutely stuck to my decision. In the end, they could see it was a lost cause and reluctantly gave up.I had never expected to see Cecilia again until one day she suddenly turned up outside my office."Reina, you monster!" She rushed at me and would have struck me if the security guard hadn't intervened.She struggled to break free from his grasp, all the while hurling insults. "I know what you've been doing! Spreading rumors, telling people not to hire me! You've had your success but that isn't enough for you, is it? You have to poison the well! You can't bear to see me do w