Chapter 10
Betty finally had time to eat.
She stabbed her steak furiously with her fork. “Scumbag! If I ever see him. again, I’ll beat the crap out of him!”
I thought that as long as I stayed away, Herman wouldn’t find me.
So when he showed up a month later, I could hardly recognize him.
The once–handsome man was now skin and bones, his cheekbones jutting out sharply, his eyes sunken, his face deathly pale.
His once–thick hair was now sparse and thinning.
Seeing me. Herman instinctively reached to pull at his hair.
Instantly, he yanked out a clump between his fingers. His hair loss was worse than what I shed in a week.
I thought he was sick and immediately stepped back.
Realizing what he had done, Herman quickly threw the hair away and gazed at me with eyes full of longing.
Feeling his gaze tracing my face, I turned away in disgust and walked off.
“Hollie… I finally found you. Do you know what this past month has been like for me? If I hadn’t found you, I really wouldn’t have survived!
“How could you abandon me just like that?”
His voice was full of grievance.
Chapter 10
He desperately reached for my hand.
I shook him off and stepped back, only to bump into Betty, who was holding a cup of coffee.
Betty saw Herman and immediately shoved her drink into my hands.
Then, she rolled up her sleeves and looked for a weapon.
Herman didn’t even notice her. He just kept smiling foolishly at me, “Hollie, you’re even more charming than before! I miss you so much that it physically hurts. Feel it if you don’t believe me…”
Betty, beyond furious, grabbed a glass nearby and smashed it onto his hand. “Feel your ass!”
With no weapons left, Betty resorted to bare fists.
Afraid Herman might fight back, I quickly stopped Betty.
Herman dropped to his knees before me. “Hollie, hit me! Both of you can! As long as it makes you feel better, I’ll take it all!
“Hollie, grab a tool. If you use your bare hands, they will hurt. I can’t let that happen…”
He sincerely begged me to hit him as if hoping to relieve his guilt.
But why would I dirty my hands just to ease his guilt?
“Herman, it’s over between us. Just leave me alone!”
Refusing to believe I no longer loved him, Herman swore desperately. His knees were cut by the shattered glass and started bleeding, but he didn’t seem to have noticed it at all.
“Hollie, I’ve punished Bethany for provoking you. I sent her back home,
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and her father sold her off to a sixty–year–old man for money. She’ll never bother you again!
“I’ve also cut off Calvin and those other scumbags. I swear, from now on, I’ll only be devoted to you, and we’ll have our perfect life together…”
Too bad, I could never believe him again.
I would never forget the coldness in his eyes when he cast me aside.
Nor did I want to recall the image of him entangled with another woman.
Everything should have ended when I walked away.
I pulled Betty with me, stepping around him. He scrambled to my feet and clutched my pants leg, sobbing. “Hollie, please! Don’t leave me! I’ll never betray you again. I know my mistakes are unforgivable, but I’ve always loved you! I never wanted to marry anyone else!”
I tried to shake him off, but he wouldn’t let go. Betty, growing impatient. grabbed a chair and swung it at him.
Herman didn’t dodge. He took the hit head–on, spitting out a mouthful of blood but still refusing to loosen his grip…
I felt nothing but exhaustion.
When Betty raised the chair again, I stopped her–not because I cared about him, but because I didn’t want a murder charge.
His eyes flickered with renewed hope. “Hollie, I knew it. You still love me. You can’t bear to see me hurt…”
“Herman, I’ve been living a happy life since I left you. Would you please stop harassing me and ruining my happiness?”
I continued, “Please, just let me go!”
I looked down at Herman.
He looked up to meet my eyes, but when he saw no emotions in them, he immediately looked down again.
Finally, he released his grip.
“Okay…”
That single word seemed to have drained all his remaining strength.
He collapsed onto the floor, sobbing pitifully.
Onlookers gathered around.
Betty, never one to waste an opportunity, shouted, “That’s him! The infamous Second–Personality Scumbag who went viral online!”
Instantly, the crowd erupted in insults, saying he deserved it.
Without looking back, Betty and I walked away.
Someone in the crowd muttered, “Why did you do it in the first place? Too late to regret it now!”
Herman didn’t even dare to cry anymore.
He only lifted his head slightly and whispered toward my fading figure, “Hollie… I’m sorry…”
But I didn’t need his apology. I only needed him to never hurt me.
The end.
Chapter
