The Returning Ex

Chapter 9

John just stood there and watched.

It wasn’t until the guy asked for her number did she realize what he was here for. This was awkward for her, for she didn’t know how to refuse him politely.

Sure, she did want a fling, but not this type, and certainly not in this situation. Zack had been trying to tell her something, and when she tried to reply, Sophia saw John standing just a few meters away from them.

From the looks of it, he had been standing there for a while, so in other words, he had been watching. Even so, Sophia didn’t notice any signs of jealousy from him.

He doesn’t care even when I’m hit on? A moment later, she smiled back at that man and told him her number. She wasn’t going to keep on using this number anyway, so telling him was fine.

The man registered her number and gave her a call. “This is my number. Call me Collum.”

Sophia nodded, her smile never faltering. “Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.”

After getting her number, Collum didn’t waste any more time. He talked a bit more with her before going back to his seat, which was just one row behind. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

John slowly came back, while Sophia scrolled through her phone, ignoring him. He didn’t ask her what happened and went on reading his documents.

Collum started texting Sophia after going back to his seat, telling her why he came on this trip and how long he would be staying in Tri Asel. He even told her where he would be going and the people he would be meeting. Sophia was uninterested in this, but she pretended to be patient. Then Collum asked her about her itinerary.

Sophia gave it a thought and told him she was on a trip, though her itinerary was random. If she felt like it, she would stay in Tri Asel longer, but if not, she would leave immediately. Collum told her Tri Asel was a good place for a trip in an attempt to persuade her to stay, but Sophia didn’t reply.

Collum texted her again to ask her about the hotel she was staying in. Sophia didn’t pay attention to that, so she read through the message Zack texted her. The hotel she was booked for was at the seaside, so she could see the ocean once she opened the window.

Not like she wanted to tell Collum about the hotel she was staying in though, so she told him her friend would be picking her up there. After that, she put her phone down and glanced at John.

John didn’t show any reaction, obviously indifferent about what she was doing. Sophia felt defeated by that. Even when they were married, John didn’t react when he knew someone was hitting on her, so it was normal that he wouldn’t care now. Since he didn’t love her, he wouldn’t be affected, though this realization did unsettle Sophia.

It wasn’t like she didn’t try for the past year, but John was a tough customer. There was no opening for her, or else she would have dragged on for a bit when he proposed the divorce. Sophia looked outside the window and heaved a sigh before closing her eyes again.

They shared no conversation until the end of the flight. The passengers started disembarking, but Sophia remained in her seat. She wasn’t in a rush, nor did she want to disembark when everyone was scrambling to. Then Collum came again.

He was carrying his laptop bag and ignored the people around Sophia. “I’ll call you when I have time. If we’re close by, I can treat you to a meal.” He was loud.

“Sure.” Sophia forced a smile.

John smiled quietly and stood up. “Let’s go,” he told Zack. Zack looked at Sophia in disappointment before taking their stuff and made way for John.

Sophia was the last to leave, and after disembarking, she found out the hotel staff was already waiting for her. After getting into the car, she started getting a splitting headache, so she leaned back and closed her eyes.

We can’t even say goodbye ceremoniously, huh? Something just has to happen. We didn’t start on the right foot, nor did the process go well. The trilogy’s supposed to end well, but not in our case.

She thought that despite all these tragedies, at least they had to part ways in a nicer form. She thought at least there would be no regrets when she remembered John, but alas.