Page 2 of After my seventh divorce, I will not remarry

With Emma back, Ryan didn't think of me once. Just as he'd promised.

And I, for my part, broke my old, obsessive pattern of tracking his every move, of trying to intercept him at every possible location. Instead, I settled into a blissful routine with my best friend, Janice, filled with late-night food runs and cheap beer.

The days flew by. With only twenty days left before my departure, Janice and I were waiting for our food at a restaurant when Ryan and Emma walked in.

He had his arm around her waist, and they were laughing, looking like a perfect couple.

"Tiffany?"

Ryan's eyes found me immediately.

Emma wrapped her arms around his neck, her smile sickeningly sweet.

"Tiffany, what a coincidence! You're here for dinner too?"

When she saw my gaze land on her, Ryan instinctively stepped in front of her, shielding her.

I knew he thought I was going to lunge at her, just like I had before.

But not only did I not move, I actually held back Janice, who was ready to fight on my behalf.

I managed a nonchalant smile.

"Yeah, what a coincidence."

Sensing my submission, Emma's smile widened.

"So sorry, Tiffany, but Ryan promised to book the entire restaurant just for me tonight. You'll have to find somewhere else to eat."

She tugged on his arm, her voice a saccharine whine.

"Isn't that right, Ryan? You have to say something, or Tiffany will think I'm targeting her on purpose."

For a split second, as his eyes met my calm gaze, Ryan hesitated. But then he nodded at me.

He didn't say a word, but his silence was more cutting than any insult.

Janice started to roll up her sleeves, but I gently pressed her arm down.

"It's fine. We can go somewhere else."

Somewhere else. Somewhere without Ryan.

My departure was so close. I didn't want to waste any more time on pointless arguments with my ex-husband.

As a good ex, shouldn't I just treat him as if he were dead?

The restaurant manager, sensing the situation, rushed over to fawn over the couple.

"You two are so lovely together. It's truly enviable."

At his words, Ryan's gaze shifted to me, a complex mix of wariness and curiosity. He seemed to be waiting for me to say something.

But I just took Janice's hand and stood up to leave, pretending I hadn't heard a thing.

Ryan was clearly not expecting my lack of reaction. He stared at my retreating back, lost in thought.

Emma had to call his name several times, her voice growing impatient, before he finally, reluctantly, tore his eyes away.

I thought the encounter at the restaurant would be my last with Ryan before I left.

But on the evening I officially resigned from my position as his assistant, he sent me a video call request.

This was so unprecedented that I had to fight the urge to decline, instead answering with audio only.

His voice was laced with annoyance.

"Why just audio?"

"I'm not wearing any makeup," I said, the excuse tasting like ash in my mouth. It was a foolish thing to say, implying I still wanted to look good for him.

As I expected, he chuckled, his mood instantly lifting.

"We've been married long enough. Is there any version of you I haven't seen?"

His flirtatious tone made my skin crawl. "What do you want?" I asked, my voice cold.

He sensed the shift immediately, his lazy posture straightening. "HR told me you resigned."

"I did," I said, offering no explanation.

Silence hung between us.

He tried to make a joke, but it sounded forced. "It's for the best, I guess. You had a perfectly good life as the CEO's wife, and you chose to be an assistant. Talk about making things hard for yourself. Not that you were ever in the office much anyway. And I still had to pay you every month. The whole company knew you were only there because of me. They all said I was playing favorites."

I cut him off, my patience wearing thin. "Don't you need to be with Emma?"

He muttered under his breath, "It's not like there's anything serious between us. Nothing to be with."

Then he fell silent, as if suddenly remembering that I was just his ex-wife, too.

A wave of guilt seemed to wash over him.

"About the divorce I'm sorry."

"I was just worried that if we stayed married, people would talk about Emma"

I nodded. Emma shouldn't be subjected to gossip. So I should be the one to become a laughingstock, the butt of every joke in our circle.

My voice turned to ice. "If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

"Wait!" he said, his voice urgent. "The 12th is our anniversary. There's a concert, The Remnants. I know you want to go. I'll take you. We'll go together, okay?"

For a fleeting moment, I was tempted to tell him the truth.

But before I could speak, Emma's voice drifted from his end of the line.

"Ryan, honey, I forgot my towel. Can you bring it to me?"

He didn't answer right away, just stared at my name on his phone screen, clearly torn.

"Go on," I said, my voice flat.

He slowly got up, but he didn't put the phone down.

"Tiffany, wait for me. I'll be right back."

He walked towards the bathroom.

And then, just as I expected, I heard the sound of them kissing, a muffled grunt from Ryan, and the bathroom door slamming shut.

I hung up, a bitter smile on my face.

Just then, Janice burst in, excited about a night out at a club.

Without a second thought, I put my phone down and linked my arm with hers.

There were so many other things in the world that could make me happy.

I had been blind for so long. Why waste another moment of my life on a man who was already in my past?