CHAPTER 3—After five years, ex-lovers finally met

ROME

I surely wasn’t stupid not remembering the name of my ex-wife. Her full name. Thinking back to when I mixed my surname with hers is a little unsettling. The name I saw brought back all the hurt and painful memories, stabbing me in the heart once more.

I told Regina, my right hand and my trustworthy employee that she needed to find me a new secretary since my previous one wanted me to be his husband ever since we slept together in the same bed.

What a trashy idea of her.

It was just all show and game for me, but she anticipated that I wanted to be with her after that one-night stand. I only want her body, not anything else.

As if…

And my job is just to give them a nice and warm pleasure without any compensation. Love? Nevermind.

In the realm of sex things, love doesn’t exist. Even if they insist that they love me or have feelings for me, I don’t pay attention. Why? Do they deserve my love? No one deserves my love, not even the woman I married a long time ago. I regret giving everything to her, even sacrificing my self-love for her, but she failed me.

Damn.

Moving on. When I reviewed the resumes of new applicants for the secretary position, the third-ranking position in my company, a name that disgusted me suddenly caught my eye.

Just seeing her name made my blood boil, wanting to hurt her endlessly. Just her name alone makes me clench my fists, what more when I see her in person?

She is unaware that I will be her boss for life in my company. I smirked as a plan formed in my mind.

It’s time to get back at her for what she did to me.

A cheating wife.

Not only that, a gold digger.

She becomes arrogant when she has a lot of money. I wish I could slap her with my billion dollars, not just dollars but my possessions, a mansion, a business, a car, everything.

She stole 5 million from her lover, and my aunt died because of her and her lover. She left me and went with her sugar daddy. Because of everything she did, I suffered. Even my innocent and kind aunt got involved. I wish it was her who disappeared. Not just once, but the pain doubled. My aunt was half of me. She was my parent and the only person who believed in my abilities.

She left me without a word. I only found out she was with the rich old man. They even sent me a picture of them together, covered in a white blanket, her resting her head on his chest.

Before we separated, we fought and misunderstood each other because of financial issues. We were as poor as mice.

I didn’t know why she was so anxious to have money back then, even taking my entire month’s salary, but she wouldn’t even buy groceries. She struggled to even buy me deodorant. Even with my phone load, we had a hard time and I hesitated to spend.

In my mind, she was just using the money for her own pleasure, I knew she was cheating.

But I didn’t bother because I thought it was better for women to handle their husbands’ salaries. I tried to find a high-paying job, but given our situation, it was tough.

I didn’t give up even though we didn’t have much money to live on. I didn’t want my aunt to be the only one spending on us, so I didn’t stop working hard.

But while I was out working, she was flirting, I knew it because she was always absent from our home. She even skipped work. I had no idea about any of it. I loved her so much. I fought for her against everyone. I sacrificed everything for her, and she would do that to me. What a shame.

What kind of woman is she? I just laugh when I think about marrying that flirt. There are so many women who like me, and I chose her because she reflects my heart.

I chuckle as I read her resume while sipping my coffee. I really wanted to smash her face. Because of her, my life became miserable. I almost lost myself because of her.

If something that will not happen? That’s the thing that I go back to being a husband for her. But somewhat I am thankful, if not for her, I wouldn’t be successful.

What would she do if she found out I am holding tons of gold now? Sell herself to me?

I show a devilish smile in the mirror. Why not buy her to be my slave then?

Well, I doubt she will ignore the offer, as long as there’s money involved. She might scratch herself if you cover it with money.

“Sir, I already called Faye Reagon for the face-to-face interview later,” Regina informed me. I just nodded. Unfortunately, I will see her face.

But it’s necessary. This is what I really want to happen, to face her and show off. I will make her kneel before me.

“Tell her to come here. Guide her to the direction of this building. One more thing, I want you to know her background, even the status of her family," I ordered and threw her resume on my table.

“Yes, sir. Later will do,” she bowed her head and left my office.

“Eve!” the office echoed his happy-go-lucky greetings.

Before he came closer to me, he grabbed the sandwich lying on my dining table.

“What the? That was supposed to be my dinner!” I complained and tried to get the sandwich, but he bit it. “Moron!”

“I’m hungry,” his mouth full of food. “You’re thinking deeply, huh? Let’s go to the club. There are many new girls there, and they’re sexy!” he teased. “How many do you want?”

I just shook my head. If I am a playboy, he’s worse. He’s almost with a different woman every day. I could say he’s a bad influence because he taught me how to be a womanizer, but somewhat good, as I feel like I’m getting back at my cheating ex.

And I’m not in the mood to flirt with girls right now. My anger and resentment have built up again upon seeing her name.

By the way, he is Xino Massimo. He was the person I was with when I felt empty. He also knows about my life from when I married Faye until we separated because of her betrayal. He is my best friend. We’ve been friends for ten years.

He is humorous and somewhat irritating, but I can honestly say he is a trustworthy friend.

“I have something to tell you,” I said and handed him her resume. His eyes widened when he saw her.

“Is she coming back?” he joked.

I approached him just to tap his head with my finger.

“Ow! Just kidding! Would you allow her to work with you? Reject her right away,” he suggested and put the paper back on the table. “But she’s cute,” he added, making my face sour.

“That won’t happen. I still have a lot to collect from Faye. I have a lot of money to slap her with, I think she’ll give in quickly,” I grinned and finished the coffee.

I like your plan,” he smirked and bumped my fist.

Faye… I will see you soon.

As Regina said, she would give me her background of Faye. They also have documentary photos.

Faye was talking to her brother, Francis. Their house is simple, with only one room and one living room. The surroundings are scattered with dry leaves and trash, much like her.

She lost weight and started to look older. We were not well-off before, but she didn’t look like that. Shouldn’t she have taken better care of herself when she had her sugar daddy? She used to be proud of the money she had.

“Her father died 4 years ago,” Regina told me. I stopped flipping through the paper.

Her father passed away? Her father was nice when I first met him. They lived in the province. Faye and I lived in the same place in Manila with my aunt.

But somehow, hearing that Tito was gone affected me.

“Her mother is sick, so she needed to work for her mother and brother,” she added. “Her mother can’t talk or walk.”

I wondered what happened 5 years ago when we separated, but soon, I realized I didn’t care. But I only don’t care about her. I still have compassion and respect for my former in-laws.

“She deserved it,” I commented, placing the paper on top of her resume. “She liked to deceive and manipulate, so look at what she deserves.”

“Did you have a relationship with her back then?” Regina asked. I just wore my usual expression: blank and cold.

“I appreciate you minding your own business, Regina. You may leave now,” I remarked. She seemed embarrassed.

I couldn’t find my care, though.

Later, someone knocked on the door. I was reviewing the new project they submitted to me on my laptop. I rejected most of them and wasn’t satisfied with their work.

What a lack of creativity.

Why not make an effort to make it unique? Tch.

I stopped typing on my laptop when I felt someone standing in front of my office table.

“Good morning,” she said shyly.

I remembered her shyness. That’s how she was, the attitude I loved before. The attitude I first noticed about her when we first met. Her voice was like a bird’s chirp in my ears.

But behind her gentle façade, she was the worst woman I’ve ever known. I took a deep breath and clenched my fists in frustration, but I restrained myself.

I crossed my legs under the table, wrapped my arms around my chest, and lifted my head to face her.

She stood there, shocked, her lips forming an ‘o’. She accidentally let go of her handbag, making a noise when it fell to the floor.

“It’s nice to see you again, my cheater, slut, gold-digger ex-wife,” I teased.

She started trembling, and I could tell she wanted to run out of my office and never show herself to me again. She should feel those emotions because she’s the one who should be held accountable and ashamed, not me.

If only she knew that my hands were itching to grab her and punish her, but not now. There’s a time for everything.

Who would be happy to see the person they cheated on now out of reach?

I pity her.

As I looked at her, I remembered how I became like that, looking old, smelling bad, wearing old clothes. Now, everything reflects on her. Karma is indeed real. It’s true that the person who cheats first will face misfortune.

My head heated up as she cried in front of me, full of begging and regret in her eyes.

“I-I… I missed you, Rome…”

I laughed in my mind at the irony.