She's Just My Ex-Wife

Looking Away

"Um, I'm fine." I almost called myself "P'" because, honestly, I should be three years older than him.

"Whoa, your knee's bleeding. Do you want me to take you to the nurse's office?" I looked down at my knee, which was bleeding a bit, but it wasn't too bad, so I declined the kindness of the person I just met.

"It's nothing, just a little. By the way, are you a freshman?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm in the business faculty."

"I'm in business too."

"Really? That's great, meeting someone from the same faculty. I'm Stuart. What's your name?"

"My name is Fae Miller, but you can just call me Fae. By the way, is Stuart short for Stuartel?"

"How did you know?" When I guessed correctly, the person in front of me got a bit shy about his name, which made me smile and chuckle.

"Just a guess, didn't think I'd be right, haha."

"Just call me Stuart. Stuartel’s just what my parents call me at home." I couldn't help but smile. He was such a nice guy, even though we just met.

"I think we should hurry to line up; it's almost fifteen minutes past." I checked the time on my wrist and realized it was almost time. I didn't want to get punished while still hurting.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's hurry. But... can you walk?" Stuart, who was about to walk ahead of me, stopped and turned to ask.

"I can." As soon as I said that, I tried to run, but after two steps, I had to stop because my knee hurt so much from hitting the ground that I had to hold it.

"Ouch, that hurts."

"See, I told you, you can't walk. How about this, hop on my back."

"No, that's not appropriate."

"What's inappropriate? You're hurt and can't walk. I'm just offering to give you a piggyback ride. It's no big deal. Come on, we're late, and I don't want to get punished," Stuart said as he crouched down for me to get on his back.

"Alright, I won't be shy then. Thanks a lot!" I thanked him, and then I got on Stuart's back to line up. Luckily, I was wearing a pleated skirt, so I didn't have to worry about it. Along the way, people kept looking at us, but Stuart didn't seem to care. It was just me who started to feel embarrassed because everyone was staring at us across the activity yard, so I buried my face in Stuart's shoulder.

"Let me hide my face; I'm so embarrassed," I whispered to him before burying my face in Stuart's shoulder, and he didn't mind. I didn't know why I felt so at ease with him, even though we had just met.

One hour later...

I'm now sitting in a row listening to the seniors talk about this year's freshman camp activities when my eyes meet someone I haven't seen in many years. He is the father of my children, Hunter. He is a painful part of my past. Even though we haven't seen each other for many years, he still looks as handsome and charming as ever. More importantly, both of my children look exactly like him, as if they were triplets. Their hair color, eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth are all his. Nothing about them resembles me, and sometimes it makes me feel a bit disheartened that neither of my children look like me. Both of them are just like their father, even in their eating habits. Hunter is allergic to shrimp, and both kids are too. Now he's walking into the activity area in a student outfit that doesn't exactly adhere to the dress code. He's wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up and three buttons undone, along with tight black jeans that still look good on him. Well, he's a senior now, so whether he follows the dress code or not probably doesn't matter. Honestly, I can't take my eyes off him until he accidentally catches my gaze, making me quickly look away because I'm not ready to face him yet. I don't know if he recognizes me because who I am now is almost like a different person from who I was back then. I've changed everything about myself since we broke up, driven by his hurtful words that day, which made me who I am today. From a nerdy girl with thick glasses, wearing loose school uniforms, with pigtails and clips on both sides, never wearing makeup, I've transformed into a more confident woman. I wear a fitted white student shirt that doesn't reveal much because I still have to adhere to the rules here, and I've dyed my hair brown with curls, making me look more self-assured. I owe a lot to Lyra or helping me transform so much.

Recollection

"Haven't seen you in a while, you've become so beautiful I almost didn't recognize you, my... ex-wife," his teasing tone and mischievous gaze made me clench my fists to hold back my anger before forcing a smile and replying to him.

"Thanks for the compliment, my... ex-husband."