The Untouchable Ex-Wife

"Of course!" Renee nodded and said seriously, "I'll go to the karaoke bar and hire eight male escorts. One of them will massage my shoulders while another will massage my legs. One will sing with me while the other will listen to me vent..."

Stefan smiled in amusement. "Are you sure you can handle eight guys?"

"Of course I can! I've been loyal to you all these years and have never tried anything with other men. I want to experience something nice and improve my life." Renee was a feminist at heart-she couldn't understand why men could flirt with other women after they got married but women had to stay loyal to their men. If men could have affairs, then so could women; that was what fairness was.

"If you genuinely want to find someone you like, I'll give you my blessings. However, if you're just acting out of spite and want to find a man to take revenge on me, that's unnecessary." Stefan gently laid her on the bed and smoothed her hair tenderly. "You've got to love yourself more than me from now on, alright?" If this really was the end of their relationship, he wanted the rest of her life to be happy, and only she could bring herself that happiness.

"Stop pretending to be a nice guy. What business is it of yours if I love myself or not? Does it affect you? stop being a hypocrite." Renee's eyes flashed, and she looked agitated. "The people I hate the most are not villains, but people like you. You don't look like a bad guy but you don't practice what you preach. You asked me to love myself well, but you're the one who hurt me the most!"

Stefan was silent for a long while, then he finally whispered, "Yeah, I'm the one who hurt you the most... and that's why, after a lot of deliberation, I chose to leave you. I want to put an end to all the hurt I caused you. I don’t want to keep on hurting you."ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

"Don't you think you're being cruel, Stefan? You can't be loyal, and you know that all you do is hurt me, so why did you keep pestering me? Do you enjoy hurting me? Does seeing me in pain validate your charm and skill?"

"I've never had such a thought." Stefan knew that Renee must be sober because of her tone, or maybe she had never been drunk. She had just been waiting to confront him. Slowly, he stood up, forcing himself not to indulge in that fleeting intimacy. "Just consider me a villain and forget about me. If you can't, then keep me buried deep inside your heart and pretend that I never existed," he said icily, then turned around to leave.

"Don't go!" Renee grabbed his waist from behind in the dark, holding him tightly. "Give me an answer."

"I made myself very clear-l want to stop hurting you." Stefan's tone was emotionless, and he didn't move an inch.

"I don't believe you!" Renee pursed her lips tightly and said stubbornly, "We would have broken up ages ago if that was really the reason. There must be something else. Tell me what it is, and we'll face it together."

Stefan was at a loss for words. He kept quiet, knowing all hell would break loose if he told her the truth.