Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Breaking Free
Suddenly, Mika Summers’s heart thumped rapidly a few times, followed by a tightness and pain in her chest.
Three years ago, on the day they had registered their marriage, Tristan Grayson had spoken to her in this very same tone.
"Is it that nice to look at?"
"Of course! He’s my husband, so naturally he’s handsome. Besides, this is our first picture together! And it was taken on our wedding day, no less."
Back then, she had no idea that marrying him meant plunging into the depths of hell.
Her face was pale, but she did her best to remain calm.
’It was all in the past now. They were divorced, and soon, she’d be able to escape this life for good.’
Tristan Grayson noticed that her expression was a little off and was about to ask what was wrong, but just then, the phone in his pocket rang.
He could only swallow the words he was about to say, pulling out his phone to answer the call.
However, when he saw the caller ID, his hand froze. He didn’t answer, just stared at the screen with a complicated expression.
For some reason, he felt an urge to reject the call.
"Aren’t you going to answer that?" Mika Summers asked, snapping out of her daze. She glanced at him and gave a self-mocking smile.
Tristan Grayson’s face darkened. He ignored her, standing up with his phone and walking outside.
As she watched Tristan Grayson walk away, Mika Summers’s eyes slowly reddened. ’I thought this would be the first time we’d ever eaten a meal together, just the two of us. But I guess not.’
’He just got up and left without a word of explanation. Even just one word would have been something.’
’But he said nothing at all. In his eyes, she was nothing.’
’Heh... Actually, this is better. Eating with him would just kill my appetite anyway.’
"Here you go, dear. The egg fried rice you ordered." At that moment, the older woman from the counter walked over carrying two plates and set them on the table.
She forced a smile. "Thank you." Then, she pulled one of the plates toward her and began to eat with her head down.
Seeing that she was now alone, the woman couldn’t help but ask, "Dear, what about your boyfriend?"
"He stepped outside to take a call. He’ll be back in a minute." Mika Summers’s movements faltered. She gave a wry smile as she answered.
Hearing this, the woman nodded, her face beaming. "My dear, your boyfriend is so handsome! Even more so than those celebrities on TV."
She looked at the older woman and offered another wry smile. "Thank you." Inwardly, however, she was thinking, ’He *is* a celebrity, so of course he’s handsome. Why else would I have been so utterly bewitched back then?’
The woman was perceptive. Seeing that the young lady didn’t feel like talking, she took the hint, offered a smile, and left.
Mika Summers ate extremely slowly. She’d take a bite, pause for a long while, and then take another. For some reason, she wanted to eat slower, and slower, and even slower still, just to wait for him to come back so they could eat together.
A plate of egg fried rice that she would normally finish in ten minutes took her almost a full hour today.
Hiding the disappointment in her eyes, she got up, took the other, untouched plate of food from the table, and went to the counter. She paid her bill, asked the woman to heat up the second portion, and had it packed to go.
As soon as she stepped out of the restaurant, she spotted him across the street, talking on the phone under a large tree.
She couldn’t tell who he was talking to, but he must have heard something pleasant, because a smile never left his face.