Meeting You Again

Chapter 11

But I should've expected it. How could Grandpa Hayes, that stingy old man, have a weak daughter? It goes against the laws of nature!

"Mom, I like that idea. A lot." Ivera Hayes took Ayla into her embrace while her tears soaked Ayla's shirt. "Mom is sorry Ayla. Mom is so sorry. I'm acting so selfish right now, placing my needs above your own. This divorce will likely separate you from you and your brother and dad. But I can't live like this anymore Ayla. I know your father doesn't love me. He tolerated me for the sake of benefits. Forgive me Ayla."

"Mom...I don't care if you think this is selfish. All I care about is for you to be happy again, and I know that being with dad any longer would be detrimental. Do you have any evidence of your injuries from the past six months? We should take this to the court and fight for everything you own." I smiled at her, trying to show her that I was fully on her side. Unconditionally.

The divorce battle wasn't a battle. The only one who was resistant to this divorce was my brother. He would frequently visit mom and complain about how she was being selfish. She can get a divorce, fine, but how could she fight for the property and make this a court case? He complained incessantly that the family reputation was going down the drain.

I eventually made mom live with Grandpa Hayes so that Elan couldn't badger her anymore. Mom loves her children, as any normal and caring mother would. But I was just scared that mom would back out of the divorce plan because of how unhappy Elan was. She already felt bad about bringing this idea up, and no matter how much I showed her I was on her side, I couldn't help but fear that Elan would come and shake mom's wish.

Mr. Silber was surprisingly very cooperative about the divorce. He already got most of the benefits of the Hayes family name and his company was better than before anyways. This divorce was simply just a way he could finally get rid of this emotional baggage he's had for the past few decades.

Mom and Dad were officially divorced 4 months later. Soon, Lyra and I graduated university within a year. Lyra graduated with a degree in finance and business administration, and she ended up getting a job in City N at a top ranking bank. I graduated with a degree in education and cognitive development. Thanks to the research program I was a part of (that's right, you heard me, I got accepted into that research program in the end! Yay, go me!) I got admitted to a top university in Nation T and I furthered my studies and research there through an accelerated PhD program.

Mom ended up coming with me to Nation T and she started a bakery business there, concentrating on making Nation L delicacies in Nation T. She had skill with baking anyway, and she loved to make desserts for fun so she might as well own a bakery and make a living out of it. Her business was booming and she owned several cafes within 2 years. Life was going pretty well at the moment...well, all except my love life. But that's a story for another day, right?

***

I walked out of Nation T University, feeling quite tired. I walked towards Mom's bakery, hoping to get some coffee. I could've gone straight towards mom who was ordering the workers on things and asked her directly for the coffee, but I decided not to. I was feeling quite good today. I didn't want to ruin the others' day by jumping the line.

Joining the line at the end, I decided to wait patiently. That's when, all of a sudden, my heart started beating really fast.

Oh my gosh. Am I having a heart attack? Is this how I'm gonna die?

I started thinking of the most randomest of things, scaring myself more and more. I felt a presence behind me, and I knew someone was waiting behind me in line. I wish I had eyes at the back of my head to see how they looked. I didn't trust myself to turn around because I knew the second I did, I would become dizzy and fall, embarrassing myself. But luckily this person's presence served as a distraction.