Know Your Name

I thought my heart had already grown numb, but I was still hurt by what I was seeing

My husband had never kissed me that passionately.

I had even completely forgotten what day it was until I saw a man walk past with a bouquet of roses in his arms.

Shane and Vivien must have come here to celebrate Valentine's Day.

He had never been one to remember this kind of occasions before. I had foolishly thought that he was just realistic and sensible by nature, and had even convinced myself that this made him a suitable partner.

Needless to say, I regretted everything my younger self had believed in the past.

Now, the realization that these two were always in heat for each other, no matter what day it was or where they were, made me sick to my stomach.

"Hey, isn't that Doctor Hayes over there? What a coincidence! Are you here to celebrate Valentine's Day with your mistress?" Louise had shouted on purpose, effectively turning heads from the people milling about around us.

The shameless couple finally parted their mouths and pulled apart. At first, Shane raised a sardonic eyebrow at Louise, but when he finally saw me, he froze. A strange sheen came over his eyes.

"Eveline?" Vivien exclaimed in shock. She clearly couldn't believe it was me.

I knew why they were so surprised.

I wasn't the type to dress up. In fact, I only ever wore simple clothes. And as long as the garment was reparable, I never threw a single piece of clothing away. But every woman wanted new clothes every once in a while, everyone knew that. Every woman wanted to look beautiful. It was the painful understanding of my dire finances that held me back from such luxury. In the end, all I got in exchange for my prudence was betrayal. What bitter irony

Today, however, Louise had given me a makeover from head to toe. Even I had almost been unable to recognize myself when I'd looked in the mirror, let alone these two, who had always looked down on my paltry appearance.

"I must say, Doctor Hayes has excellent eyes. Your mistress is really good looking. She has the standard face of someone who has gone under the knife."

By saying this, Louise mocked both Shane and Vivien at the same time. In turn, they wore identical, sour expressions. "I can't believe what you're doing, Eveline. You've lost your job, yet you still have the gall to play around like this. It seems that you don't even want fo support your mom anymore." Perhaps Vivien had realized that Louise was not someone she could trifle with, which was why she had shifted her barbs over to me.

The mention of my mother made my chest ache. Then, from the corner of my eye, I noticed Louise stepping forward in Vivien's direction. My hand instantly shot up to stop her. I knew she was about to let loose on the enemy.

And Vivien did deserve a beating, but all four of us would only humiliate ourselves if we took this any further.

Knowing my intention, Louise sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked Vivian up and down, her eyes filled with disdain.

"Let me ask you, Miss Mistress, do you know how to make people know your name in a matter of moments?" The sudden question threw Vivien off. She was visibly confused.

Then Louise lowered her gaze to Vivien's belly and scoffed. "It's when you walk down the aisle with a bulging belly, or worse, holding a baby. Everyone would know your name then, am I right?"

Vivian paled and seethed. But she continued to aim her anger at me.

"So what if I do either of those things? The fact remains that Shane wants to marry me and create a family with our child. What about you, Eveline? You're pathetic! Look at you, did you dress up today in an attempt to seduce some unsuspecting idiot? Who would be so blind as to marry a moron like you?"

To be honest, if Louise hadn't called out to them first, I would have just pretended that I didn't see them.

But now that the bitch who had stolen my husband was acting all self-righteous and putting the blame on me, I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"There was indeed an idiot who was so blind as to marry a moron like me back then. But anyway, that idiot had been taken over by another stupid woman now."

As soon as I finished speaking, Louise flashed me two thumbs up.

Shane's face turned a shade of red deeper.

Vivien, on the other hand, gaped and blinked at me. This was the second time they had both been insulted in one breath, and it was obvious that she didn't know how to retort. In the next second, she moved closer to Shane and clung to his arm.

"Did you hear that, Shane? She was just pretending to be docile in the past! It turns out she's quite good at making insinuating remarks."

I snorted, the corners of my lips lifting. Then, in a very calm voice, I said, "I never make insinuating remarks. My words are always said with intent. If you feel insulted, that's because I meant to insult you."

Louise's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise. She leaned back against the wall and cocked her head at me with unmistakable approval. It was like she was telling me I now had the ability to deal with this immoral couple.

Well, it did feel much better to berate those who had wronged me instead of bottling up my anger.

Inspiration struck me. I chuckled softly and slowly walked up to Shane.

"What are you doing, Eveline?"

Vivien tightened her hands around Shane's arm, clearly afraid that I might snatch him away. Briefly, I thought of how ignorant and childish she was. Had she forgotten that this man was still legally bound to me? Not that I cared about that anymore.

I reached out and dropped a piece of mint gum into the pocket of Shane's suit jacket.

"Chewing gum before kissing a woman," I reminded in a quiet voice, "is a way to show her some respect."

He scowled at me at once, as though I was the one who had betrayed him.

I knew what kind of a person he was. Even if he had abandoned me, he would still expect me to hold on to his leg and beg for his affection just to satisfy his vanity

Well, I was done stroking his ego. I wanted to show him that I didn't care

about him at all.

I was pleased with Shane's reaction, so I turned on my heel and walked away. I didn't want to stay in this place for even another second

"Who do you think you are?" Vivien screeched behind me. "You're just some washed-up woman who was driven away by her own husband."

That made me stop in my tracks.

How dare she? She was the whore who destroyed other people's marriage.

My wounds hadn't even fully healed yet. If they continued to pick at it, I might just never move on from the pain.

I gritted my teeth. My fists shook at my sides. Just when I felt like I would crumble, a strong arm circled my waist and pulled me against a broad chest. The next thing I knew, my back was pressed

against the wall.

"I have chewed gum," Derek said in a hoarse voice. His face was just a few centimeters away from mine, and his burning eyes were fixed on my lips.