[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":9},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260311FB68BF-9":3},{"id":4,"number":4,"name":5,"content":6,"isLocked":7,"price":8,"hasRead":7},9,"Chapter 9: The Bench by the Road","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Nora, are you and the baby okay?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The baby? My hand flew to my belly.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Flat. That kid was long gone.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">After the divorce from Benjamin, I'd had an abortion.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I never expected Benjamin to turn over a new leaf.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">And even if he had, it would have meant squat to me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Because the pain? That stuff was permanent.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"The day after our divorce was finalized, I got the abortion,\" I told him, my voice as cool as ice.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He laughed at first, then it morphed into gut-wrenching sobs. Tears and snot were everywhere.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"You heartless b! I actually believed your lies back then!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Whatever. Benjamin had gotten hurt saving my life, so I covered his hospital bills, hired him a top-notch private nurse, and then I bounced.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Benjamin could blow some of my cash, sure, but he wasn't getting any more of my time.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The thought of him hurting every single day, a constant reminder of his own stupidity, gave me a dark sense of amusement.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">After the divorce, I ghosted my job.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Thanks to Benjamin, I'd walked away with a hefty settlement. Enough to travel the world and live out my days chilling, no stress. I’d been grinding for years; it was time for a different vibe.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My supervisor had said on my last day, \"Nora, the door's always open if you wanna come back!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I just smiled and waved, \"Sure thing!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I hit the road, painting wherever I landed. I started an online gallery, posting my art daily. My follower count blew up.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Then I noticed this one account that always hit the like button the second I posted. No profile pic, just a default username. Didn't matter. Who cared anymore?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">If fate snatched away precious love, then so be it. I'd just enjoy life. After all, they say: no love, no fear.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">One evening, I got home to find Benjamin camped out on my doorstep. He was wearing a rumpled t-shirt, his fancy suit pants looking all sorts of sloppy, the effortless cool he once had completely gone.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He saw me, scrambled to his feet, and stumbled over. He claimed he’d been trying to catch me for a while.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He suggested a nearby cafe. I shut him down. \"This bench is fine,\" I said, pointing to a spot by the road.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He told me Sophia got nailed for attempted murder and would be doing hard time. She’d apparently had a complete mental breakdown from the series of blows and was now suffering from delusional disorder. Oh, and she lost the baby, too. Prison wouldn't be a walk in the park.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I smirked. \"What? You still want to go bail her out?\" Even I was surprised at the words tumbling out of my mouth. That thing that used to rip my heart out, now I could joke about it. It’s true, there’s no mountain too high in this world.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He managed a smile too. \"Nah. After all this, even the deepest obsession can be let go.\" Sophia had been an obsession. Briefly having her made him realize an obsession is just that. People just don't appreciate things until they're gone. But some things? Gone for good.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He mentioned he'd started a new venture, a gaming company. Startup life, though. Tough times.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272933195]