Dear Ex-wife Marry Me novel (Maja) novel Chapter 2041

Five years later.

Abner was twenty-three, and Shirley was approaching the significant milestone of twenty-nine.

Over the years, her relationship with her parents had improved significantly. Perhaps Abner's departure had left her indifferent to everything else, making her past grievances and bitterness seem trivial.

She had become a college professor, interacting with many young people. Their youthful exuberance often reminded her of Abner.

For five years, she never stopped seeking information about Abner, but her efforts yielded no results.

Every day after work, she would drive past the high school and pause for a moment.

She still lived in the place she had rented five years ago, which she had since purchased.

Recently, she had a persistent feeling that she was being followed. She reported it to the police, but their investigation turned up nothing.

Until that day, in the most expensive boutique at the mall, she saw a man.

He stood there casually, holding a pair of sunglasses, seemingly waiting for someone.

Then a young woman approached him, linked her arm with his, and smiled at him.

Shirley froze in her tracks. The man was surrounded by several bodyguards who treated him with the utmost respect.

She recognized him immediately—it was Abner.

But he was no longer the skinny teenager she remembered. He had grown, with sharp features and a commanding presence. Even his smile carried a hint of a brisk spring breeze.

Shirley stood there for a long time, until her legs began to ache.

She couldn't understand the sudden wave of melancholy that overwhelmed her, feeling as though her heart was being squeezed.

Nearby, her colleagues were gossiping.

"Who's that? I heard the boutique closed just to accommodate him."

"I don't know. Greenfield has so many wealthy people, we can't know all of them."

"He's really handsome, even more so than a movie star."

As they chatted, they headed to a dinner party.

Shirley usually avoided such gatherings, but she had declined too many times before and couldn't get out of this one.

They had walked a few meters before realizing Shirley wasn't with them. They stopped and looked back curiously.

Maybe it was because of everything she had gone through during that period; she had lost all expectations of marriage.

After washing her face in the restroom, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol, she looked at her reflection.

Stepping out, she saw a man standing by a private dining room.

He was holding a cigarette, his delicate profile barely visible in the dim light.

Shirley's eyesight was sharp, and she immediately recognized Abner.

To return to her dining room, she had to walk past him.

Should she greet him? But what should she say?

A simple "long time no see" seemed too formal.

Shirley felt inexplicably nervous. She wanted to ask him so many questions. Was he doing well? Had the Olson family given him a hard time? How had he managed these past years?

But she felt she didn't have the right to ask such personal questions.

Especially now that someone else was by his side.