Chapter 29 - Shadows at the CurbThat weekend, Ethan attended a sports training session at the city community center. While waiting for him, I stopped by a familiar coffee shop near the park to pick up two hot chocolates.
Stepping out, a thin, gaunt figure in a ragged jacket emerged from the shadow of a large roadside elm and awkwardly blocked my path.
I paused. The man raised his head. His face was hollow, stubbled, with dark circles framing pleading eyes. Mark.
My ex-husband. The man who once embodied the arrogance and cowardice of the Bennett family.
"Claire..." Mark wheezed, his voice raspy and frail like the dying breath of a drowning man. "Please... just stop for a minute. I'm begging you."
I didn't flinch. I stood upright, holding my hot chocolate tightly, staring down at him as coldly as if he were a nameless stranger on the street.
"You're bothering me, Mark," I said, my tone chillingly calm.
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Mark collapsed onto his knees on the pavement despite the curious glances of passersby. He clasped his hands together, tears streaming down his hollow cheeks: "I was wrong... I've lost everything, Claire! No job, evicted from my place, and my parents in prison won't even look at me. I'm living like the dead. I'm so sorry... Please show mercy, give me a chance... Save me!"
I looked down at the man who used to be my husband, feeling nothing resembling hatred or anger—only profound contempt for a coward who refused to take responsibility for his own life.
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