Love Like You Never Loved Before

A middle-aged woman and a young man dashed over to my rescue. The woman hurled her bag of carrots at Lyle’s head and I took the opportunity to step on his toes.

“Damn right you’re sorry! Serves you right for trampling all over me!” I kicked him in his legs, and someone came over to stop Lyle from striking me.

A crowd started to gather around the scene and onlookers gesticulated as they engaged in hushed whispers. I covered my face and pretended to break into a sob as I said, “He doesn’t want to let me go after tearing off my clothes…”

“Don’t worry, Miss. We have reported this to the police.”

“I called over some reporters. They’re on their way here.”

What? Someone’s called the reporters? I did not want to make the news, and hid behind the middle-aged woman who was still clutching on to her other half of the carrot. Noticing that Lyle was giving me the death glare, I gestured thumbs down for the loser.

He grimaced at my provocation. If there weren’t any people around, he would have beaten the crap out of me.

In the end, we did not split on good terms. I did not want to hate him, but he was the one pestering me relentlessly. In the end, we ended up hating each other. Perhaps this was for the better since it was near impossible that we were going to stay friends after this.

I did not believe that my life would turn for the worse after leaving Lyle. I still have Christopher, and even if we did not end up together, at least I would have some sweet memories to treasure.

Crystal panicked after seeing that Lyle was at a disadvantage. She got off the car and shouted at the crowd, “Don’t listen to the nonsense that the woman spewed! She tore off the clothes herself, and was just trying to extort money out of us.”

I did not wish to stay and listen to her. Pointing straight at her, I shrieked, “Look at her! Isn’t she the new school artist, the one who ruined a family? Everyone, look!”

The crowd grew bigger with my remark, surrounding the two of them.

Scurrying out of the crowd, I stood outside and watched as Lyle and Crystal shot daggers at me. I waved gleefully at the two and turned around to leave the place.

Even from some distance away, I could still listen to the mutters of the crowd.

“Ah, so she’s an artist. It’s my first time seeing one in person.”

“Well, she’s a homewrecker. I read an article about her some time ago, and she said she has an aptitude for art. What a disgrace to the art community.”

“Let me hit her a few more times with this carrot. I hate these homewreckers ruining families! Boy, protect this young miss behind you.”

I stood underneath the tree and looked at the ever-growing crowd and burst into a laugh. It was a hearty laugh in a long time. Back a dog up in the corner, and it’s going to bite.

Crystal still thought that I was the type to never fight back despite being squashed and toyed with. She had forgotten one little convenient fact that she was a public figure while I was a nobody.

Actually, it was not a big deal being an artist, nor was she as influential as celebrities. However, she was too fixated on the idea of being famous that she had curated her image to resemble that of a rising star by going on talk shows and getting featured in art exhibitions. With her high-profile marketing plan, it was near impossible to find someone who did not recognize her in Avenport.

A hint of sorrow crept up as I chuckled. I was such a loser back then, and I had despised myself back then.

The camera flashlights kept going off as shutters clicked. I knew that Lyle and Crystal would make the headlines tomorrow, and the duo would become a hot gossip topic.

Even though I felt sorry for putting Sharon through this, I did not regret my actions. After putting him down this time, it was unlikely for Lyle to keep pestering me.

“Are you that happy that you’ve done something bad?” A familiar voice rang behind me, and I traced the voice to see Christopher who was standing right behind me.

It was as if he had been standing behind me all the while as if he had never left. Whenever I turned around, I had the luxury of knowing that he would be there for me. As I looked at him, my thoughts strayed and I stood frozen on the ground.

Many years later, the way he looked when I turned around that day would be vividly etched in my mind, for I knew that day was the very day that I started to look at the world from a whole different perspective.