Jared just stared at me, unable to speak. I knew my smile had always had a certain charm. He used to say it was warm and captivating, which would make any place feel like home.

Now, with no sense of old scars behind it, my smile felt more honest and natural than ever.

Jared looked down at the coffee cup on the table, turning it slowly in his hand.

“Victoria, you probably don’t realize this, but just the thought of us never seeing each other again after the divorce, of having nothing to do with each other… It makes me feel like I’m losing my mind.”

I was stunned for a moment. That was exactly what I went through in my previous life.

When Jared put those divorce papers in front of me, promising me a pile of money if I signed, what terrified me most was the thought that this amazing man would no longer be mine.

Once we split, I might never see him again. I remembered frantically tearing those papers to shreds. I still didn’t know how my delicate hands managed to rip through all those sheets like that.

Jared looked at me, his eyes shadowed, his voice nothing like his usual calm. “Victoria, I guess I’m really no different from any other man. I never knew to cherish what I had until I was about to lose it. Now I can’t let go."

"I used to call you weak and say you depended on others too much. I never understood why you needed that, just like I don’t understand now why I can’t let you go.”

Watching Jared get lost in his own doubts and inner conflict, I felt nothing at all. These were the same feelings that used to torment me, but after coming back to life, I learned to let them go.

Emotions could really mess people up. If we held on too tight, they’d end up torturing us.

I lowered my head and let out a soft laugh. “People are happy when they get exactly what they ask for. But once they get greedy, happiness slips away.”

Jared glanced over, looking a bit taken aback. I stood up, turned my back to him, and rested my hands on the window, staring out at the street.

“Honestly, you already know the reason. You just don’t want to admit it. When people can’t satisfy their desires, they get fixated, and that’s when it really hurts.”

After I finished, I turned to look at Jared. “You want too much. Maybe you could try wanting less, like, maybe you should just let me go.”

Jared went rigid for a moment. As soon as I said “let me go,” he suddenly shot up and lunged at me. He pressed me up against the window, his arms locking around me, and then he searched for my lips.

I clamped my lips shut, refusing to let him in. He lingered there, almost pleading. His lips brushed desperately against mine. Finally, he pulled away, his arms trembling as he hugged me. “I get all that, but I just can’t do it.”

I tried to push him away, a little annoyed, but he pulled me in even tighter, his breath coming out heavy. “These days without you, I can’t sleep at all. Victoria, you have no idea. I’ve been missing you so much. It’s driving me crazy.”

I was honestly stunned. Jared was always cool as ice, never letting his emotions show. He shouldn’t be so obsessed that he’d lose his mind over missing me.

There must be something wrong. Jared wasn’t the same as the one I knew before. This time around, it was like he’d really fallen for me.

“Jared, let go of me,” I said, my voice sharp with anger. Just thinking about all those endless nights I spent alone, tossing and turning, craving even a bit of warmth, I wanted to lash out at him.

“No way,” Jared replied, his voice hoarse, and he lowered his head, searching for my lips again.