The Untouchable Ex-Wife



"Sure, go on and ask," Joanne said.

She looked at Renee calmly. It seemed like she knew what Renee was about to ask.

"I can tell you and Quinton can't make peace. I want to know if it's because of the bad experiences, or some other reason..." Renee said, trying to sound Joanne out. "For example, was it because of Stefan?"

"No!" Joanne immediately shook her head. "It had nothing to do with Mr. Hunt. Stop overthinking. We're just friends. Maybe we're not even friends. At most, I owe him a big favor. I can't make peace with your brother because of my problems."

"Uhm, can I ask about the reason?" Renee pressed.

Although Renee was long aware of Joanne's answer, she was full of regrets. She shamelessly got to the bottom

of it.

"Is it because....of the child...?"

Hearing that, Joanne couldn't stop tears from filling her eyes.

"I can't make peace with the man who killed my child. It'd be betraying my child."

Her watery eyes were full of endless restraint and bitterness. Then, she raised a profound question.

"You're a mother too. If someone harms your child, can you forgive him? Plus, the child is his too... I'm too timid to pretend that nothing has happened since he could even kill his child. I can't keep the fake relationship, either."

"..." Renee was rendered speechless. She couldn't persuade another pitiful woman who had lost her child since she was a mother herself.

"Well, what's your plan?' Renee asked.

She watched Joanne's melancholic figure, feeling very sorry for the latter. She was sincerely worried about Joanne's future, and wondered how Joanne could gain happiness.

"Stop blaming yourself or pitying me," Joanne said, now composed. She even laughed at herself. "I didn't feel like living, but I'm very grateful to Mr. Hunt for showing me the way. He made me understand the joy of being a teacher. If the good schools in big cities don't need me, I can go to remote places that lack educational resources, like the mountains I can teach there. I think the parents there won't look down on me because of my poor skills. I'm sure there won't be so many schemes between colleagues, either."

"Is that what you want?" Renee was surprised, but she found it reasonable.

Joanne was hurt. She would be ostracized if she lived among the complicated big crowd. People would hold prejudices against her. The remote and quiet mountains with simple and kind villagers could accept her readily. "I guess," Joanne said.

She looked eager, but she also doubted herself.

"I crawled out of hell. I'm not very refined either, and I have no impressive teaching experience. I stepped into the education industry because of my enthusiasm. If the kids there love me, it's a blessing. They'll take me in and let me stay there. Or... Well, they might look down on me too. They'll think my experiences are bad. My scars might scare them, too."Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.