Sienna’s Pov

The voice sent a cold shiver up my spine, I felt the ground could open up and swallow me whole to avoid this conversation yet to happen.

I slowly picked up my bag, and turned to leave but the stranger grabbed my wrist. My breath hitched snd my heart skipped a beat, and I felt fear wash over me.

“Oh my God, Sienna?” the stranger said.

I didn’t want to look up but I had to, so I did. I looked at him and faked a smile, although shaky but it was convincing, a little bit.

“Hello, Evan.”

Since the divorce, this was the first time seeing him because I had left the crappy town to avoid running into him and the piece of crap with fake tits he left me for.

But he was here, with her by his side. All the painful memories came flooding back, memories I thought I had gotten over.

I froze, couldn’t say anything. I tried but the words wouldn’t just come out. I had to force it out somehow.

I cleared my throat, “Why are you here?”

He laughed, “Come on, you don’t have to be hostile. I mean we share 2 wonderful kids together, so we are friends.”

Was he mocking me? Thinking I was weak?

“I am amazed you’ve worked on yourself, Si,” he teased. “Wow! Who’d believe you could be appealing again.”

He was mocking me. His words were always hurtful, so bad that I always ended up crying alone in the bedroom, closes doors to avoid the kids to hear what I was going through.

Before I could answer, the door opened and Lila and Daniel were outside standing beside me.

“What do you want, Evan?” Lila asked, her voice pissed.

“Still hanging around this old hag?” You should do better.” He spat out.

Lila wasn’t the biggest fan of Evan, seeing she kicked against our marriage till it fell apart. They were always at loggerheads but Lila was the only person I could really trust.

“You must think you are high and mighty, Evan. But I know your type..” Lila said.

I could hear Daniel and Lila whispering with him asking Lila sone questions and I felt ashamed knowing he was seeing all these. The perfect persona I had put up for him to see came crashing down all because of Evan.

“Who’s he?” He’d asked her.

“The douche who left her,” she’d replied.

“What do you know, woman? You’re nothing but a whore who couldn’t stay in her marriage.” He shot back at her.

My eyes were all teary but I sniffed to hold back my tears. I thought I could look at him in his eyes and tell him off, but I was still scared of him. I hated how he made me feel weak and how helpless I was. I should be talking back but I ran back into my shell

Evan smiled as his eyes turned to me. ““You’ve always stuffed yourself with food and had become flabby but I must say you look really good,” he mocked me again.

“That’s no way to treat a lady,” Daniel shot back.

“This is of no concern to you stranger,” Evan snapped.

Evan was the biggest bully to me but to everyone else he was the perfect husband, a good Sunday-school teacher and a good father. He played the perfect man so well that people blamed me for the divorce, that I was the trouble, not him. Some said I must have upset him, and I should beg for his forgiveness. He was so brutal with his words but he never hit me.

I wasn’t that big, I was a moderate size like a size 10 or 12 , but my curves and boobs were still popping out but he had always called me fat and blamed me for letting myself go, as if he was times two of my size.

Whenever I confronted him about how he treated me he’d always say men and women were different. In the sense that, he’d always have women waiting for him whereas I was outdated or expired.

“You should treat women with respect, Old man,” Daniel told him, his voice was filled with anger. His hand holding my hand and keeping me steady.

“And you are?” Evan asked out of curiosity but his eyes shifted to me, and he saw us holding hands. “No way!” He burst into a loud sinister laugh. “You’re with a child now, Sienna?”

“I am not a child,” Daniel shot back.

“I’d have expected this behavior from Lila, but from you? This is a low. You left me for a boy who is old enough to be your child?”

“You’re being rude,Mr.” Daniel added.

Evan never protected me from public scrutiny, instead he amplified it, but seeing Daniel defend me sparked something in me that I never knew was there.

“Enough!” Lila shouted, drawing attention to where we stood. “You need to leave.”

Daniel’s eyes met mine where we stood and dragged me away to his car and drove off. I didn’t ask where because I didn’t know what to say, all the esteemed I thought I had gathered all crashed the moment I saw Evan.

Daniel came to a stop when we parked at the parking lot in a park.

He looked at me and held my hands, “It’s okay, you can let it all out now.” He whispered.

With just one look at him the flood gate of tears in my eyes were opened.