After Divorce, I Sold Anti-Ex Cards—He Bought Ten Chapter 16

After Divorce, I Sold Anti-Ex Cards—He Bought Ten Chapter 16

Daisy: “Sir, are you giving these away?” 

My dad said with gusto, “I’m eating them myself.” 

My mom panicked. “Your blood sugar!” 

“Then I’ll buy them and let them sit on the counter. Consider 

them as my personal security guard.” 

The customers in the shop burst out laughing. 

My eyes, however, burned with tears. 

My dad wasn’t one for words. 

When I got married, he’d shared a single drink with Julian and only said, “My daughter has a good temper. Treat her well.” 

Later, when I was hurt, I never dared to say much. 

I was afraid he’d worry, afraid he’d feel like he’d failed to 

protect me. 

Now, he’d sat through a four–hour bus ride on a bad leg just to 

buy an “Drop Your Ex Baggage Combo“. 

I felt a hollow space in my chest, one that had been there for a long time, finally get filled. 

My dad sat in the shop, staring at the “Boy, Bye” card for ages. 

Then he picked up a pen and added a line underneath. 

My girl keeps moving forward. Good days, come on. 

The tears spilled over. 

My dad panicked. “Hey, what are you crying for? Did I write it wrong?” 

I shook my head, kneeling beside him and burying my face in 

his lap. 

“No, Dad.” 

“It’s perfect.” 

That night, I framed the card my dad had written and hung it 

in the most prominent spot in the shop. 

From then on, I renamed the combo. 

It wasn’t the Drop Your Ex Baggage anymore. 

It was the Move Forward Combo. 

The contents stayed the same. 

The hot dog meant a clean break. 

The diet coke meant that after the bitterness fades, you stay 

clear–headed. 

The card remained, too. 

But the last line, instead of “Boy, Bye,” now read: 

Bad days, begone. Good days, come on. 

A lot of the regulars complained it wasn’t as satisfyingly 

savage as before. 

I smiled and said, “It’s an upgrade.” 

“Before, it was about cursing someone else.” 

“Now, it’s about blessing myself.” 

Someone recorded that, and it went viral all over again. 

My little shop got busier than ever. 

Daisy went from part–time help to shop manager. 

Millie moved her lemon tea station right into my space for a 

full–on collaboration. 

My parents back home told everyone who would listen that 

their daughter owned a shop in the city with lines out the door. 

Everything was getting better. 

Except for Julian. 

I heard he and his family were in a cold war. 

Chloe was sent off to work, quit crying in the first week, and 

was promptly sent back by him. 

Victoria had come by the shop once, stood there for a long 

time, but didn’t come in. 

She’d lost a lot of weight and didn’t look so high–and–mighty 

anymore. 

I didn’t go out. 

Not out of hate. 

Just out of a desire to have no more connections. 

Then, one day, a delivery driver dropped off a document 

envelope. 

I assumed it was another list of apologies from Julian, but when I opened it, I found an old photo. 

It was from the day Julian and I got our marriage license. 

I was wearing a white shirt, my eyes crinkled in a smile. 

He stood next to me, his lips in a faint line, but you could tell he was happy. 

On the back, there was a message: 

[Sadie, I really did want to spend my life with you that day.] 

(It’s just that, later, I turned that life into three years that made you want to run away.] 

[I’m not asking you to turn back.] 

[I just want to wish you well as you keep moving forward.] 

The note was signed Julian. 

I held the photo, staring at it for a long time. 

Daisy asked tentatively, “Boss, is this ‘evidence‘ too?” 

I shook my head. 

“Not this one.” 

I tucked the photo into the very bottom of my drawer. 

It wasn’t that I couldn’t let go. 

It was because, that day… I had been truly happy. 

I refuse to let a bad ending negate the person who was once brave enough to believe in love. 

She was naive. 

But she was real. 

After closing that night, I walked home alone. 

Passing the entrance to the old night market, I saw a new takoyaki stand had taken my old spot. 

The lights were the same, the crowds were the same. 

The only difference was that I didn’t have to push a heavy cart 

home anymore. 

I stood there for a moment, and just as I was about to leave, someone called my name. 

“Sadie.” 

I turned around. 

Julian was standing a few feet away. 

He’d lost weight, his hair was shorter, and he had no flowers, no gifts. 

He was all alone. 

He looked at me like I was a dream he didn’t dare approach. 

I thought I’d be annoyed. 

But this time, I was calm. 

“Yes?” 

He took a step closer, then stopped. 

“I’m leaving for a while tomorrow.”