Who's Crying Now, Ex-Husband?

Chapter 315

And then, there was that name-Mimi.

It sounded so familiar.

"What did you just call me?" she asked, dazed.

"Mimi," Forrest replied.

He let out a soft sigh, a shadow of sadness flickering across his otherwise striking features. "After all this time, you still don't remember me?"

Mimi?

Mila's face went blank as she stared at the man before her, really looking at him for the first time. Slowly, his delicate features began to blur and merge with the memory of a boy she hadn't seen in years.

It was the summer she turned twelve.

Her parents were strict and neglectful; there were days she barely had enough to eat. Her classmates had all started raising silkworms, but good mulberry leaves were hard to come by. So, Mila would sneak out to an abandoned factory near her house, climbing the old mulberry tree there to collect fresh leaves. She'd trade them to her classmates for a bit of pocket change or a few bites of candy- anything to curb her hunger and satisfy her cravings, if only a little.

was an ancient mulberry tree

of someone crying. Curious, she leaned out

right on top of

everywhere. The boy looked up just then, and through the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches, she saw

than the heroes on TV. For a moment, the scruffy little girl

furrow, and fresh tears welled up in his eyes. Mila panicked, worried she'd hurt him. What if his parents came and blamed her? Being

imitating the monkey king from her favorite cartoon, she bounced on her toes and called out in a loud, cheerful voice,

sunlight, doing her best to make him laugh. She looked ridiculous, but to him,

king himself had really come to chase away his troubles-just for

by his parents after their divorce and left behind at his grandmother's house, the boy had felt lost and alone. But that day, he suddenly found

up, Mila

two became friends. They met often under the old mulberry tree in the abandoned factory. Every time, the boy

Mila adored him.

get to eat her fill-and when she was full, she

summer was the best time of her childhood. But, as with all good things, it ended too soon. When summer vacation was over, the boy vanished without

missed him for a long