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.

mulberry tree

sound of someone crying. Curious, she leaned out for a better look—and lost her balance, tumbling down from the

right on top of

feet, mortified. Mulberry leaves scattered everywhere. The boy looked up just then, and through the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches, she saw the face of a boy in a white shirt, his features gently illuminated by a

more handsome than the heroes on TV. For a moment,

the boy's brow 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 hit

wild and silly. Then, imitating the monkey king from her favorite cartoon, she bounced

and grinning in the sunlight, doing her best to make him laugh. She looked ridiculous, but to

a moment, it was as if the monkey king himself had really come

after their divorce and left behind at his grandmother's house, the boy had

up, Mila grinned too,

tree in the abandoned factory. Every time, the

Mila adored him.

knew she'd get to

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 a

him for a