The Untouchable Ex Wife by Mizuki Sei

“Yeah, you understand, right? A broken heart isn’t easy to mend – even if it was fixed, there’d still be cracks...” Renee said softly
as her beautiful eyes teared up. She held her head up high, not wanting to let her tears fall. She refused to cry over that man
again, especially when so many years had passed. It would be too humiliating.
“Honestly, for the longest time, I felt like my heart had crumbled to dust. I didn’t want marriage, I didn’t want love, I didn’t even
want any type of relationship. I just believed that I would never become a bride again... until I met Mr. Q. For once, I felt like
marriage could be a good thing...” Renee started thinking about their brief time together. Although it had been a mere facade
orchestrated by her children and she had never taken it seriously, every minute she spent with the man had been blissful. No
other man had made her feel that way before.
Hence, she really didn’t want her judgment to be wrong again.
“Yeah, Mr. Q does have a certain charm to him. He might not have had the best reputation back then, but I feel like he had his
reasons. Especially four years ago, when he lost to Stefan Hunt, which left a scar on his face... That’s when I found that he was
more like a victim of circumstance. He has a big heart, so he really does seem more suitable for marriage compared to Stefan
Hunt...” Rosie shared many stories from Mr. Q’s past, having known him for a longer time.
“Everyone sees the Carmine Pawnshop as some kind of hellhole, and thinks we would sell anything for profit, even human lives.
They just assume that we are immoral people, and that Mr. Q is the infamous ‘Night Demon’, the leader of this horrible place.”
“Some have even said he would resort to murder if it profited him, but I’ve never seen him commit any crimes, even after I joined
the pawnshop. In fact, he’s actually helped a lot of others who were suffering like me...”
“I remember one night, we all heard loud wails in the front yard, and we were terrified. Rumors said that the ‘Night Demon’ ate
babies, after all, and yet... Heh, did you know what he was actually doing?”
“What?” Renee stared at her curiously.
“He was helping a cat give birth! Can you imagine a grown man like him squatting in that pitch black yard, cheering for the
mother cat? The cat was agitated though and scratched his hand, which made him cry out in pain. But people spread rumors
saying he was so excited about eating children that he was crying out in glee... It was so ridiculous that we secretly laughed at
him for a whole year!”
“It really is hard to imagine him helping a cat give birth!” Renee couldn’t help giggling. As the two continued to drink happily,
Renee soon became drunk.

On the contrary, due to her background, Rosie had quite a high tolerance, and was still sober. “Miss Everheart, you’re drunk. We
should head back.” She was worried Renee might not be able to walk later, and tried convincing her to stop.
“Head back? Nuh uh, we’re drinking like there’s no tomorrow... Waiter, get me another two bottles of beer!” Renee stumbled over
and pushed Rosie back into her seat, slurring her words. “Come on, tell me more about Mr. Q! That guy’s such a comedian!”
“Well...” Just as Rosie was wondering what to do, she noticed that Renee’s phone was ringing.