The Divorce That Brought Us Back novel Chapter 172

Stop bullying your past self.

In the past, Nora was trapped in her own suffocating mess. She didn't have the time or the emotional bandwidth to worry about anyone else.

Now that she had grown up, matured, shed her burdens, and found her footing, she looked back and thought her younger self was an idiot.

Wasn't that just another form of bullying the weak, defenseless girl she used to be?

"No, that's not it. I just feel like Valery..."

Nora chose her words carefully. "Haven't you noticed there's something really off about Valery?"

"In what way?" Felix asked.

"Like, the things she says. Don't you think the way she talks is totally abnormal?"

"It's alright, I guess."

"You think it's *alright*?"

"Well, she's not a normal person to begin with, so isn't it perfectly normal that the things she says aren't normal?"

Nora elbowed him in the ribs. "Be serious!"

"I am being serious." Felix put a hand over his heart in exaggerated defense. He explained, "Think about it, Nora. What makes someone a normal person? Two basic things: physical health and cognitive awareness. Val has neither. Of course she doesn't count as a normal person."

Nora froze slightly.

A sudden memory clicked into place.

A few days ago, Nora and Maloney had a private conversation about Valery.

Maloney had made a specific observation about her: *She's not that malicious. She just wants someone to stay with her. What did she do wrong?*

Nora had assumed Maloney was being sarcastic.

Looking back, Nora had clearly shown she didn't want to hear him speak ill of Valery. She had even interrupted him. Knowing Maloney, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to mock Valery after that.

Maloney didn't have any personal vendetta against Valery.

As an objective bystander taking the time to analyze the situation, he had no reason to upset Nora just for the sake of a sharp remark.

It was a genuine, rhetorical question.

*What did Valery do wrong?*

Her mistake was using manipulation and schemes to cling to people. She shouldn't have agreed to Yates's twisted demands, and she absolutely shouldn't have restricted and shackled Jasmine's entire life.

Just because she was terribly ill didn't mean she had to sit at home alone waiting to die.

"I asked her what she had to offer, and she immediately reached for my belt to pull my pants down. Tell me, is that something a normal person would do?"

Nora's eyes widened in sheer horror. "What did you just say?!"

"Don't worry, chastity is a modern man's greatest asset. There was no way I was giving it up." Felix winked proudly. "I told her to offer me something else."

Nora shrieked, "You actually told her to offer you *something else*?!"

"Yeah, I wanted to see exactly how abnormal she could get."

"And then what?"

"Then she wanted to kiss my hand."

"...Did you let her?"

"Nope, I told her to peel an apple for me instead." Felix chuckled. "She did it right away. Picked the biggest apple from the fruit basket and carefully peeled it downward with a paring knife. She did a perfectly clean, even job."

"That was the first time anyone ever peeled an apple for me that seriously."

"My own mother has never peeled an apple for me. She only ever demands I peel them for her."

Seeing how incredibly nonchalant Felix was about the whole ordeal, Nora's expression morphed from shock into pure disbelief. "I'm starting to think you're not a normal person either."