Chapter 6: Don't Leave

JAMES

The drive to the airport felt so long.

My grandfather sat in the front passenger seat, leaving Avery and me alone in the back. 

Avery sat against the door on her side, staring out of the window without saying a word. I didn't blame her. After everything I put her through at the house.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm being mean to her. She really doesn't deserve the treatment. But then I remembered every time I saw her just watch me drown in that river. She couldn't even do anything. 

My mind went back to the divorce papers back at home.

I was so close. I was almost free. I was almost free to run away with Sadie. All I needed was Avery's signature, and this marriage would have been over. I wouldn't have to wake up every day feeling trapped in a marriage I never wanted.

Instead, here I was, being driven to the airport with the same woman I was ready to divorce.

I leaned my head against the seat and looked out at the road.

Then I thought of Sadie.

I wondered how she was feeling right now. She was left behind while I was dragged off to another contact with Avery. I could only imagine what was going through her mind.

My grandfather suddenly broke the silence.

“You two should try to enjoy yourselves in Germany.”

I looked toward the front seat. “Enjoy ourselves?”

“Yeah,” he said almost cheerfully. “You guys have an entire month to yourselves. No work, no family interruption, no people getting involved in your marriage. Just the two of you.”

I let out a dry laugh. “If you say so.”

Who even goes on vacation in Germany? What happened to the Maldives or Bali or Bora Bora? 

I couldn't care less anyway.

Pa Thomas chuckled. “You’re looking at it the wrong way. Think of it as a romantic vacation.”

Avery finally turned from the window. I couldn't help looking at her too.

Romantic? There was absolutely nothing romantic about this.

Pa Thomas continued. “You can visit different places, have dinner together, take walks, see the country. You might even discover that being married isn't so terrible.”

“No. There is no chemistry between us.” Avery finally spoke, and she quickly turned back to the window.

Suddenly the car became quiet again.

The private hangar was already waiting for us when the car pulled in.

I stepped out first, expecting nothing more complicated than getting onto the plane and putting this ridiculous honeymoon behind me.

The i saw someone near the security gate.

Who could that be? Was this one of Pa Thomas’s staff?

My feet almost stopped moving when I saw the person.

Sadie. 

What was she doing here? How did she know I would be here?

She looked so rough. Her hair was messy, and the clothes she wore looked rough. She must have rushed here without caring about anything else.

Then her eyes found me.

“James!”

Sadie ran towards us, but one of the security guards immediately blocked her before she could get too close.

“James, wait!” she cried. “Please, don't leave with her.”

I took a step toward her without thinking, but then I remembered who was standing beside me.

Pa Thomas.

He didn't say a word, but I knew exactly what would happen if I walked over to Sadie now. He had already made his decision about this trip, and there was no way he was going to let me leave now.

“Sadie,” I called.

She stopped just far enough away to keep the guard between us. “Please listen to me.”

“I….I’m listening.”

“You know you can't leave with Avery,” her voice shook as she spoke. “James, she's doing this on purpose. She's trying to trap you into staying married to her.”

I looked at her, then at the plane waiting behind us. This was becoming a nightmare.

“Sadie, I have to go.”

Sadie stepped closer again. “James, please. Don’t let her do this to you.”

I couldn't bear looking at her anymore, so I walked away.

“James, please.”

My grandfather had clearly had enough. “James, that's enough of this drama. We're boarding now. It's time to go.”

I looked back toward Sadie, but my granddad was already heading toward the jet, leaving me no chance to say any other word to her.

She came all the way here just to see me leave her. Oh, my dear Sadie, I really wish I could come back to you….I wish.

“James!” 

I could have turned around, but I knew exactly what would happen if I did. One look at Sadie would be enough to make me question whether I could force myself onto that plane at all, so I kept my eyes ahead and stepped inside without looking back.

Avery followed soon after and took her seat inside the plane. I looked around at the luxurious interior, then remembered what Pa Thomas had called this trip. A honeymoon. A whole month in Germany with the woman I was trying to divorce.

I almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

Somehow

, the honeymoon I never wanted had finally become real.