Gone

Julian's eyes widened as soon as the words left the maid's lips.

Even though Sophie had said she would be leaving, he didn't expect her to actually go through with it.

He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair as he tried to shake the feeling away. Sophie had left before. This wouldn't be the first time.

Whenever she felt overwhelmed by how he treated her, she would leave for a few days only to return and still beg for his forgiveness.

'This was one of those times.' he told himself.

Without thinking much about it, he turned and walked toward the stairs, heading to her room to check for himself. He pushed open the bedroom door without knocking, expecting to find some sign that she had simply stepped out.

Instead, he was met with emptiness.

He had been in her room a few times so he knew how it was supposed to look.

What he saw was far from what he was expecting.

Everything was in place, almost too perfectly arranged, as though the room had been carefully reset. His gaze moved slowly across the space before settling on the wardrobe. He stepped closer and pulled it open, his expression tightening slightly as he took in what was missing.

All her clothes and belongings were gone! This wasn’t one of her usual silent protests.

She had actually left.

His gaze lingered for a second longer than it should have before he scoffed, shutting the wardrobe with more force than necessary. “So this is how she wants to play it,” he muttered under his breath, irritation settling in his chest. He told himself it didn’t matter, that she would come back eventually once she realized she had nowhere else to go.

That thought should have been enough to settle him.

It wasn’t.

A few minutes later, his phone rang, giving him the distraction he wanted.

"Julian? Where are you?" The ever-familiar voice of Serena sounded, soft and filled with warmth. It brought a smile to his face. "Mother will be discharged in a few days. You should come around."

He smiled and nodded. "Of course. I'll be there."

As the call dropped, he realized that Sophie would be at the hospital. She had no money and nowhere to go. Plus, she loved her family too much to leave them.

Julian arrived at the hospital thirty minutes later and was warmly received by Serena and her parents.

"I knew you'd come," Serena said, grinning widely as she latched onto him like she was scared he would leave.

"You called me, my love. I had to come." He said, his eyes filled with warmth as he caressed her slender face.

Then, his gaze shifted, looking around the room. The question slipped before he could stop it. "I don't see Sophie. Did she come around?"

They all exchanged a quick look before Jada scoffed, clearly unimpressed.

“Why would she come here? We already made it clear to her that she isn’t welcome here.”

Serena chuckled, turning to Julian. "The divorce papers...did you give them to her?" She asked, her tone light but her eyes sharp.

Julian nodded, a small smile forming on his lips.

A huge grin broke out on Serena's face as she sighed in relief. "I'm sure she's still at home sulking. It'll be hard to move on from this." She said then remembered that she was not supposed to show how happy she was.

"We all know how much she loved you. It's a shame you were never meant to be together." She added, her face filled with pity.

"She deserves this! This is what happens when you steal what doesn't belong to you." Jada said sharply, rolling her eyes without remorse. "She's probably at home sulking. Oh! I can't wait to see her running to beg you to take her back. It will be quite the sight."

"Mother!" Serena scolded, shaking her head. 'She's still your child. Don't say things like that."

"Oh, Serena..." Jada sighed. "Your kindness is what made her become the evil brat she is. Why would you defend her after all she has done to you?"

Julian couldn't help the smile that made its way to his face as he stared at Serena. This was why he loved her. Even after everything she was still thinking of her sister. If only Sophie could be half as good as Serena, maybe she would have stood a chance.

"Sophie isn't home," Julian said after a while and all eyes turned to him.

"What do you mean?" Her father asked, speaking up for the first time since Julian arrived.

"After signing the papers yesterday, she said she would leave first thing in the morning but I didn't think it would actually happen. I woke up this morning to realize that she meant it." He reported. "Her room is empty."

Jada tilted her head slightly, her expression shifting from shock to immediate acceptance. “Maybe she finally realized where she stands,” she said calmly. “It was only a matter of time.”

Her words were light, but they carried weight.

Before Julian could respond, his phone dinged. He excused himself and pulled it out only to see that it was a message from his lawyer.

Mr Andrews: [I received the documents this morning. Your wife came to drop it off herself and asked that it be handled quickly. I have begun the process and it will be approved in two days.]

Julian went still for a second, his grip on the phone tightening just slightly. “Already?” he whispered, a faint crease forming between his brows.

She must have taken the papers while he was sleeping.

Was she that desperate to divorce him?

'So it was all fake...all those years she claimed to love him. It was nothing but an act.' He thought with a scoff, his heart tightening with an emotion he didn't want to name.

"Is everything okay?" Serena's touch pulled him out of his thoughts.

The worry on her face made his heart clench as guilt filled him. Why was he feeling the way he did when the woman he loved was in front of him?

Slowly, he nodded. "Yes." He said and cleared his throat. Then, he turned to her parents.

"Sophie has submitted the divorce papers."

There was a brief silence before Serena nodded and smiled, reaching out to hold him.

“Good,” Her voice cut in smoothly as she looked at him. “That means everything is finally as it should be.”

Her parents nodded in agreement almost immediately, their expressions firm and approving. “She should have left a long time ago,” her mother added. “That girl was nothing but trouble.”

Julian looked at them, then back at Serena.

Slowly, he nodded.

“They’re right,” he told himself. This was what he wanted. This was what he had been waiting for.

Now, he was free.

 

************

The airport was loud, filled with movement and overlapping voices, but Sophie felt none of it. She had been holding in the pain and anger she felt, afraid that if she let it show, she would not be able to recover from it.

She sat beside Lara in the waiting area, her small resting by her feet, her hands loosely holding her phone.

Every few minutes, her gaze dropped to the screen.

She didn’t unlock it most of the time. She just looked at it, her thumb brushing lightly against the edge as if expecting something to appear.

Lara noticed.

At first, she said nothing, simply watching Sophie with quiet concern. But after a while, she couldn’t ignore it anymore.

“If he calls…” she began carefully, her voice gentle but direct, “will you go back?”

Sophie froze.

Her fingers tightened slightly around her phone as the question settled in her chest. For a moment, she didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

Then she shook her head.

“No,” she said quietly.

Her voice was steady, almost convincing.

“He won’t call anyway,” she added after a second, her gaze dropping back to the screen.

That part sounded certain. But it wasn’t.

Because deep down, beneath everything she had told herself, beneath the hurt and the acceptance, there was still a small, stubborn part of her that hadn’t let go completely.

A part that was still waiting. A part that still loved him despite everything.

She remembered the way he had looked at Serena, the softness in his eyes, the way he had chosen her without hesitation. The memory should have been enough to erase any lingering hope.

It wasn’t.

Her grip on the phone tightened slightly before she forced herself to relax, exhaling slowly. She had made her decision. She had chosen to leave, and she wasn’t going to go back on it.

No matter what.

“Boarding will begin shortly,” the announcement came over the speakers, breaking through her thoughts.

Lara stood, offering her a small, encouraging smile. “Let’s go,” she said gently.

Sophie nodded and stood as well, picking up her bag. For a brief moment, she hesitated, her eyes dropping to her phone one last time.

Her thumb hovered over the screen.

Then she locked it and took a step forward.

And then—

Her phone rang.

The sound cut through everything, sharp and sudden, stopping her in her tracks. Her breath caught slightly as her heart began to pound, the noise echoing louder than it should have in her ears.

Lara turned to her immediately, her expression shifting. She heard it too.

Sophie didn’t move.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, she looked down at the screen and her breath caught.