HIS HOODIE

Seraphina stared at her phone but ignored the message for almost an hour because she just didn't want to look at it.

She didn't want to see another photograph or another reminder that some stranger knew more about her life than they ever should or even she did.

For a while, she simply sat on the floor surrounded by old photographs and years of memories she wished she could just throw away.

Her eyes were swollen from crying and her head throbbed painfully from everything combined…even her chest hurt but then, her damn phone buzzed again.

She stared at it from across, anger clinging onto her skin but she still refused to move even an inch because whatever was waiting inside that damn message couldn't possibly make her day better. If anything, it would probably make everything worse.

Ten minutes passed, then twenty…then thirty and eventually, curiosity won. It always did and with a frustrated groan, Seraphina wiped her face aggressively and reached for the phone and the moment she unlocked it, the familiar contact appeared.

That same damned unknown Number.

Her jaw tightened immediately as she opened the message and scanned the screen.

‘YOU MISS HIM MOST WHEN YOU'RE ALONE.’

For a moment, she stared blankly, then she locked her screen again and tossed it onto the couch while kissing her teeth.

"So you're not just a stalker anymore, you're a psycho too?" she muttered.

The words they sent annoyed her more than they should have because they weren't even wrong and that was the problem. The stranger behind those messages somehow kept saying things she didn't want to admit to herself.

And she hated it…she hated that someone she had never met could see through her so easily because she did miss Adrian.

Not the Adrian standing beside Vanessa and not the Adrian who signed divorce papers…not the foolish man that keeps hurting her. She missed her husband.

The one who stole food from her plate and like he did nothing afterward…the one who carried her upstairs whenever she fell asleep on the couch, the one who kissed her forehead every morning before work because he insisted it was good luck.

"Stop it," she whispered sharply to herself but her eyes immediately started burning again.

"No."

She pushed herself off the floor before another flood of tears could begin. The last thing she needed was more crying but unfortunately, the universe appeared determined to torture her.

The moment she stood up, her foot hit the corner of one of the unpacked boxes beside her. The entire thing poured over and clothes spilled across the floor.

"Seriously?"

She sighed and crouched down to begin gathering everything back into the box. Dresses landed in one pile, sweaters in another. Then her movements started slowing down.

There, buried beneath a few shirts, was a dark grey hoodie and her breath caught instantly.

Adrian's.

The oversized hoodie had always been her favorite. It wasn't particularly expensive or stylish. In fact, she constantly teased him about how worn out it looked…yet somehow she had stolen it so many times throughout their marriage that Adrian eventually stopped asking for it back.

Her chest tightened painfully and slowly, she reached for it.

"This is ridiculous," she whispered, though her fingers were already gripping the fabric and the moment she lifted it, the scent hit her.

His cologne…faint, almost completely gone but still there. Seraphina froze then she closed her eyes and the memories came immediately.

Adrian wrapping the hoodie around her shoulders during a winter trip because she had sworn she wasn't cold, Adrian chasing her around their bedroom after she stole it again, Adrian burying his face against her neck while complaining about meetings like she didn't have meetings too.

Then came the smaller memories, the ones she wanted to forget, Adrian sleeping beside her and pulling her closer with its pockets, Adrian kissing her neck lazily before whispering in her ears.

Adrian. Just Adrian.

"God..." she whispered weakly. She sat down on the couch and before she could even stop herself, she pulled the hoodie over her head. The sleeves immediately swallowed her hands and the scent surrounded her completely.

It was stupid.

Pathetic, even.

Yet for the first time since the divorce, the ache in her chest eased slightly…not enough to disappear but it was just enough to breathe.

Seraphina curled into the corner of the couch and rested her head against the cushion. The television talked quietly somewhere in the background while light spilled through the large windows.

Her thoughts felt slower now…softer and even the fear she'd been carrying for days seemed distant.

For the first time since the messages began, she felt safe…her eyes drifted shut and before she realized it, she was fast asleep.

Upstairs, Stephanie remained unconscious too and the entire house fell into a peaceful silence that hadn't existed in days, then her phone buzzed.

Once. Twice.Then the screen lit up softly beside her sleeping. The same unknown Number.

A new message appeared.

“You still love him.”

A second message followed almost immediately.

‘The frightening part is that Adrian Vale still loves you too.’

And this time, attached beneath the text was a photograph taken less than ten minutes ago.

Of Adrian.

Holding her gold earring in his hand as his eyes watered slightly... like he hadn't let go