Chapter 7

The next morning, Emily woke up knowing she was leaving Ranch City. She didn't spend much time thinking about it. She had already made her decision. She had texted her two best friends about it. She hadn't gotten a response from them yet, but she texted because she felt someone aside from Kathy needed to know where she was.

After breakfast, she called a realtor and instructed them to begin the process of selling the properties she owned in the city. She would deal with everything else later. For now, she simply wanted to leave. By late morning, Kathy had finished packing their things.

Emily had only taken what she needed. Her remaining belongings could be dealt with after she settled in Metro City.

“You're really leaving today?” Kathy asked as she zipped the last suitcase.

“Yes.”

Emily glanced around the hotel room. “There is nothing keeping me here anymore.”

Kathy nodded. She didn't argue. A few hours later, they left for the airport. Emily sat quietly in the back seat, watching Ranch City pass through the window. She had spent five years there as Xavier's wife. She had walked through its streets beside him, attended business dinners with him and built countless memories around him.

Now she was leaving it all behind. She rested a hand over her stomach. She wasn't leaving alone. She had two babies to think about now. When they arrived at the airport, Emily noticed two familiar women standing near the entrance.

Her eyes widened.

“Claire?”

One of them immediately waved. “Emily!”

Claire hurried toward her, followed by Sophie. Emily smiled in surprise as they approached.

“What are you two doing here?”

“We came to see you off. We got your text.” Claire said, pulling her into a careful hug.

Sophie hugged her next. “We couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye.”

Emily smiled, grateful that she had told them she was leaving. It felt good to see her best friends after a long while.

“We're so sorry about the news…the divorce.”

Emily looked confused. She had never told anyone she was divorced, so how did they know?

“How did you hear about it?” She asked curiously.

Claire and Sophie exchanged a glance. Claire looked at her strangely. “You didn't know?”

“Know what?” Emily asked, still curious. She wanted to know who had leaked the information that her friends and even Aunt Linda knew.

Sophie pulled out her phone. “You really haven't seen this?”

Emily shook her head. Sophie unlocked her phone and handed it to her. Emily looked down at the screen. A picture of Vivian immediately caught her attention. Vivian was dressed elegantly, standing beside Xavier with one hand resting against his chest. Xavier's expression was calm and confident, while Vivian smiled directly at the camera.

The caption beneath the picture was impossible to miss.

‘Vivian announces her relationship with billionaire CEO Xavier Sterling.’

Emily's eyes remained on the screen. For a moment, she couldn't move. Sophie watched her carefully.

“The media has been carrying the story since this morning.”

Emily slowly scrolled. There were already thousands of comments beneath the post. Some congratulated the couple. Others praised Vivian for becoming the woman beside one of the country's most powerful bachelors.

Emily continued reading. Then one comment caught her attention.

‘Didn't Xavier Sterling already have a wife?’

Another person replied beneath it.

‘I heard he was married, but apparently that relationship ended for a new one to start.’

Another comment followed.

‘So Vivian is the new girlfriend? What happened to his old relationship?’

Emily stared at the screen. She didn't need to read any further. She finally understood how Aunt Linda had found out. It had to be this. The news had been everywhere. Emily was grateful that her picture wasn't attached. At least she could live a low profile life without people knowing she was the ex wife to Xavier.

She remembered Linda demanding her location and accusing her of destroying the family. So this was how she had heard. Emily held the phone tighter.

“That's where she got it from.” she muttered to no one in particular.

Emily looked away. She shouldn't have cared. She had already left Xavier. She had signed the papers. She had told herself she was done with him. But seeing the picture still made something inside her ache.

It was not because she wanted him back, at least, that was what she told herself. It was because of the hypocrisy. Xavier had always insisted that their relationship remain private. During their five years of marriage, he had rarely allowed photographs of them to appear together publicly. Whenever they attended events, he maintained a careful distance. Even when people asked about their marriage, he gave them vague answers.

Emily had once thought he was simply a private person. She had accepted it because she loved him. She had never complained. But now he was standing beside Vivian for the entire world to see. He wasn't hiding her. He wasn't keeping her at a distance. He was proudly allowing everyone to know that she was his.

Emily sighed. So this was the woman he had been hiding from her. No. She corrected herself. Vivian wasn't the woman he had been hiding. She was the woman he had chosen to show the world. Emily looked at the picture one last time. At least she was grateful that because of their private relationship, her pictures were not circulating online. She would be alarmed if that happened, and it was going to interfere with her private life

Then she handed the phone back. “I don't care.”

Claire studied her face. “You shouldn't. It's all in the past. You don't need to be too hard on yourself.”

Emily adjusted the strap of her handbag. “I'm leaving.”

Sophie slipped her phone into her bag. “Do you have somewhere to stay?”

“I have a place for now.”

“And after that?”

“I'll figure it out.”

Claire smiled. “Then we'll help you figure it out. We're coming you you.”

Emily looked at her. “You don't have to.”

“We know.”

Sophie picked up one of Emily's smaller bags. “But we're still doing it.”

Emily smiled faintly.

She had expected to feel completely alone after leaving Xavier. But Kathy was beside her, and now her friends were standing there too. Perhaps starting over wouldn't be as frightening as she had imagined.

A boarding announcement sounded across the terminal. Claire looked toward the departure gate.

“That's probably us.”

Emily nodded.

They started walking. After a few steps, she glanced back at the phone in Sophie's hand. The image of Xavier and Vivian was still fresh in her mind. Once, seeing Xavier with another woman would have destroyed her.

Now it only reminded her why she had to keep moving forward. She placed a hand over her stomach. Her babies were her future now. Her future was waiting for her in Metro City, and she was going to build it herself.