Chapter 4

Julian didn't even hear me.

He was already looking down at his phone, a soft smile playing on his lips.

In the reflection of his screen, I saw the familiar avatar.

Chloe again.

Standing by the bed, I suddenly lost every ounce of desire to repeat myself.

I reached into the front pocket of my suitcase and pulled out the divorce papers I had printed days ago.

I placed them squarely in the center of the nightstand.

A few crisp pages resting right beneath his seven complaint letters. Inconspicuous. Trivial.

Just like my entire five years in this marriage.

I switched off the lamp and lay down with my back turned to him.

That night, Julian lay right beside me, his phone screen glowing until two in the morning.

With my eyes shut, I could still hear his muffled, breathless chuckles in the dark.

For the next three days, he didn't come home once.

On day one, he texted that an experiment had encountered an error.

On day two, he said Chloe was overwhelmed and he had to help her rebuild the statistical models.

On the third day, he sent a single line:

"Not coming home tonight."

I didn't ask where he was.

I cleared out all the fresh groceries I had prepped for him from the fridge.

I took his freshly washed dress shirts off the drying rack and left them unironed in a pile.

Then, I rolled my suitcase out the front door and walked away.

The international terminal was buzzing with travelers.

The overhead intercom repeatedly announced final boarding calls.

As I stood at the check-in desk for my flight to Helsinki, my phone buzzed violently.

Two messages from Julian popped up.

"Where are you?"

"Why haven't you shown up yet?"

I froze for a second.

Looking up across the crowded terminal, I saw him standing near a domestic gate.

Julian was wearing a tailored black trench coat, clutching three boarding passes to our local Disney destination.

Beside him stood Chloe, wearing those familiar sparkly mouse ears.

She smiled and asked, "Julian, aren't you worried Stella will throw a tantrum and refuse to come since you bought me a ticket too?"

Julian answered without a shred of doubt.

"She won't."

"She's just sulking because she's bored at home. The second I actually take her on a trip, she'll be thrilled."

"She cares about me way too much to ever stay mad at me."

I watched them through the sea of travelers.

The airport speaker chimed above my head.

"Final boarding call for flight AY006 to Helsinki. All passengers please proceed to Gate 28 immediately."

A quiet laugh escaped my lips.

I turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

Right before stepping into the jet bridge, I sent Julian one last text.

"The signed divorce papers are on the bedroom nightstand."

"Don't ever look for me again."