Chapter 2

I didn't go to a friend's place or back to my parents' house. I didn't want to explain anything, and I didn't want to see the worry in their eyes.

I booked the next available flight on my phone. It was headed for Valenne. I wanted to go somewhere no one knew me.

The noise at the airport was strangely calming. Everyone was rushing somewhere, and no one paid any attention to a woman pulling a suitcase behind her.

I called my assistant and asked her to arrange an extended leave of absence for me, with no return date.

She was surprised, but she didn't ask questions. That was one of the things I liked about her.

Then I turned off my phone, and the world finally went quiet.

As the plane took off, I watched the city shrink beneath me. My heart seemed to sink with it, deeper and deeper, until it reached a place where there was no light and no sound.

I didn't sleep at all during the flight. For more than ten hours, my mind kept replaying the marriage certificate, the ultrasound report, and the smiling faces of Adam and Claire, like a black-and-white film stuck on the same few frames.

When I arrived in Valenne, everything felt unfamiliar, from the language to the crowds around me.

I walked out of the airport and took a deep breath. The air smelled faintly of fresh bread and freedom.

I checked into a hotel and let Muffin out of his carrier.

He was uneasy in the unfamiliar room and wandered around, sniffing everything.

I filled his bowls with food and water, then collapsed onto the soft bed. For the first time, I felt how exhausted I was, both physically and emotionally.

I slept for hours. By the time I woke up, it was already dark outside.

Valenne was beautiful at night, with its famous tower glowing against the skyline, but I wasn't in the mood to admire it.

I turned on my phone and found countless missed calls from Adam, our mutual friends, and my parents.

My WhatsApp was flooded too. Adam had sent dozens of messages: [Where are you?]

[Why aren't you answering your phone?]

[Why did you leave the wedding shoot without waiting for me?]

[Emily, what is this about now?]

[Whatever's wrong, we can talk about it. Stop disappearing on me.]

[I'm worried about you. Call me back.]

His tone had shifted from accusatory to irritated, then finally to concern that felt completely fake.

I stared at the messages without expression.

Then I blocked him everywhere. WhatsApp, phone calls, every possible way he could contact me. After that, I deleted him from everything.

Next came our so-called friends. Not one of them had checked on me during all the times Adam disappeared, so I deleted them too.

My life had never felt cleaner.

I called my parents back and told them work had been stressful, so I'd gone away for a while to clear my head. I told them not to worry.

They reminded me to stay safe and didn't suspect a thing. I'd always been the daughter they were proud of: responsible, independent, and never someone they had to worry about.

After I hung up, I started taking care of what mattered.

I emailed the wedding planner and canceled the wedding scheduled for the following month. I told her to keep the deposit as the cancellation fee.

Then I canceled the reception venue and catering, followed by the remaining wedding vendors, the emcee, and the bridal makeup artist.

I canceled every arrangement I had made myself, one by one.

By the time I finished, it felt as though I had completed some enormous project.

Last, I opened my banking app.

Adam and I had split the down payment on the home we were supposed to share. I transferred my 150-thousand-dollar contribution back into my personal account.

My phone vibrated with the transfer confirmation, and for the first time in days, I smiled.

For the next few days, I barely left the hotel. I stayed with Muffin, read books, watched movies, or sat there doing nothing.

I moved through everything like a machine, calmly severing every tie I had to Adam, both practical and financial.

On the tenth day, I got a call from an unfamiliar number from back home.

I hesitated, then answered.

I already knew it was him. He always found a way to reach me.