Chapter 2

At four in the morning, I got back home.

I didn't bother packing any clothes.

I didn't bother with memories.

I just grabbed my passport, ID, and bank card.

And the old watch my dad left me.

Before I left, I stood at the bedroom door and took one last look.

Emily rolled over, mumbled something in her sleep, and drifted off again.

I turned and walked away.

No note.

No WhatsApp message.

I left nothing behind.

At five in the morning, I drove to the airport.

I grabbed a ticket for the next flight out to Doobaie.

While I was waiting for my flight, I called Tom.

He'd just gone to bed, his voice all groggy. "What time is it, man?"

"Hey Tom, I got the offer," I said.

"What offer?" he mumbled.

"From your company, the one you told me to send my resume for, three months ago," I reminded him.

There was a three-second pause on the other end.

Then I heard him rustling in bed.

"Holy shit, for real? You actually got it?" he blurted out.

"Yeah, 4 million dollars," I said.

"Damn! So are you coming or not?" he asked.

"I'm at the airport right now," I replied.

Tom was stunned.

"My flight's at eight. You gonna pick me up?" I said.

Tom was wide awake now. "Man, this is crazy sudden! What about your wife? Your kid? Aren't you even gonna say anything to your family?"

I leaned back in my chair in the airport lounge, staring out at the lights on the tarmac.

"Tom," I said.

"Huh?" he said.

"That kid isn't mine," I said.

There was silence on the other end.

For a long time.

Then Tom said, "When you get here, I'll treat you to the most expensive buffet in all of Doobaie."

I laughed.

It was the first time I'd actually laughed in a month.

"Deal," I said.

After hanging up, I switched my phone to airplane mode.

After that, Emily blew up my phone with forty-seven calls.

She sent more than a hundred WhatsApp messages.

I didn't read a single one.

The plane took off right at eight o'clock.

I pressed my forehead to the glass, watching the city below get smaller and smaller.

Thirty-two years of life, five years of marriage, more than a thousand days and nights.

I left it all behind, right there on that ground.

I shut my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, it felt like I'd stepped into a whole new world.