Chapter 10
“Why? Why, Audrey? Why did you leave me?” His voice cracked, trembling with a raw desperation.
“What did I do wrong? What was it that made you decide to walk away? You didn’t even give me a chance to explain!”
I almost found myself impressed by his ability to act, how he could weave such a convincing web of grief.
But then, suddenly, the sound of continuous notifications cut through the air. It was my phone–the one I had left at home.
Julian, still wrapped in the fantasy of my supposed kidnapping, had only just realized he hadn’t checked the messages earlier. He rushed to grab the phone, his mind still clouded by his fabricated narrative, convinced it was a ransom demand from the so–called kidnappers.
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I could see the slight, almost smug smile tug at the corners of his lips as he opened the message. It was as if he thought money would solve everything–as if it could somehow prove his love for me and silence everyone around him.
But when he clicked on the message, his confidence faltered. His face shifted from smug satisfaction to utter confusion.
The messages weren‘ t from any kidnappers. They were from Hazel.
An avalanche of messages flooded my phone, nearly filling the entire screen, all from Hazel–messages that mocked me, taunted me, and twisted the knife deeper. Hazel was making sure everyone knew the truth, all while flaunting her twisted claim to Julian’s heart.
The nurse’s words, which had been posted online, were now further twisted by Hazel’s venomous commentary:
“Audrey, you‘ re really something, huh?
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Did you get advice from some so–called shmaster to control Julian’s heart like this? You re playing the disappearance game too, huh? Pretending to have a miscarriage? Is that nurse part of your little stunt, hired by you to act out a whole drama?”
“Audrey, it’s time to give up. Julian loves me, and he promised he‘ d divorce you once I have the baby. All this–this disappearing act–it s nothing but a desperate last attempt to hold onto a man who’s already mine. Don’t make a fool of yourself anymore.”
The messages were a flurry of dense, biting words, each one laced with cruelty. Photos and videos followed, all taken secretly- evidence of their ongoing “love affair” that Julian had yet to admit.
Julian’s fury was palpable as he read through the messages. His eyes darted frantically over the screen, scrolling up as each new, provocative message hit him harder than the last. The truth finally
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dawned on him–I knew about his affair
with Hazel. I had known exactly why I left him. I had watched him play the part of the cheater right in front of me.
“No, no… Audrey, it’s not like that…” His voice cracked, a desperate plea escaping him.
“It’s not like what Hazel said–I really do love you!”
Julian crumpled to the ground, his body
air was
wracked with sorrow, as if the
row, as if the very air suffocating him. It mirrored the pain I felt the day I discovered his betrayal. The exact same suffocating emptiness.
“Audrey, I was wrong. I was wrong, please come back. Just listen to me… listen to my apology, okay?” His voice broke with every word, but I had no sympathy left for him.
“I made a mistake, a moment of confusion. I never expected you to leave me… I didn’t think I’d be without you one day.”
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“Audrey, I swear I was wrong. Please, come back. Let me apologize to you. Please.”
I didn’t have the energy to watch any longer. I quickly exited the live broadcast room, my finger trembling slightly. I feared that if I stayed even one second longer, Julian would find a way to entangle me
once more.
This farce was finally over. The grand “loving wife” act he’d put on for so long had unraveled.
I had no desire to forgive him. No intention. of listening to his apologies. I knew that doing so would only give him peace, something he didn’t deserve. For me, it would change nothing.
I would let go of the past and embrace my new life.
Many months later, I stumbled upon a domestic news article online. It was about
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Julian and Hazel.
The article claimed that Julian had heartlessly dumped Hazel, who was pregnant at the time, leaving her to face a tragic fate. Hazel, devastated, had taken matters into her own hands and driven her car into Julian. Though Julian survived the accident, he was left with a permanent. disability. The collision, however, had caused Hazel to lose the child, and she was now in prison.
I sat there, staring at the screen. After a moment, I turned off my phone. There was no rush in my heart, no anger or sorrow- only stillness.
I had long since let go.
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