Chapter 7

When Rodger woke up, he was the only one left in the bed.

He instinctively called out, "Nicole?"

There was no response.

Feeling a bit annoyed, he thought I was throwing a tantrum again. He got out of bed.

He assumed that I had gone grocery shopping. He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge door, only to find it empty.

By noon, I still hadn't come home.

He called me, but he met with a cold, automated voice telling him my phone was turned off.

Rodger felt restless.

He complained to Jolene, who was nearby. "Did you make it too obvious about the pregnancy yesterday? Did she find out?"

Jolene felt a bit guilty but remained nonchalant. "So what if she did? Anyway, she can get pregnant again. She can't stop me from giving birth to your baby."

By evening, I hadn't come home.

Rodger was starting to panic.

Jolene clung to his arm and tried to comfort him. "She's just playing games. She was a housewife, and where could she possibly go? Just ignore her. She'll come crawling back in a couple of days."

Rodger forced himself to believe that.

He decided to handle it passively and not go to look for me.

The next day, Rodger was about to go to work. When he opened the closet to find some clothes, he stood there, stunned.

More than half of the wardrobe was empty.

All of my clothes, handbags, and shoes... were gone.

An overwhelming sense of emptiness engulfed him and caused him to panic.

He rushed out of the place and went to all the places I frequented, but he didn't find me.

He asked the housekeeper, and the latter replied with a voice carrying fear. "Nicole said she was going somewhere far away... I thought you knew it.

Miss Chapman says that she'd be the hostess of the house from now on, so I didn't dare say anything."

Rodger finally realized something was wrong.

He dashed back home frantically and headed straight for the safe in the study.

It was where I kept Jacob's ashes.

His hands trembled as he entered the password. He even failed several times.

Eventually, a date flashed in his mind. It was the date he had tried hard to forget.

He entered the date when Jacob died.

With a beep, the safe opened.

It was empty, and the black velvet box was gone.

In the center of the safe, a document lay quietly.

He picked it up. It was a divorce agreement, and I had signed it.

He turned it over and saw my delicate yet resolute handwriting. It struck him like a dagger to the heart. "Rodger, you once promised we'd grow old together. Now, I leave that promise to you, as I go to stay with Jacob. You and I will never meet again."