Homecoming to an Empty Heart

After freshening up, Julia left the house to meet Diane Morton, Elijah's mother.

The server at the cafe approached and asked politely, "What would you like to drink, ma'am?"

"Just a glass of water with a slice of lemon, please."

Diane snorted disdainfully. "I don't know what my son sees in you. He plays the piano, paints, and enjoys opera. What about you? You have no taste or any understanding of refined culture. Do you two even have anything in common?"

Julia looked at Diane, fully aware that Diane had never truly accepted her.

"That doesn't matter anymore."

Diane was startled by Julia's indifferent attitude. She recalled how Julia used to always try and curry favor with her, smiling regardless of the insults Diane threw her way. It seemed like Julia finally developed a temper.

Meanwhile, Julia didn't care what Diane was thinking.

She placed a debit card on the table and said, "I know that you and Frank have never liked me. You two come from a well-educated and distinguished family. You hate my job, my personality, and my educational background. You think I'm not good enough for Elijah.

"Well, how do you feel about Juliette, then? Or if you have some other candidate in mind, I don't mind either."

Diane was stunned.

Eyeing Julia in dissatisfaction, she snapped, "Did you fall and land on your head, Julia? You're the one who insisted on becoming some kind of police captain. You refused to stay at home to look after your kid. Whenever you get a case, you're always gone for up to two weeks.

"We asked you to switch to a desk job, but you refused. Why are you making it sound like we're the ones trying to separate you and Elijah?"

Julia didn't try to deny it. After all, from a different perspective, Diane had a point.

She shoved the debit card a little closer to Diane, saying, "There's 120 thousand dollars in this account. I know it takes a lot of money to raise a child, but that's all the savings I have right now. Elijah will probably have another child once he marries again.

"People always say that having a stepparent jeopardizes the child's relationship with the biological parent. You and Frank have always adored Coby. If necessary, I hope you'll take him in and raise him yourselves."

Diane leaned backward as if to get a better look at Julia. "Why are you acting like you're giving your final will and testament? What are you up to now?"

Julia didn't want to have her actions misjudged. "All you need to know is that your son will soon be free."

"Why would I be free soon?" Elijah's voice rang out from behind.

Julia and Diane looked up to see Elijah standing at the entrance of the cafe with Juliette clinging affectionately to his arm.

Diane was just about to speak, but Julia beat her to it. "It's nothing. Shouldn't you be at the hospital right now?"

Elijah glanced at Juliette before saying with a hint of affection that he himself wasn't even aware of in his voice, "I don't have any surgeries scheduled today, and Juliette said she wanted to have some cake here, so I brought her over."

"So she likes eating the Sparkling Lia, too, huh?" Julia remarked with a mocking expression.

This cafe belonged to the Sherwoods, and the Sparkling Lia was a cake that Elijah had specifically created for Julia to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. It wasn't sold to the public. In the past, only the two of them and Coby had eaten it before.

Well, it was still going to belong to a happy family of three, but Julia wasn't going to be a part of that equation anymore.

The certainty in Julia's voice felt like a slap in the face to Elijah. Feeling guilty, he averted his eyes.

Juliette had already approached Diane to suck up to her, so she overheard the exchange as well. Resisting the urge to smile, she said pitifully, "I had such a tough childhood, Julia. Food and supplies were scarce on the island. I'm not like you, who got to eat everything you wanted.

"After Eli mentioned the taste of the Sparkling Lia, I wanted to try it for myself, too. Once I did, I took quite a liking to it. That's why I keep asking Eli to bring me over for some cake. You won't mind, right, Julia?"

Julia picked up on all the subtle provocation laced within Juliette's words. Grinning, she remarked, "It'd be even better if you could get him to create a cake for you as well."

Elijah, who was just about to sit beside Juliette, was infuriated by Julia's remark. "Julia! Have you forgotten what the Sparkling Lia represents?"

The cake was named after her. It was meant to signify that she, Julia, would always sparkle like a star in the sky. It was also a representation of Elijah's love and devotion to no one but her.

This was what he'd said to her when he first placed the cake in front of her.

"You're the one who forgot what it meant," Julia calmly replied before rising to her feet. "Since there's nothing else for me to say, I'm heading home now."

Elijah's immediate reaction was to stop her. "It's been ages since you last had a piece of the cake."

Julia shook his hand off. "No thanks. Are you not leaving, Diane?"

Diane wasn't interested in sticking around to listen to Juliette chattering away with feigned innocence, which annoyed her even more than Julia ever did.

"Let's go," she said as she got up as well.

Diane was even more disapproving of Juliette than Julia.

After exiting the cafe, Julia said to Diane, "For Elijah's and Coby's sakes, I hope you won't tell them about the conversation we had today."

She didn't think the two would regret their actions if they found out she was leaving. Even if she died, they probably wouldn't be sad at all. On the contrary, they'd happily welcome Juliette into the family.

Julia just wanted the last few days before her departure to pass without any trouble.