Love's Final Embrace

Right before I boarded the plane, Daniel called me.

I rejected it without hesitation, but he was persistent, calling me again and again.

I simply turned off my phone and closed my eyes to rest.

Maybe it was exhaustion or relief of finally letting go, but for the first time in a long while, I slept soundly.

By the time I woke up, the plane had already landed. I stepped out of the airport and saw Sarah waiting for me.

I had packed lightly, with only important credentials with me.

She waved at me, and I ran straight into her arms.

"Girl, it's been a long time. I missed you so much," she said, hugging me tightly. "Ugh, it's all Daniel's fault. If he hadn't forced you to give up painting, you'd have been a famous artist too."

Her words brought back those painful memories. Painting used to be my major and passion. But after marrying Daniel, I gave it up.

"Wait a second," Sarah said, pulling back to look at me. "Daniel did everything he could to stop you from coming here. What made him change his mind?"

I told her everything that had happened.

After she heard me out, her face was flushed with anger.

"That's insane," she fumed. "How could he treat you like that? I'm going back with you now and demanding answers from him."

She grabbed my wrist and tried to drag me back inside the airport.

I stopped her. "It's okay. I don't want to see him ever again. Let's not waste our time on people like that."

I had already moved on. Out of the misery, I needed to start fresh.

After a long, exhausting journey, I settled into the room Sarah arranged for me.

Just as I was about to hit the sack, my phone buzzed.

Daniel blew up my phone with messages.

[Jessica, where are you? Why did you leave so early in the morning?"

[I called you countless times. Why weren't you answering? What the hell are you doing?]

[Rely to me.]

[What kind of game are you playing?]

...

I stared at his messages without responding.

When my phone finally went silent, I closed my eyes again.

But then, he sent me more messages.

[What's that agreement in the guest room? You want to divorce me?]

[What are you even mad about? Just because of the allergic reaction yesterday? Seriously?]

[I don't get it. You couldn't handle a little alcohol. Or maybe you were just pretending to embarrass me. How is that my fault? How is that Isabella's fault?]

[How did you become like this? Do you have to pull a stunt like this?]

[And who told you to leave the divorce agreement behind like that?]

[You'd better come back now. If you don't, don't think about stepping foot in this house ever again.]

[If you're not back within an hour, I swear I'll sign it and be done with you.]

I read through his messages and finally replied.

[I'm not going back. Go ahead and sign it.]

For a moment, he didn't send anything back.

Maybe he was in shock. After all, I had always clung to him. He had never thought I'd leave him one day.

For a moment, he didn't believe it. But soon, the reality set in, and he started to panic.

[Jess, are you seriously mad? If you don't wanna drink next time, we won't, okay?]

[Just tell me where you are. I'll come pick you up.]

[Where could you even go? Just send me your location. I'll come right now.]