Arlene POV
The soft click of the bedroom door echoed in the silent room. I froze, my hand hovering over the half-packed suitcase. Julian? Back already?
I quickly pushed the suitcase under the bed, throwing a silk scarf over the scattered items. My movements were practiced, a silent ballet born of three years of hiding.
The door swung open. Julian stood there, a terrifying silhouette against the dim hallway light. His expensive suit was torn, his face bruised and bleeding. A hunting knife, blade glinting, was still clutched in his hand.
He stared at me, chest heaving, gaze unseeing. Then he dropped the knife—a harsh punctuation mark in the silence—and began stripping off his ruined clothes, revealing a deep, bloody gash across his ribcage.
"Julian! What happened?"
He sank onto the edge of the bed. "Blair. It was a trap. Those men—they weren't after her. They were after me. She used me as bait."
"Is she alright?"
"She ran. As soon as things went south, she disappeared." He shook his head. "Always the damsel in distress, but never the one to stand her ground."
I moved towards him, reaching for the first-aid kit. I cleaned the wound, my fingers brushing against his warm skin. He flinched, but didn't pull away.
His phone buzzed. A notification: Your flight to the Maldives has been canceled.
His eyes snapped open, locking onto mine. "Maldives? Arlene, what is this?"
My heart pounded. "A surprise. I thought—after tonight, after all the stress—we could use a getaway. A romantic escape."
He stared at me, searching for the truth. Then a flicker of belief softened his features. "A romantic escape. You did this for us?" His voice held an emotion I hadn't heard in years: wistful hope. He actually bought it. He was so self-centered he couldn't imagine me wanting to escape him. He could only imagine me wanting to please him.
I finished bandaging his wound. "There. It's done."
He reached out, grasping my arm. "The letters, Arlene. The ones Arthur read tonight. Were they... were they real?"
I met his gaze, my eyes devoid of emotion. "They were a long time ago, Julian. A lifetime ago. I was a different person then. Foolish. Naive."
"And now? What do you feel now, Arlene?"
"Now? Now, I don't dream, Julian. Not anymore."
He tried to bridge the distance between us, his hand reaching for my face. I turned away, my body rigid.
"Don't. You smell like Blair. And blood."
He froze. "You've changed, Arlene. You're not the woman I married."
"No, Julian. I'm not. The woman you married died a long time ago. You just never noticed."
He grabbed my wrist, grip tight. "But you're still my wife, Arlene. I'm hurt. I need you."
"I took care of your wound. That's my duty. But that's all it is now, Julian. Just duty."
I turned my back to him, pulling the covers over myself—a silent barrier. He lay beside me, rigid and silent.
"You'll regret this, Arlene. You'll be alone, just like me."
He turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness. Then he wrapped his injured arm around me, pulling me against his warm body—a possessive, suffocating embrace.
I lay there, stiff and unmoving, my eyes wide open in the dark.
Tomorrow, I thought, I will set the final piece in motion. The divorce decree is already signed. The papers are folded inside my suitcase. My flight is booked under a name he doesn't know. My new identity is waiting. All that remains is to walk away—and never look back.
I didn't know, lying there in the dark, that tomorrow would be the day Blair Kidd decided to walk back in.
