Arlene POV
The morning shattered with the screech of tires outside. I jolted awake, Julian's heavy arm still draped across my waist. Before I could even process the sound, the bedroom door burst open, and Blair Kidd stood there, a furious tempest in a designer dress.
"Julian! What is she doing here?" She pointed a trembling finger at me as if I were a cockroach.
Julian, groggy from painkillers, blinked at her. "Blair? What are you talking about?"
"You spent the night with her? After everything that happened? After I almost died?" She stomped her foot like a petulant child.
"Blair, calm down."
"Calm down? I put it on social media, Julian! Everyone thinks we're together again! And now this humiliation?" She grabbed a vase from the bedside table and flung it against the wall, where it shattered.
Julian sighed wearily. "Blair, Arlene is my wife." The words sounded hollow, forced.
"Your wife?" Blair sneered, raking her gaze over me. "She's just a contract, Julian. A business arrangement. I'm your soulmate. Your destiny." She pouted, her manipulative charm back. "You need to take me away from all this. Just us. Like we used to."
Julian hesitated, his eyes flickering between us. Then, with a resigned sigh, he ran a hand through his hair. "Fine, Blair. We'll go on a trip. Just you and me. I'll arrange a private jet to my private island. We'll leave this afternoon."
My breath hitched. "Julian, what about my schedule? What about the board meeting next week?"
He turned to me, eyes cold and distant. "You'll come too, Arlene. It's a family trip. For appearances. Don't make a scene. Just pack a bag."
The private island was a gilded cage, miles from civilization, surrounded by vast, indifferent ocean. Blair was in her element, flitting around Julian like a giddy schoolgirl, recounting "their" old memories, deliberately excluding me.
"Remember that time, Julian, when we first came here? We stayed up all night, talking about our dreams, about Aperture Dynamics, about our future together." She shot a triumphant glance at me. "It was magical."
I sat across from them, sipping water, feeling like an unwelcome intruder in my own marriage. My gaze drifted to the horizon. I was adrift, a lonely ship in a meaningless sea.
Julian noticed my silence. "Arlene, you're quiet. Here, have something stronger." He gestured, and a deep amber liquid was placed before me. "It's my favorite scotch."
I looked at the glass, then at him. Scotch gave me terrible headaches. He never paid enough attention to know.
"Blair, darling," Julian said, his voice soft, "are you feeling better now? That nasty accident was quite a shock. My poor brave girl."
He touched her arm, his eyes filled with a concern he had never shown me. In that moment, the last flickering ember of hope within me died. There was nothing left. Absolutely nothing.
I stood up, pushing my chair back with a scrape that echoed loudly. "I need some air."
Julian looked up, surprised. "Where are you going? Dinner is almost ready."
"Just to the beach. To clear my head. The air here is... oppressive."
"Don't wander too far. This island is vast. You wouldn't want to get lost."
I met his gaze, a sharp, cold glint in my eyes. "Oh, Julian. I assure you, I'm already lost. And I have been for a very long time."
I turned and walked away, not looking back. My phone was already in my hand, a pre-written message waiting to be sent. The message was to Chloe.
As I walked towards the secluded cove, I saw them in the distance—Julian and Blair, their silhouettes intertwined against the setting sun. He was holding her close, whispering in her ear, and her head was thrown back in laughter. They looked like a picture of perfect happiness. A happiness I was never a part of.
My finger hovered over the send button. The divorce decree is already in my suitcase, signed by a husband who never bothered to read what he was signing. The flight is booked under a name he doesn't know. The new life is waiting.
A quiet resolve settled in my soul. It's time.
