Chapter 10
After leaving the hospital, Julian noticed it was still early. He decided to go. home and take Saoirse out for a meal to make up for the neglect over the
past few days.
However, when he got home, he found the room unusually dark instead of lit up as usual. He checked his watch–it was 9:30 pm. Was Saoirse asleep already? Was she out and not home yet?
Julian wasn’t sure, but the house was eerily quiet, and it didn’t seem like anyone was around. Having been out all day and covered in sweat, he went straight to the bathroom.
Half an hour later, he came out with his hair still damp.
Saoirse was nowhere to be seen.
His brows furrowed in confusion. He didn’t remember Saoirse ever being this late before. Why hadn’t she come home?
As he walked to her bedroom and gently pushed open the slightly ajar door, he froze in shock. The walls, which used to be adorned with photos, and artwork, were now completely bare. The bed was empty as well.
Unable to believe his eyes, Julian rubbed them several times. However, the emptiness in the room remained. He threw down the towel he was using to dry his hair and rushed into the room. He looked around frantically, opening drawers and the wardrobe but finding nothing.
Had Saoirse moved out with all her things?
The thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. Panicking, he rushed out of the bedroom to check every other room in the apartment.
The bookshelf in the study was half–empty, the bathroom contained only his belongings, the living room was missing its blanket and stuffed animals, and the kitchen had none of the cups she had bought…
With each item he found missing, Julian’s heart sank deeper into despair.
When he finally realized that there were no traces of Saoirse left in the apartment, he felt a heavy blow to his head. His ears were ringing with. disbelief.
His face was full of shock, and his breathing became erratic. The veins on the back of his hand popped out as he gripped the edge of the table with all his strength. His panicked eyes, staring blankly, finally fell on the calendar in front of him marked with a “0.”
Even more glaring than the “0” was a sentence written in black ink.
As his vision was sharp, he read the message in one glance.
“Let’s break up.”
Shakily, he snatched the calendar and brought it closer to his face. The words “break up” struck him like heavy stones to his eyes, instantly turning his vision a furious red.
Was Saoirse… breaking up with him?
The thought crashed into his mind, and Julian’s emotions spiraled out of control. He grabbed his phone, dialed Saoirse’s number with trembling. hands, and waited through the long, monotonous ringing before hearing the voicemail that indicated that her phone was off.
The unanswered call felt like a bucket of cold water poured over him. In a frenzy, he grabbed his jacket, threw it on over his pajamas, and dashed out of the apartment in slippers. He hailed a cab and sped to the campus.
Before the curfew, he arrived at the female dormitory and stopped a female student, asking her to get Saoirse from Room 508.
Ten minutes later, the dormitory door opened, and Julian’s heart skipped a beat. However, his anticipation turned into disappointment when the person who appeared was not Saoirse but her roommate, Queenie Xander.
Seeing the usually composed campus heartthrob disheveled and panicked surprised Queenie.
Julian? What are you doing here?”
“Where is Saoirse? Tell her to come down!” Julian demanded, his voice
3/7
urgent.
Queenie was even more shocked after hearing his words.
“She’s not in the dorm. Her flight’s today. Didn’t you know?”
Hearing about the flight, Julian didn’t think twice before turning and running out of the campus. On his way to the airport, he tried calling
Saoirse again. When the call finally connected, his heart, which had been plummeting in the darkness, steadied, only for it to be replaced by a surge of fury.
