Chapter 21

The night was sharp with cold when Julian returned home, his expression as bleak as the air outside. Paula rose nervously from the couch, wringing her hands."What happened?" His low voice cut through the silence,weighted with unease.

Her eyes darted before she answered, "Ms. Adams stopped by this afternoon. She spoke with Mrs.Powell for a while, and then Mrs. Powell..." Her voice trailed off, avoiding the rest.

Paula didn't mention seeing Yvonne quietly packing that morning. In her heart, she blamed every crack in the marriage on that interloper, Rita, and prayed Julian would finally recognize it before it was too late.

Julian's brow knitted into a hard line the moment Rita's name entered the air. He pressed down the surge of anger roiling in his chest,pulled out his phone,and dialed her number.

On the other end, Rita's voice was light with surprise."Julian? Why are you calling at this hour? If you're free,why don't you come over and..."

His interruption was swift, his tone edged with ice. "Did you go see Yvonne today?" Rita hesitated, her lashes trembling as her voice broke into a pitiful murmur. "Did Yvonne say something to you? You know she can't stand me..."

Julian pressed his fingers hard against his temple, a dull throb building behind his eyes. "I want to know exactly what you told her. She's moved out."

For an instant, Rita's pupils lit up with secret triumph,but she quickly masked it, widening her eyes in mock disbelief. "Moved out? That's impossible... Julian, I only tried to explain what was between us so she wouldn't get the wrong idea. I never thought it would push her to this." Her voice wavered, each word trembling as if she were on the verge of tears.

Julian gave no reaction, his expression unreadable.After a long silence, he finally spoke, his tone flat and stripped of warmth. "I see."

He ended the call without waiting for her reply, then stood rooted to the spot, his gaze distant, his thoughts tangled in the heavy quiet of the room.

Only now did it hit him-Yvonne hadn't been bluffing this time. Her phone had been powered off, and even after he sent Morton to check the villa's surveillance,not a single camera had caught her leaving.

The woman who had once clung to him so desperately, enduring humiliation just to stay by his side, had now chosen to disappear without a trace.

After what felt like an endless stretch of emptiness,he dragged his weary body back into the bedroom they used to share.

Paula had said Yvonne left with nothing more than a suitcase and the puppy, yet as Julian scanned the space, it felt stripped bare. Every trace of her-her perfume, her books, the little touches she'd left behind-was gone, as though she had never lived there at all.

A dull, inexplicable ache settled in his chest. He told himself it was nothing more than anger at her sudden vanishing act, irritation at the thought of Rodger's fury once he found out, and the bitter hatred of watching everything slip from his control.

Julian's gaze landed on the bedside table, where something unfamiliar caught his eye. A jolt ran through him, and he crossed the room in long strides.Resting there was a freshly printed divorce agreement -and beside it, a blue diamond bracelet.

The sight struck him like a blow. He recognized the piece instantly. It was the bracelet he had once given Yvonne,the one she had cherished so much that it never left her wrist.

Yet now, among all the belongings she had taken, this was the one thing she had deliberately left behind.

The realization hollowed his chest. His expression hardened as he closed his fingers around the cool gemstone, clenching it so tightly his knuckles whitened.

Far away in a hotel room, Yvonne slipped off her mask and let herself sink into the sofa.A long,weary breath escaped her lips as her gaze drifted upward,unfocused, to the ceiling.

For the first time, it sank in-she had truly walked away from Julian. She knew she might cross paths with countless people in the years ahead. But deep down, she also knew there would never again be someone she loved with the same fierce devotion she had once given to him.

Yvonne lifted her hand to block the light, a quiet laugh slipping from her lips as she forced herself back into the present.

Her world couldn't keep circling around love. Walking away from Julian meant carving out a new beginning,not drowning in sorrow.

With that reminder, she drew in a steady breath,steadied her emotions, and slid her laptop onto her knees to check her inbox.

A week earlier, she had already started emailing her resume to directors and producers she once collaborated with, hoping someone would offer her another chance.

Long before her life got tangled with Julian's, she had been the star student at Kumvine Film Academy, the one everyone admired. Straight out of graduation,she landed a role as an assistant director in an international film directed by the world-renowned Vivian Oliver.

Back then, everyone had believed she was destined to become the brightest new director of her generation.Yet in the end, she had abandoned it all to step into the quiet, confining life of a housewife.

The more she thought about it, the more she loathed how foolish she'd once been.

The barren inbox glared back at her, a cruel reminder of how far she had fallen. Yvonne's fingers hovered stiffly over the keyboard, her chest heavy with discouragement.

Three years earlier, offers had poured in-scripts from acclaimed directors, invitations she had once taken for granted. Yet now, despite sending her resume everywhere she could, not a single reply came back.

Still, Yvonne refused to surrender. She had braced herself for this silence. Three years away from the spotlight was a lifetime in the cutthroat world of entertainment, and she knew the only way forward was to start again from the ground up.

So she pressed on, sending application after application, her determination flickering like a stubborn flame. Just as despair threatened to swallow her, a sharp ding pierced the stillness-a long-awaited email had finally arrived.