09:55
Chapter 13
If it wasn’t for you, Julia would never have divorced me!”
Wait, seriously?” Sarah’s voice was a mix of shock and hope. “You two really split up?”
Nathan didn’t answer. All she could hear was his breathing, rough and uneven. In that moment, Sarah understood–this was real.
Nathan and Julia were actually over?
Sarah could barely hold back a smile; her voice rose, light with excitement. “Nathan, don’t be so down. If Julia left you, that’s on her. She ust didn’t see how amazing you are. If it were me, I’d never let you go. Not in a million years.“}
She took a breath, heart racing. “Nathan, I’ve liked you for so long. Can’t you just give me a chance? Just once, look back at me.”
She waited, everything in her hanging on his answer.
‘No. I can’t. I don’t love you, Sarah. I only love Julia.” Nathan’s voice was cold, the words final.
‘Sarah, haven’t I done enough to repay you all these years? Wasn’t it enough for you until you tore apart my family?“!
Sarah’s lips trembled. “I didn’t mean to, Nathan, I… I just-” love you.”
But before she could finish, Nathan hung up, frustration clear in the sharp click.
He didn’t waste a second before sending people to track down Julia.
The house felt emptier than ever. Nathan stood silent, every inch of him weighed down by loneliness.
He didn’t get it. He’d tried so hard to make things right–apologized, made up for everything, tried to give her what she wanted. Why did Julia still leave him?
She used to forgive him. She used to stay. Why not now?}
He switched phones, calling her over and over.
No answer. Not a single call went through.}
Every number, every message–blocked. He was shut out completely.”
Nathan remembered how she once told him, no matter how mad they got, they should always stay in touch. Even if they fought, they’d never cut each other off. Because you never know what could happen–you never know when you might need each other.
But now, she’d broken that promise.}}
Nathan barely remembered that he’d been the first one to break it.
His tech team worked non–stop for three days, finally tracing Julia to a flight out of the country. She went to France, then bought more tickets, hopping from country to country, even taking trains to random cities.
Which way she really went–no one could say for sure. Finding her was like trying to catch smoke.
They weren’t on home turf anymore. The Haskins family didn’t have the same pull overs
needle in a haystack. It would take time.
Nathan wasn’t surprised.
He refused to give up. He led his people, chasing every lead, day and night.
Looking for Julia was like searching for a
Employees dropped from exhaustion and had to be sent home, but Nathan pushed on, running on nothing but stubbornness.
His assistant hovered for ages before finally working up the nerve to knock and step into the office.
“Mr. Haskins, you can’t keep going like this. Mrs. Haskins is still out there, somewhere in the world. If we just keep looking, we’ll find her eventually.“E
“But if you collapse first, what then? If Mrs. Haskins were here, she’d hate to see you like this. Even if you won’t rest for yourself, do it for her.”
Nathan’s face finally softened at Julia’s name.
He rubbed his eyes, feeling the burn and the ache, and nodded. “Alright. I’ll rest. Give everyone working overtime a bonus, and make sure they get some sleep too. We need everyone at their best if we’re going to find Julia.”
The assistant hurried off to spread the word.
Nathan, legs weak, made his way to the break room and flopped onto the bed, shutting his eyes.
He was exhausted, body and mind, but sleep wouldn’t come.
All he could see was Julia’s cold, determined eyes–her face closed off, untouchable.
Nathan pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the ache settle deep.
09.55
Chapter 13
How did it come to this? They’d loved each other so much. When did everything start to fall apart?\
He lay there for what felt like forever, sleep refusing to come. Dark circles ringed his eyes, his jaw rough with stubble–the picture of a man haunted by regret, chasing the one person he couldn’t let go.
