Seraphine returned to the office after her night out, as busy as ever.

The hangover left her with a dull ache in her head. After a morning of meetings, she allowed herself a short break and asked her assistant to bring in an extra-strong coffee.

While waiting, she reached for the private phone that had stayed quiet all night and flipped through the screen.

I floated over to glance at it. Jack had messaged her, asking if she wanted to have dinner that evening. She replied with a simple line, saying she had something on tonight and that they could meet another time.

After that, she scrolled through all her texts and missed calls. It was like she was looking or waiting for something.

Her eyes lowered slightly as she remained silent. Just then, Helen entered the room with a cup of coffee. "Your coffee, Ms. Evans."

"Thanks." Seraphine glanced once more at her phone, then looked up and asked, "Did Hayden call?"

Helen froze for a split second, then quickly replied, "No, he didn't."

Seraphine looked down again and said nothing. Helen seemed confused.

Seraphine probably had never asked about me. After all, I was always the one who showed up.

After finishing the coffee, Seraphine set her phone down and dove right back into her work. At noon, Helen brought her a boxed lunch.

Seraphine took a few bites, but quickly frowned. "Where did this come from?"

"A new restaurant," Helen said, pausing before asking, "Is it not to your liking? I can order something else if you'd like."

"Is it the same place as before?" Seraphine asked again.

"No…" Helen replied hesitantly.

"From now on, stick to the old one," Seraphine said.

Helen gave her a careful look but remained silent.

Seraphine glanced at her. "Is that a problem?"

Helen hesitated, clearly torn, then said the truth. "The previous meals were all brought by Mr. Carter."

She added nervously, "For the past few years, your lunch was always delivered by Mr. Carter. Rain or shine, he was never late. He even told me not to let you know they were from him, in case you refused to eat. That was why I never told you.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Evans. I shouldn't have kept that from you."

Yes, no matter how hard I tried, she would never touch any food from me. Ever since then, I had been careful when I wanted to do something for her. I never asked for her to love me, only that she would let me love her.

Maybe she had just grown used to it now. Now that the taste had changed, she couldn't get used to the difference.

Seraphine said nothing and only waved her hand for Helen to leave. She stared down at the meal, her expression unreadable. I looked too. It was decent and neatly packed. My meals were never extravagant, but they always felt like home and were made with love and care.

She unlocked her phone again to check, and there was still nothing from me. She set it aside and got back to work. By the time she wrapped up for the day, it was late.

She looked at the time before driving home. The house had been quiet for two days.

The staff kept the villa spotless in our absence. When she walked in, the housekeepers were visibly relieved to see her. "Mrs. Carter, you're back. I'll have the kitchen start on dinner."

Seraphine shrugged off her coat and handed it to a maid. Then, turning to the housekeeper, she asked, "Is Mr. Carter home?"

The housekeeper shook her head before asking in a worried tone, "He drove out yesterday morning. He hasn't come back since."

"Alright. Have dinner prepared, then," Seraphine said.

"Yes, Mrs. Carter," the housekeeper replied.

I had been gone for two days. Did she not notice that?

Seraphine climbed the stairs and headed into our bedroom.

She walked around the room and noticed how empty it was. Everything I owned was gone. My clothes, my shoes, and my belongings were all gone. The man who had waited five years for her to come home every day was no longer there.

Only now did she realize that I had really left this place and her.

She looked at the empty room, and her heart felt unexplainably empty. She sat down slowly on the sofa, her eyes falling on the wedding ring shining under the lamplight, the one matching hers.

She picked it up, her eyes flickering with something unreadable. She held the ring tighter, and she seemed to be lost.

Maybe the fact that I was really gone finally hit her.

The next day, Seraphine returned to the office right on time.

The morning meetings were still ongoing when Jack went to find her.

By the time Seraphine got back to her office, she found Jack already waiting. She was mildly surprised. "You didn't say you were coming."

Jack set down the coffee in his hand and stepped toward her with a smile. "Someone was too busy to have dinner with me last night, so I figured I'd stop by in person today."

Seraphine dropped into her chair, glancing at the mountain of paperwork on her desk. "I might not be done anytime soon," she said in a helpless tone.

"That's alright. I'll wait," Jack replied, ever the gentleman.

Time ticked by. An hour slipped past before Seraphine finally cleared the last file from her desk. Just as she rose to take Jack to lunch, her phone buzzed on the table.

She glanced at the caller ID and hesitated before answering. Very few people had her personal number.

The voice on the other end was cold. "Seraphine, it's Zedd. I need you to come down to the station."

She asked calmly, "What's going on?" There was no reason for them to speak unless it had something to do with me.

Zedd's voice was cold as ice. "It's about Hayden. We need your signature to proceed with the cremation."

Cremation required a family member's consent.

My parents were long gone. Other than Seraphine, I had no one else. Even though we had signed the divorce agreement, we never finalized the paperwork. Legally, she was still my next of kin.

Seraphine narrowed her eyes. "What did you just say?" Hayden? A cremation?

Zedd repeated flatly. "We need your signature for Hayden's cremation."

She clearly didn't believe him and replied, "Do you think this is funny?"

"You'll see for yourself when you get here," Zedd said and hung up.

Seraphine let out a cold, sarcastic laugh. "After hiding for two days, now he's pulling this kind of stunt."

Jack stepped closer and asked gently, "Who was that?"

Seraphine blinked out of her thoughts, then gave him a small, apologetic smile. "Sorry, Jack. Something urgent just came up. I won't be able to join you for lunch."

He froze for a second, then quickly masked it with a smile. "That's alright. Work comes first. Let's do lunch another time."

"Okay," Seraphine replied.

She headed for the parking lot. Moments later, she was on the road, driving straight toward the police station.

At the police station, her expression remained indifferent, clearly assuming this was just another one of Zedd's and my games. She thought it was an elaborate attempt to make her stay. She fully expected to find me waiting there with a smug grin, thinking I had won.