After the Final Goodbye Chapter 03
The wire transfer cleared almost instantly on the day we closed on the house.
Timmediately moved the funds into a brand-new account, finalized my withdrawal paperwork at the university, and secured our travel documents.
That weekend, a mutual friend invited me to a party at a private club, and I accepted.
I didn’t want anyone to notice that something was off about me. These mafia men could easily destroy whatever peace I was trying to build for myself.
When I walked into the private room, I saw that both Julian and Adrian were there. Elena sat between them.
Two Dons, fawning over a college girl. How romantic.
After a few rounds of drinks, Elena shook a dice cup and offered a sweet, playful smile. “Let’s play King! The King can order any two people to do absolutely anything!”
The room erupted into cheers, and neither Julian nor Adrian objected.
Elena pulled the King card on the very first round, raising her hand in excitement.
“I order number two and number five to reenact the classic Titanic scene! I’m the king of the world!”
The room instantly buzzed as everyon Number two.
Auto-added to the Library own at mine, my heart sinking.
Julian held up the number five card, his brow furrowed in irritation.
“Julian! Get up there! You too, Bella!”
The crowd shoved us toward the low coffee table. I stood there, completely off guard and awkward, while Julian was pushed right in front of me, looking thoroughly reluctant.
Adrian even chimed in with a laugh. “Come on, Julian. Don’t keep her waiting. Arms out, Bella!”
I stiffly raised my arms and closed my eyes. But the embrace never came. Instead, I got shoved hard.
Elena cheered happily. “See, Julian? That works too, right?”
My foot slipped, and I went flying backward, the back of my head slamming hard against the sharp corner of the glass table.
Sticky drinks and fruit platters rained down on me, soaking me to the skin.
The room went dead silent for a single second before Julian’s signature scoff broke the quiet. “What a buzzkill.”
He didn’t even bother to look down at me as he turned all his attention to Elena. “Are you okay?”
Adrian frowned, looking annoyed. “Bella, watch it. It’s just a game. There’s no need to throw a tantrum.”
Everyone assumed I was faking it for attention, so nobody offered a hand to help me up. All eyes were on Elena.
“I’m so sorry, Bella. I didn’t expect that you wouldn’t be willing to let me touch you,” Elena sobbed, tears streaming down her face.
Julian wrapped his arms around her, whispering soft comforts. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Ignoring the throbbing pain, I dragged myself out of the wreckage and walked straight out of that noisy room.
Three more days and I’d be gone. I clenched my fists, glancing back at the dim lights of the room one last time.
The next day was my birthday.
Perhaps feeling a twinge of guilt over the club incident, Adrian sent a text: [Bella, happy birthday. 7 PM.
Riverview Restaurant. Got us the best table. Don’t be late.]
Shortly after, Julian’s message popped up too: [Happy birthday. Elena didn’t mean it, so don’t take it to heart. We’re celebrating you tonight.]
I stared at the screen. So, this was going to be our final goodbye.
I typed back a simple [Okay] to both of them.
That evening, I took a cab to the restaurant and sat at a window table overlooking the glittering city lights.
At this exact time last year, we were at this very restaurant, and I had been wearing a dress Julian bought 1.
But before we could even order, a single phone call from Elena dragged Julian away.
He told me he’d be right back, so I sat there waiting until the restaurant closed.
Every call to Julian went straight to voicemail, and my texts were completely ignored.
While the other diners and waiters whispered about me, I opened social media and saw a post.
Elena was wearing a ruffled dress, blowing out birthday candles with Julian and Adrian standing on either side of her.
The caption read: [Emergency cake rescue! Who says you have to wait for your actual birthday to celebrate?]
So, my actual birthday mattered significantly less than her sudden craving for cake.
“Bella? What are you thinking about?” Adrian’s voice snapped me back to reality.
While I had been lost in my memories, he and Julian had arrived.
They sat across from me as the waiter served our food.
The table fell into an uncomfortable silence.
Then Adrian raised his wine glass. “Bella, about what happened the other night, I’m really sorry.”
He took a sip.
Julian didn’t say a word, keeping his head down as he cut his steak.
“Come on, Julian. Say something,” Adrian chucked, but his sentence was cut short when his phone buzzed.
He answered it, his expression dropping instantly. “What? She passed out? Which hospital?”
He hung up and looked at me, completely urgent. “Bella, I am so sorry. Elena… it’s acute hypoglycemia. She’s
at Mercy Hospital. I have to go.”
Before I could even open my mouth, Julian was already on his feet, grabbing his coat. “Let’s go. You need help.”
Adrian slid his chair back. “Eat something, Bella. We’ll be back as soon as she’s stable, I promise.”
The door swung shut behind them, and a heavy silence flooded the space.
And just like that, there wouldn’t even be a final goodbye.
I grabbed my coat and signaled to the waiter. “Check, please.”
Outside, the night air was freezing, but my mind had never been clearer.
I pulled out my phone and systematically blocked both of their numbers on everything.
When I got back to the apartment, I did a final count of our luggage and walked into my grandmother’s room.
She was fast asleep, her breathing steady and peaceful.
I kissed her forehead gently. “Grandma, we’re leaving. We’re going somewhere far away. Somewhere beautiful.”
I barely slept that night, checking our passports and plane tickets over and over again.
As dawn broke, I gently nudged my grandmother awake. “Grandma? We’re heading out to a very far, very wonderful place today. Okay?”
Her Alzheimer’s had taken a lot, but her love for me remained completely untouched.
She smiled and nodded. “Okay, Bella. Wherever you go, I go.”
The morning sun streamed beautifully through the airport windows. Holding her hand tightly, I took it one step at a time toward the boarding gate.
Goodbye, Julian. Goodbye, Adrian.
I hope we never cross paths again.