After the Final Goodbye Chapter 04
Two weeks later in London, my grandmother and I had settled into our new life.
I rented a charming little apartment with a garden right near campus. Grandma loved the sunshine and the lush green grass, and she was already making plans to plant a patch of roses out there.
I had changed all my contact information and cut myself off completely from my old life.
But life always has a way of bringing unexpected surprises.
[Oh my god, Bella, Julian and Adrian are losing their minds.]
An email from Shaya arrived, packed with the latest university gossip. She was the only person back home!
could still somewhat trust.
According to Shaya, when they couldn’t reach me, they practically broke down the door to my old house.
A middle-aged man with a thick beard answered, thoroughly annoyed, and told them flat-out that he had bought the place cash two weeks ago.
Julian had just stood there on the porch, completely stunned.
Refusing to give up, Adrian used his connections to pull the property records. But there it was in black and white-I was no longer the owner.
Next, they went to the university. The department told them that I had taken a semester off to care for a sick family member.
Shaya: [They’re looking everywhere for you! I swear they’re about to start putting up missing persons flyers on the streets!]
Meanwhile, Elena’s world completely imploded. Without me around to ghostwrite her thesis, she resorted to pasting together plagiarized paragraphs and hiring a cheap ghostwriter.
During her defense, the academic board caught the plagiarism immediately.
Shaya: [Her paper matched a professor’s article from ten years ago word-for-word. Oh my god, how could she be that stupid!]
Reading the text, I could practically hear Shaya’s roaring laughter.
The university placed Elena on academic probation and permanently revoked her degree eligibility. Years of hard work, all down the drain.
She went crying to Julian, but this time, he didn’t offer a single word of comfort.
He just stared down at her, his voice cold. “So, Isabella did all your homework and projects?”
Her sobbing stopped instantly. Julian got his answer, turned his back on her, and ordered his soldiers to drag Elena out of his sight.
Right after that, Adrian used every underworld connection he had to track airline passenger manifests
But he found absolutely nothing.
Shaya: [I haven’t even seen him around lately. Word on the street is he hasn’t left his house in a week.]
Time can be a healer, but it can also be a slow poison.
A year later, my life in London was incredibly quiet and fulfilling. Everything was perfect. After wrapping up
my semester, I landed an internship at one of the top global design firms.
Grandma’s condition had improved significantly, as if the London air was curing her. She even started having broken conversations with the elderly British lady next door.
They would sit outside together, one gesturing wildly while the other listened intently, becoming the best of friends.
To celebrate my internship, I took her out for a picnic in Hyde Park. The sun was warm, and the weather was simply too beautiful to resist, so I snapped a quick photo of us.
On a total whim, I posted the picture to a social media account I hadn’t touched in ages.
I completely forgot that my account privacy settings were wide open.
That single photo was like a massive boulder crashing into a stagnant pond, causing an absolute frenzy in my old circle.
Shaya messaged me instantly with a flurry of screenshots and exclamation points.
Shaya: [Bella, it’s hilarious! Julian and Adrian have been tearing the world apart looking for you. They’re probably booking flights to London right this second!]
Almost instantaneously, their comments materialized right under the post.
Julian: [Bella, where are you? Come home. I’m sorry.]
Adrian: [Tell me where you are. I’m coming right now.]
I wasn’t about to let those two bastards mess up my life again. I deleted the post and locked down my account.
But that didn’t stop them.
After losing her degree, Elena completely unraveled and blamed me for everything.
Desperate and broke, she went to Adrian to play her very last card. “Give me money, Adrian. Give it to me, or I’m telling Julian everything.”.
Adrian looked entirely exhausted, his eyes bloodshot. “How much?”
Then, a chilling voice echoed from right behind him. “Tell me what?”
Adrian froze Julian stood in the doorway, framed by the backlight, his expression utterly unreadable
Elena flipped sides in a heartbeat, throwing herself toward Julian and screaming at the top of her lungs Julian! I was never sick! I have massive gambling debts! Adrian paid me to fake it and drag you out of the
country for medical treatments just so he could get close to Isabella!”
Julian’s mind went entirely blank as he stared at Adrian-his best friend.
Adrian didn’t even try to deny it. He simply closed his eyes, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
“Adrian!” Julian roared and threw a punch.
The two men who had once seamlessly allied with each other to protect Elena had completely turned on one another, tearing each other apart over Isabella.