Chapter 64

I didn't know if he was the culprit for lying, or if I was the culprit for letting him.

Gabriel left. And I let him. I pretended to be okay. I pretended to smile at him, to kiss him goodbye at the door. He called after he'd reached home that night, and I pretended to be perfectly okay when he told me he was home, even though I wondered if Lily was lying next to him in our bed.

She called, and he left. I was more important than his impending work, but not than her. I pretended that didn't break my heart the way it did.

I signed the papers the lawyer brought me, dodged calls from my work friends (probably wondering why their boss had returned to work but I hadn't), and then told Gabriel I needed a few more days here to say goodbye to my grandfather's belongings.

And I did. Now that Alister and Gabriel were gone, I could go through my grandfather's things and put them in his wardrobe. I didn't have the heart to give them away or donate them just yet, but maybe someday.

It had been three days since Gabriel left, and he called every day—sometimes even three times a day. I answered each call, pretending things were completely okay between us, while I was drowning in self-doubt.

Overthinking became my best friend on the journey back home. That call, her name—it all seemed like a reality check I wasn't ready for, especially not after my grandfather's death. I wanted to preserve things as they were, but I knew I couldn't. It had been six months since we were married. Our six months were over.

Gabriel didn't know I was coming back today because I hadn't planned to. I realized how much I had been sulking and that any answer I got after going home couldn't be worse than the assumptions I'd made, so I decided to head home.

I called Gabriel before leaving, but his phone was switched off. For the rest of the drive, I was hit with a wave of grief as I locked my childhood home, the keys feeling heavy in my bag.

When I arrived, I assumed Gabriel would be at work.

"You're back?" Luna asked as soon as she spotted me on my way to my room. Before I could reply, she flung herself into my arms. "I missed you."

I melted into the hug. "I missed you too."

She pulled away. "The house doesn't feel the same when you're not around, Sofia."

I gave her a small smile, not telling her this was technically the last day of my marriage. This was the day I had dreaded for months. "Has Gabriel been around?"

"Only at nights," she replied. "He seemed tired."

He probably was, since he barely slept when he was with me. I couldn't sleep much either. Sorrow does that to me. It keeps me awake with a fright and fear I can't shake. "Has he…" I hesitated. "Has he had anyone home while I wasn't around?"

Luna seemed confused. "Like guests?"

"No." The discomfort was clear in my tone. "Like girls. Like… Lily."

Her eyes widened, and she looked panicked.

I repeated, "Has she been coming around?"

"No," Luna shook her head. "Nobody liked her here anyway. Good riddance."

"Are you lying to me, Luna?" I asked. I wasn't a distrustful person, but her panic made me suspicious. And, not to forget, if Gabriel can lie to me, he can ask his employees to lie as well.

"No," she shook her head faster. "I swear."

I sighed. "Okay."

"Is everything okay?"

I nodded. "Just tired. I'm going to head to my room, okay?"

By "my room," I meant Gabriel's. I tried his number again to tell him I was home, but his phone was still off. I didn't have his new assistant's number (since Peter was still on leave), so I called Ethan.

Ethan was usually broody and quiet, the only one in the group who would answer my question without asking a million in return. He thankfully picked up, but it wasn't his voice; it was Liv's. I facepalmed almost as soon as I heard her voice. "Hello?"

"Hey Liv? It's me, Sophia," I said.

"Guys! Guys! It's Soph! Soph is calling! Ethan, you idiot, you couldn't save her number?" Her voice was muffled, and there were many voices around her. I checked the time and realized it was lunch break.

"Liv, are you there?"

"Yes! Yes! Sorry. Mike got excited seeing your call. He tried snatching the phone. I won!" She almost seemed proud. "Anyway, we've all been calling you every day. Why are you ghosting us?"

"Liv, I'll explain everything later," I promised. "I need to talk to Gabriel, and his phone is off. Can you please, please, please go to his office and let me talk to him?"

There was silence for a few seconds. "Sophia… I can't do that."

"I know it's your lunch break, Liv, I promise I'll ask Gabriel to give you ten extra minutes. It's just really urgent—"

She cut me off. "No, you idiot, it's not that. Of course I'd sacrifice my lunch break for you. It's just that… he isn't at work."

"Oh."

She added, "He hasn't been coming in for about ten days now. I mean, he did drop in for an hour or so a couple of days ago. Wait…" Her voice turned muffled again. "Guys, when did the boss come in? Are you sure?" It became loud again. "Like three days ago, Soph."

The day after he got back from my grandfather's place. He really had lied. Every day I asked him how his day was, every day he talked about being at the office and working all day, and it was all a lie.

My heart sank again. Tears I hadn't cried in three days threatened to return, and I took a deep breath. I had cried so much in the past ten days; I couldn't cry anymore.

"Yes, yes. You're right," I managed to say. "I had completely forgotten he isn't coming to work. Right. Shit. Sorry, Liv. I'll call you back, okay?"

I hung up, entering my room and falling onto the bed. Gabriel's scent lingered in the sheets and the blanket we shared, and it made me want to scream.

Luna said he had been here every night, but I knew it was a lie because everything in this room was as I'd left it, including the jacket I'd worn the day my grandfather died—one I'd changed right before I left and thrown on the bed. It was untouched.

No one had been in this room. Not the cleaners, not Luna, and especially not Gabriel. Everything was exactly the same except for a white folder on the table, which I was sure was one of Gabriel's files. Maybe he had been in this room (because the housekeepers weren't allowed inside when we weren't there), but he definitely hadn't slept in this bed.

Where had he been sleeping these past few nights? Why was he lying to me?

I called Zach. Just as I thought he wouldn't answer, he did. "Hey Sophia."

"Hi Zach, is my husband with you?"

"Nah. I asked that bastard to meet last night, but he's apparently been drowning himself in work since he skipped a week."

"Is he?" I asked, my voice breaking. "Where was he last night?"

"Work," Zach sounded confused. "Why? Is everything okay? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yes. His phone's just switched off, so…"

"No. It isn't."

I blinked. "It isn't?"

"No, I'm sure it isn't. I just called him a couple of minutes ago. He didn't pick up, but it wasn't switched off."

"Oh, perfect. Thanks a lot. Bye." I hung up before he could ask me anything else, because I knew he would.

Gabriel wasn't just lying to me; he was lying to everyone, including his best friend.

My heart rate picked up when I dialed him again, and this time, the call went through.