27 Calls 2 Wristbands 1 Empty Anniversary Chapter 09
A week after I moved out, Julian showed up.
I wasn’t surprised. When I bought this apartment, I’d dragged him here to see it. Excited.
He looked wrecked. Bloodshot eyes. Stubble dark along his jaw. His tailored shirt was wrinkled. Two buttons undone. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
“Sophie. Come home. Please.”
His voice was hoarse. Nothing like him.
I frowned.
“I said divorce. Are you not hearing me?”
Emotion surged. He reached for my hands. “Why does it have to be divorce? Because of Coachella? I’ll take you next time. I promise. Okay?”
I blocked the door. Kept my hands out of reach.
“Nothing you say will change my mind.”
He wasn’t giving up.
“Maddie was in Europe for years. When she came back, I just wanted to help her adjust. That’s all.”
“I swear, there’s nothing between us. If you don’t like her, I’ll keep my distance. Alright? Can you just—”
“No.”
I cut him off. Calm. Steady.
So he’d always known. He and Maddie. Too close. He’d always known.
He just never cared.
He was so sure I was wrapped around his finger. That I’d never dare make a scene. Never dare say divorce.
And now that he knew I was serious, suddenly he wanted to change.
Too late.
“You and Maddie aren’t my concern anymore. I don’t want to know.”
“The only thing I care about is when you’ll sign.”
I slammed the door. His pleading died on the other side.
The door wasn’t thick. I could hear him standing there. A long time. Then, finally, footsteps. Slow. Leaving.
Julian still didn’t sign over the next few days.
My patience was thinning. I was about to push him again when Maddie came to me first.
I wanted to hear what she had to say. So I agreed to meet.
She was already at the café when I arrived.
No audience this time. No fragile act. Just her real face.
“Sophie, I’m warning you. Stop clinging to Julian. Divorce him. Now.”
I smiled. Took a sip of coffee.
“Me? Clinging? Your precious Julian is the one refusing to sign.”
Disbelief flashed across her face.
“Impossible. If I hadn’t gone to Europe back then, you’d never have had a chance.”
“Julian loves me. You’re the other woman.”
My face went cold. I set the cup down. Hard.
“Maddie, when Julian and I got together, he was single.”
“If anyone’s the other woman here, it’s you. You’re the one breaking up a marriage. What gives you the right to throw that word at me?”
She didn’t flinch. Smirked instead. Pulled out her phone. Slid it across the table.
“If he doesn’t love you, you’re the other woman. Period. And Julian doesn’t love you.”
“And ‘right’?”
“This baby. Mine and Julian’s. That’s all the right I need.”
She stroked her stomach. Smug.
The screen showed a positive pregnancy test. And a screenshot of a confirmation email from an Upper East Side OB-GYN.
Three weeks pregnant.
Maddie drank in my reaction. Pure satisfaction.
“This is Julian’s first child. He’ll give us a proper future.”
“As for you—step aside.”
As if to twist the knife, she showed me one more photo.
Maddie curled against Julian’s chest. Both of them bare. On the nightstand, Julian’s signature Patek Philippe.
“That night I said I was scared. Julian stayed with me. Everything happened.”
I took a screenshot. Fast. Stood up. Smiled at her. Then I picked up my ice water and poured it down the front of her eight-hundred-dollar Rivez dress.
“Thanks for the evidence. I was just wondering how to make Julian sign.”
“Consider the water my thank-you.”
I grabbed my bag. Turned. Walked. Forwarded the screenshots to Jessica as I went.
Behind me, Maddie’s shrieks followed me out the door.
Jessica replied instantly: This is enough. Want me to redraft the agreement?