Leaving You Bereft (Willow and Julian) novel Chapter 8

Willow bumped into Jeffrey in the parking lot.

Jeffrey seemed surprised to see her. He thought for a short while before walking over toward her. His eyes were deep as he asked, "Are you really leaving Nebula?"

Willow hummed softly. "Yes. I'm leaving."

She threw the box into the boot of her car and closed it. Then, she turned around and said faintly, "Thanks for your help the other night."

Jeffrey looked closely at Willow's face. There was a faraway look in her eyes that concealed everything and revealed nothing. This was the Willow that he knew. Her fragile beauty that night had been nothing but a dream.

His eyes dimmed considerably. Then, he nodded with reservation. "It was nothing," he responded coldly.

Nonetheless, Jeffrey continued standing there as he watched Willow's car disappear out of the parking lot, seemingly in deep thought.

…

Willow finally arrived back at Grandview Manor around 8:00 pm later that evening. As soon as she got out of the car, she caught a whiff of osmanthus flowers in the breeze that welcomed her. It was quite a refreshing scent.

Blair came out to greet her and asked, "Mrs. Ziegler, will you be having dinner alone today? Or would you like to wait for Mr. Ziegler instead? The food is already all prepared. We'll just need to warm it up a little."

Willow thought about it for a moment. Then, she answered faintly, "There's no need to prepare my meals anymore from today onward."

Blair paled in shock. She wanted to ask why, but Willow had already walked through the manor and was heading straight upstairs.

It was brightly lit on the second floor. Willow slowed down as she fixed her gaze on the beautifully decorated corridor, She then took slow, heavy steps forward. Every step she took reminded her of Julian—their past, their experiences, their hardships, and the pain that he caused her.

"Julian, if you want power, then let me assist you.

"Julian, these hard times will soon pass, right?

"Julian! My stomach hurts… It hurts so bad…"

"We're sorry, Mrs. Ziegler, but after a close-up examination, we've found out that the chances of you getting pregnant are close to zero. Perhaps you'd like to consider adoption instead?"

…

It was just about 30 feet from one end to the other, but it felt as though Willow had re-lived her life all over again. The end of the corridor also felt like the end of her feelings for Julian.

The night breeze blew gently around her, making her face feel icy to the touch. She pushed open the door to the bedroom and flipped on the light switches, basking the whole room in a warm glow.

For the past four years, her life had revolved primarily around Julian. She had been with him as he seized power to stand at the top. Although Julian gained everything, Willow realized that she lost more and more of herself as time passed.

Luckily, she was finally going to be free from it all.

Willow walked into the walk-in wardrobe and brought out a few large suitcases before she began to pack. She packed the regular clothes she wore often, along with the pricey jewelry that she owned. She wasn't going to leave them behind for Julian.

After she was done packing, Willow got up and happened to glance up at the oil painting that was hanging on the wall.

She had painted it. It was a painting of Julian in his younger days. He looked young and full of life.

But there wasn't any love left between them anymore, which meant there was no need for this painting to exist anymore.

Willow found a tube of lipstick in her purse and began to scribble on the canvas with it. Bright streaks of red were dragged all over the painting, turning it gory and frightening to look at.

In a matter of seconds, the painting was completely disfigured. Julian's face had disappeared under the red streaks of lipstick.

However much love Willow had poured into the painting when she made it back then, she now replaced them all with an equal amount of hatred.

The oil painting wasn't the only thing that suffered her wrath. Even their wedding photos were also slashed to ribbons with a knife.

This was the end of their relationship. Just like their brightly smiling portraits that could never be pieced together again.

The knife dropped from Willow's fingers. Her arm just wouldn't stop shaking. She then fell to the ground and covered her eyes with her hands as tears pooled in them. She had wasted all of her youth. Everything tasted bitter, just like that night when she'd felt the excruciating pain in her belly.

Willow didn't even look back when she finally left.

The master bedroom felt empty without its mistress. The only thing left as a memento of her existence was the diamond ring on the bedside table, sparkling coldly in the darkness.

…

Blair couldn't stop Willow. The only thing she could do was watch helplessly as Willow left in her car and sped off into the night.

When Blair finally snapped out of it, she immediately called up Julian.

Julian was in the VIP ward at Everglow Hospital. He stood at the end of the corridor, close to the floor-to-ceiling windows, a tall and lonely figure as the night breeze fanned around his face.

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