After sending the message, Jessie Sterling figured Julian Grant was still driving and wouldn't be able to reply right away.
It didn't matter, though. In the middle of the night, Jessie climbed out of bed and started packing her bags.
She had never intended to play hard to get with Julian, nor had she ever thought of using threatening words like "breakup" or "divorce" to force him to choose between her and Arya Thorne.
This was a notification, not a negotiation.
The house was full of things, but there didn't seem to be that much she wanted to take with her.
In about half an hour, Jessie had finished packing her suitcase. She sent a message to the butler, asking him to arrange for a driver to take her to the airport.
While waiting for the driver in the living room downstairs, Jessie glanced at the two-tier birthday cake still sitting in the dining room.
On top was a pair of little angels. She had spent a long time learning how to make the fondant figures.
'What a shame.'
Jessie couldn't help but think about the cake she had so carefully prepared. She had wanted the two of them to enjoy it together, but in the end, her wish hadn't come true.
Julian replied while Jessie was on her way to the airport.
[Julian: We can talk about whatever it is when I get back. Don't be impulsive.]
When Jessie saw the message, she said nothing. She didn't reply, just slipped her phone back into her pocket.
Apparently not having received a reply from Jessie, Julian sent another message half an hour later.
[Julian: I didn't handle things well today. Don't be mad, reply to my message.]
This time, Jessie didn't even take out her phone.
At the airport, Jessie was thankful she'd managed to buy a ticket for the next available flight.
It was a red-eye, but it was a direct flight to the nation's capital. With a flight time of seventeen or eighteen hours, she figured she'd be there after a good sleep.
Jessie's luggage was so light she didn't even need to check it in. She went through check-in and security, and was just at immigration when her phone started ringing.
She glanced at the caller ID and immediately declined the call.
By now, it was almost four in the morning.
In the nearly four hours that had passed, Jessie found she had managed to get her almost-collapsing emotions under control. Seeing Julian's call now, her heart was as calm as still water.
It wasn't that she could just let go of so many years of feelings without a second thought. It was just that, as Lynn Jennings had once said, she was difficult, stubborn, and obstinate. Once she made a decision, not even ten bulls could drag her back.
Other people refuse to turn back until they hit a wall. She, on the other hand, would keep going down her chosen path, and even if she hit a wall, she would smash her head against it until it crumbled, just to keep moving forward.
Julian had once been that path for Jessie—the one she was willing to follow until she was battered and bloody. Now, she was finally tired. She needed to stop, to turn back, to choose a new path. But the scars on her body hadn't fully healed, and they still ached.
After clearing immigration, Jessie finally pulled out her phone, which had been vibrating nonstop ever since she had declined his call.
The screen showed over a dozen missed calls, all from the same person.
Jessie glanced at the time. On the first day after her birthday, the number of calls Julian had made to her probably exceeded the total number of times he had called her proactively in the entire past year.
Her WeChat messages were also about to explode.
[Julian: You should rest for now. We'll talk tomorrow morning. Don't be mad.]
He'd sent that message not long after she left for the airport. Then, more than an hour later—around the time of his first call—he'd sent another.
[Julian: Where are you? Jessie, where are you going in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?]
Jessie raised an eyebrow at her phone. She had thought Julian wouldn't be coming home at all that night.
She hadn't expected that. Looking at the time on her phone, it seemed Julian had actually gotten home around two in the morning.
[Julian: Answer the phone!]
[Julian: What's this about running away from home? Stop throwing a tantrum. Whatever it is, we can sit down and talk it over properly.]
...
[Julian: Answer the phone!]
...
[Julian: The driver said you went to the airport in the middle of the night. What are you doing at the airport? I'm coming to find you right now. Stay where you are and don't move.]
Jessie's expression finally changed when she saw the last message.
'Julian is coming to the airport?'
She subconsciously started to stand up, but stopped herself.
A staff member in the lounge approached Jessie to let her know she could now board. Jessie stood up, pulled her small 14-inch suitcase, and walked from the VIP channel into the cabin.
Her phone rang again.
This time, Jessie didn't decline the call. Some things were better said clearly. Even if they couldn't talk face-to-face, on the phone was good enough.
"Hello?"
As soon as the call connected, Jessie heard ragged, heavy breathing from the other end, along with the echo of footsteps in what sounded like an underground garage.
"Where are you?" Julian's voice sounded rushed, with a hint of inexplicable tension.
"The airport."
"Come out," Julian said. "Let's talk properly. Where are you trying to go? Stop sulking."
Jessie almost wanted to laugh. Even now, Julian still thought she was just throwing a tantrum?
Maybe it was because she had been so well-behaved all these years that he had this misconception.
"I've already boarded, Julian," Jessie said softly. "I'm not joking, and I'm not playing hard to get. You know I don't like to play those kinds of games. I'm on a direct flight to the capital now. If you have time, you should come back too, so we can file for divorce."
"Jessie!"
Jessie wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but as Julian shouted her name, she could have sworn she also heard the sound of frantic running.
"Yes."
"Let's talk this out properly. Just get off the plane first." Julian was indeed running. The international airport was huge. He had initially assumed Jessie was just going to a nearby city to clear her head. After all, she hadn't taken many of her things from the house, so it looked like she was just off for a weekend trip.
Realizing she was in a different terminal forced him to run; he was starting to genuinely panic.
In all their years of marriage, even when he and Jessie had their disagreements, she had never once mentioned divorce.
She would never trivialize or normalize serious, heavy topics like separation and divorce. She could be delicate and fussy, but she always knew where the line was.
At that moment, Julian felt a true, sincere sense of panic.
He had thought that he and Jessie were a suitable match. Life was a bit plain, but he had never considered divorce.
Don't plenty of people live their whole lives like that? Besides, their two families had business ties; splitting up wouldn't be so easy.
Perhaps, without even realizing it himself, when he married Jessie, he had never imagined a day would come when they would divorce.
But now, Jessie had laid this issue he had never once considered right in front of him.
"There's no need." Jessie's voice, cool to the point of being cold, was her reply. "Julian, I'm tired. All these years, I've been the one chasing after you. I'm tired, and I want to stop." She paused. "Let's get a divorce. I don't want to do this anymore."
After saying this, without waiting to hear his reaction, Jessie hung up the phone.
She pulled the curtain shut, reclined her seat, took out a blanket and an eye mask, and lay down, closing her eyes.
'I'll feel better after I get some sleep,' she thought.