Immediately Nathan stepped into the house that evening, he knew something was wrong. Something was different.
Where was Vivian?
Was she also not home tonight? His cold eyes swept over the sitting room, one hand tugging at his tie.
Then, his eyes found what was amiss. The spot where their wedding photo once lay was empty. He squinted. What happened to it? He never gave any instructions to take it down.
Was it Vivian? But she would never. She had placed it there herself and adored it more than any other piece of them in the house.
"Vivian," he called.
No response.
"Vivian!" he repeated, louder this time.
There was no reply for the first five seconds. Then he heard the sound of footsteps. He turned, expecting to see Vivian, but came face to face with Mrs. Johnson.
He looked behind her, but Vivian wasn't there. "Good evening, Sir Nathan."
"Where is Vivian?" She didn't get a chance to reply before he added, "and what happened to the frame?" He tried to sound dismissive, but the tightness in his voice gave him away.
"Err…" Mrs. Johnson swallowed, placing one hand in front of the other. "Madam came home earlier today."
Of course, she was home. She's probably sulking because of their divorce.
"She ehnn…" Mrs. Johnson's eyes moved around in the socket, unable to get the words out.
"She broke the frame."
"What?!"
The old lady flinched then lowered her head. "Why would she..." he pushed one hand through his hair. So what if they were getting divorced? Did that mean she had to break the frame? Why does she always have to be dramatic?
Breaking things won't stop their divorce. He inhaled deeply. "Where is she?"
"She left." The old lady lifted her head slowly.
It was already past 10 pm. "Why is she not back?" he asked more to himself as he walked past Mrs. Johnson.
"Madam is not coming back." Nathan's legs came to a stop.
"She took her things." She hesitated before adding, "and she was different." She bit her lower lip when Nathan's fiery gaze pinned her. "But what do I know?" She let out a sigh and left when Nathan dismissed her.
Nathan stood rooted for a while staring at the spot the frame had once been.
Something unfamiliar tugged on his chest. With the frame gone, the house suddenly felt empty.
"What are you getting at, Vivian?" He wondered. "Is this another game to be with me? Why can't you just let me go?"
It was becoming tiring.
He got to the room and dropped on the bed, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. There was little to no change in the room. This was until he stepped into the closet. He noticed a few of her clothes were missing.
If she was leaving, she might as well take all her clothes.
Before he stepped into the bathroom, he sent her a text. "I'll have Mrs. Johnson pack your things that are left. When will you come pick them?"
The text laid unanswered when he stepped out of the bathroom. He changed into a pair of joggers and a simple shirt and went down for dinner.
His eyes were constantly on his phone, waiting for a reply from Vivian, but he got none.
After eating, he retired to his room. He opened the message he sent her. It had a blue tick which meant she had received and opened it, yet she didn't reply.
Nathan dialed her number, but Vivian didn't answer. It wasn't until he called her the third time that she answered.
"Why didn't you respond to my message?" He asked immediately the call connected.
"Mr. Cayne, I told you, speak to my lawyer if you have anything to say. Don't call or text, we are nothing to each other." She sounded unbothered.
"You want me to speak to your lawyer about my wife's clothes?"
"Ex-wife." Vivian corrected immediately. Nathan's jaws ticked, but Vivian wasn't done. "Your housekeeper must have told you I am not coming back."
"Then you shouldn't have left your clothes."
"I didn't expect you'd be so bothered by them."
"They are taking up space in the closet, what do you think?"
"Then give them to your mistress or wear them. Don't bother me again."
"What is wrong wi-" The call disconnected before Nathan could finish his sentence. He removed the phone from his ear and stared at the screen.
She ended the call while he was still speaking. She has never done that before. Why was she acting so strange?
Nathan wanted to end things with her peacefully. He didn't think they had to be enemies simply because he fell out of love with her.
He walked to the bar cart beside the window, brought out a bottle of wine and a glass, and poured himself a drink.
He twirled the wine in the glass as he walked past the sliding glass door into the balcony.
He took a slow sip and stared into the night. He stood there for a long time. Before he slept, he sent a text to Reid. "Put a tail on Vivian."
Meanwhile.
Vivian ended the call and stared at the screen. She had not expected Nathan to call her. Not wanting to create any chance for him to ever reach her again, she blocked and deleted his number.
She flung her phone to the side and went back to sorting out her things, and taking out the clothes from her suitcase. She would go shopping to change them, but before then, she had to put up with the clothes.
She had booked a hotel room earlier. She planned to stay here till she found an apartment.
She was about to close the suitcase when her hand felt something poking her from the small side of the suitcase. She opened the zip and brought out a small frame.
There were four people on the frame. Each wearing a big smile. Vivian traced them with her finger. Her father and sister stayed at both sides while she and Sarah, her niece, were in the middle, their smile was the biggest.
The picture on the frame was taken 6 years ago. Vivian treasured it and kept it on her nightstand close to her bed.
Seeing it inside her suitcase, she was surprised. She couldn't remember placing it in there.
Her chest tightened upon seeing her family. The only people that made her go soft. She couldn't remember how her interaction with them had been over the past five years.
Has she been keeping regular contact? Her chest tightened at the thought of them. She made a mental note to inquire about this from Renee.
The next day, Renee came to pick her. Vivian wore a yellow dress which stopped by her thighs. Her hair rested on her shoulders.
The car drove past a slowly moving truck.
"Ren." She called softly.
"Hmm..."
"How has my relationship with my family been all these years? Have I been in regular contact with them?"
Renee was silent for a while. "No. You rarely visit them."
Vivian rested her head on the car headrest and closed her eyes. Shame and disappointment burning within her.
Upon seeing this, Renee said, "you don't have to blame yourself. It wasn't your fault."
Vivian's eyes flung open at her word. She turned. "What do you mean? Did Nathan stop me from visiting them?"