Chapter 6
609 Words
After coming back from the coast, Vivi buried herself in news drafts day after day.
Two days before her departure for Korvath, Julian saw fit to have a wedding invitation delivered to her door.
The embossed gold lettering on the cover announced the date of the ceremony.
It was the same day she was leaving Nexis City.
She hadn't planned on going, but she felt she owed Mrs. Calloway a proper goodbye before she left.
That morning, Vivi was up before dawn. She tucked the invitation under her arm, picked up the wedding gift, and headed over.
Mrs. Calloway was busy attending to guests. Vivi had just turned to leave when she heard footsteps behind her.
Julian caught her by the arm.
"Vivi, Ellie is missing a diamond necklace, the one she had designed specifically for her wedding gown."
Vivi said nothing.
He looked at her. A beat of silence. "Did you take it?"
That finally got a reaction out of her.
She forced the words out: "You're accusing me?"
Julian opened his mouth. "…You're the only one here who has a history with her."
Something sharp caught in her chest, a dull, rhythmic ache.
Vivi let out a quiet, self-mocking smile. She didn't argue. She didn't resist. She let Julian walk her into a side room and search her.
"You're done. Can I go now?"
She kept her eyes down, straightening her clothes, her voice perfectly flat.
Julian caught the look in her eyes. "I was wrong about the necklace. Don't show up again today. Ellie still needs me. I should get over there."
And just like that, he was gone.
Vivi watched his retreating figure until her eyes blurred with tears she hadn't meant to shed.
The sun was brutal the day of the wedding.
She drew a long breath and turned toward WNBX Channel 7.
The president of Ashford Group was getting married, and all of Nexis City had been swept up in it. Ribbons and balloons strung across every corner of the city. The LED billboard on Central Avenue was livestreaming the ceremony between Julian Ashford and Eleanor Whitfield.
When he produced a diamond the size of a robin's egg, the crowd erupted.
Vivi suddenly remembered being eighteen, pressing her fingers against a bridal shop window, asking Julian if he'd ever buy her that wedding gown.
He'd said, "You can wear it when we get married."
But she had never been in a position to hold him to that promise.
And he had never chosen to keep it.
Her car arrived. Vivi came back to herself and said her goodbyes to her best friend, Madison.
Madison pulled her into a hug. "Stay safe over there. Call me when you land."
She nodded, picked up her suitcase, and got in.
The car pulled toward the airport.
The city outside the window streaked past and fell away. Vivi took out her phone, forwarded the evidence she'd gathered to the police, then tapped on Julian's profile.
Delete. Block. The screen showed the green bubble: Not Delivered.
Sunlight cut through the car window, catching every sharp edge of her face.
At the airport, after clearing security, she noticed a string of missed calls from an unknown number.
She didn't look twice. She powered off her phone.
The plane lifted off. Through the clouds, Nexis City, the city she'd lived in for over a decade, grew smaller and smaller, until it disappeared entirely. Vivi leaned back against her seat and closed her eyes.
The plane would land in the New World.
No Julian Ashford. No Eleanor Whitfield. No past worth losing her mind over.
Her life was only just beginning.
- Writer
