After leaving the hospital, Julian noticed it was still early. He decided to go home and take Saoirse out for a meal to make up for the neglect over the past few days.
However, when he got home, he found the room unusually dark instead of lit up as usual. He checked his watch—it was 9:30 pm. Was Saoirse asleep already? Was she out and not home yet?
Julian wasn't sure, but the house was eerily quiet, and it didn't seem like anyone was around. Having been out all day and covered in sweat, he went straight to the bathroom.
Half an hour later, he came out with his hair still damp.
Saoirse was nowhere to be seen.
His brows furrowed in confusion. He didn't remember Saoirse ever being this late before. Why hadn't she come home?
As he walked to her bedroom and gently pushed open the slightly ajar door, he froze in shock. The walls, which used to be adorned with photos and artwork, were now completely bare. The bed was empty as well.
Unable to believe his eyes, Julian rubbed them several times. However, the emptiness in the room remained. He threw down the towel he was using to dry his hair and rushed into the room. He looked around frantically, opening drawers and the wardrobe but finding nothing.
Had Saoirse moved out with all her things?
The thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. Panicking, he rushed out of the bedroom to check every other room in the apartment.
The bookshelf in the study was half-empty, the bathroom contained only his belongings, the living room was missing its blanket and stuffed animals, and the kitchen had none of the cups she had bought…
With each item he found missing, Julian's heart sank deeper into despair. When he finally realized that there were no traces of Saoirse left in the apartment, he felt a heavy blow to his head. His ears were ringing with disbelief.
His face was full of shock, and his breathing became erratic. The veins on the back of his hand popped out as he gripped the edge of the table with all his strength. His panicked eyes, staring blankly, finally fell on the calendar in front of him marked with a "0."
Even more glaring than the "0" was a sentence written in black ink.
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