When You're Gone (Colette) novel Chapter 9

On Colette's last day on earth, she woke up and saw James and Sophie ready to leave home. Colette called out to James when he and Sophie were at the door, "Uncle James, I know you're busy, but could you come home for dinner with me? Let's have dinner; just the two of us."

Colette wanted to bid farewell to James. Her eyes were filled with hope and longing. However, James mistook her request as another love confession. He nearly turned her down when Sophie patted him on the hand and generously said, "Well, I'll meet up with my friends today, then. It's been a while since we met anyway. You're much older than Colette, and you shouldn't hold a grudge against her."

Under Sophie's persuasion, James agreed to dinner with Colette. Colette got what she wanted, yet she felt bitter.

She watched as the couple entered the car and left. Then, she entered the villa, feeling bitter.

Sometimes, people would burn the belongings of the dead. On her last day, she gathered her belongings and set fire to them, so that James did not have to worry about how to dispose of them.

James left a trace everywhere in her room. He bought all her daily essentials and her clothes for her.

He wasn't always a caring and thoughtful man. Most of the time, he left Colette's daily activities in the care of the nanny and his assistant. It all changed when he noticed the nanny ignored Colette's dietary needs, and his assistant was too busy juggling both demands at the company and back home.

As a result, no one noticed Colette developed a fever from the cold. If James hadn't come home that day and found her in a feverish state, she might have suffered permanent damage, like what the doctor suggested.

Ever since that incident, James had taken Colette's matters into his hands.

Colette snapped out of her reverie. She stared wistfully at her belongings, now reduced to ashes. From now on, she would no longer exist in this world.

She cleaned up the villa, only leaving that sealed closet in her bedroom untouched. She wondered if James would feel sad if he found her body in the closet.

Without her around, no one would criticize James again. She bet he would be glad.

After Colette tidied up the villa, she put all her effort into her last dinner with James. She rarely cooked. In the past, James always brought her out for dinner or made dinner for her.

She volunteered to learn cooking so she could make meals for him, but he banned her from trying after she got scalded by hot oil.