Chapter 44
Maxime
With a hiss, the train doors close, and a distant whistle is heard. A few seconds later, I leave the station of Guérande, picking up speed. I stubbornly keep my gaze fixed on the back of the seat in front of me because I don't want to look outside.
A part of me hopes to see Aurora appear on the platform, asking me once again to forgive her. But that's crazy. Because one thing is certain—today, tomorrow, and forever, I would have to say no again.
Sighing, I open my briefcase and pull out the purchase agreement for the villa. Monsieur Allard signed it this morning. "Never again will a woman deceive me," he mumbled almost inaudibly. Then he handed me the contract with a stern expression. "At least now it's definitively over."
Those words hit me hard a few hours ago, and they still do. Because they are true for me too.
I take out my mobile phone and open the browser. The same twelve tabs that I've had open every damned day for the past four years appear. I tap on the top one.
Missing Persons Database Paris .
With tension, I scroll down to the message I posted for Aurora back then and click on Edit.
Found , I type.
My chest tightens, but I continue. I visit all the portals where I searched for information, posted appeals, and made contacts throughout Europe during all this time.
Found , I type eleven more times, and with each time, it becomes harder.
Finally, I open my chat history with Sky.
Found .
That's the moment when I truly realize what it means. Aurora's disappearance kept me from moving on with my life for so long. But now, there's no reason for that anymore.
I am free.
Nevertheless, it feels anything but freeing. On the contrary, where the search had once consumed me, there is now a large, dark hole.
Three dots dance on the phone screen. O h my God , I read a few seconds later, and my phone starts ringing.
"Tell me everything," Sky's voice carries a mix of curiosity and fear.
Outside the window, the wild nature of Brittany rushes by. "She is in Guérande," I begin, stuttering before the whole story pours out of me.
Holding my hand over the phone in a way that shields my voice from fellow passengers, I roughly recount to Sky what happened.
"I can't believe it," she says afterward. "How could she think..."
Tiredly, I shrug. "Well..." Silence settles between us.
"Will you forgive her?" Quietly, the question leaves her lips.
I snort with effort. "Would you?" Aurora not only left me without explanation, but she also abruptly cut off contact with Sky. "Could you ever forget the worries you went through? Or how many sleepless nights her disappearance cost you?"
She couldn't, just as I couldn't. It's time to accept what happened as a part of me and start anew.
"I don't know," Sky breathes out. "Do you think she will reach out to me now that she..."
Now that she's been exposed? "No idea. Anything could happen. Or nothing."
"Mm-hmm," she responds thoughtfully from the other end of the line. "But she apologized. She's sorry."
I exhale forcefully. Aurora seemed so desperate yesterday. Her dark eyes were filled with guilt, begging me for forgiveness.
"If she could, she would make things right, I'm sure." Sky suddenly seems to regain strength. How can she overlook Aurora's betrayal?
"What happened cannot be undone," I say. And what didn't happen cannot be made to happen.
"Do you have her phone number?" she asks now.
She wants to call Aurora? Why? I shrug. "There was no reason to ask for it."
Our story is over. I never want to see her again.
I take a deep breath. "We can finally close this chapter," I remind Sky firmly.
The train's rattling is all I hear. An eternity seems to pass before she responds.
"Okay," she says, sounding exhausted. "You're probably right."
That's how it is. It's over. For good.
I rest my forehead against the cool train window, close my eyes, and make the most important resolution of my life: When I open my eyes again, my world will be different.