Chapter 6 Gary's name was everywhere on social media , impossible to avoid even when I wasn't looking for it . The headlines all said the same thing - the once - celebrated young entrepreneur had lost his mind . Drunken binges , stomach bleeds , and whispers of DUIS . The board of directors was said to be furious and ready to explode . However , none of that had anything to do with me . Finally , after work hours , I finished sorting through the documents I had taken and mailed them back home . The day I left , Gary stumbled back from another night of indulgence , only to find the apartment stripped bare . On the dining table lay a single sheet of paper . He glanced at it and froze . It was a divorce agreement . It was already signed at the bottom with my calm and precise handwriting . A strange panic gripped him . For the first time , he opened the door to my room to find it empty . Not a trace of me was left behind . It was as if I had never lived there at all . He tore through the house like a madman , searching every corner , but I was gone . For ten years , whenever he came home , I was always there with a lamp left on for him . Whether it was dawn or midnight , I would be there in one call . However , not this time . This time , I was nowhere to be found . His hands shook as he dialed my number repeatedly . Hundreds of calls , messages flooding my inbox , until his desperation bled into madness . However , I was already on a flight to Pereem , unreachable and unmoved . He tried to track me down . He sent people digging for any trail , but I had already vanished . With my friends ' help , I erased myself from the country . Inside its borders , I no longer existed . Finally , after a full day and night of relentless calling , I picked up . " Sorry , but I was the one who walked away first . " " Zoey ! Don't you dare come crawling back begging me one day ! " Gary hurled the phone across the room in a rage , only for it to land on Lucy , who was stepping through the doorway . " Ouch ! Gary , that hurt ! " Lucy whined . His face was thunderous , but he swallowed the fury clawing in his chest . " Are you hurt ? " She forced a giggle and slid into his arms . " No , no . I'm fine . I just missed you . Why have you been ignoring me all day ? " Her gaze fell on the table , where the divorce papers still lay . She snatched them up , her face lighting up with delight . " Oh my God , that bitch finally gave in ! Gary , as soon as you sign this , we can be together forever ! " His expression darkened . With a sudden motion , he ripped the papers from her hand and tore them to shreds . " Watch your mouth ! Who the hell are you calling a bitch ? Zoey is my wife . That will never change ! " Lucy's face drained of color . Startled , tears welled in her eyes . " Gary , she was always getting in the way of us . We had to sneak around because of her . Now that she's leaving on her own , isn't that for the best ? " However , her shrill words only made his skin crawl . For the first time , he saw her clearly , and what he saw repulsed him . His palm cracked against her cheek with a sharp , merciless slap . " I must have been blind to neglect Zoey because of someone like you . You're not even good enough to hold a candle to her . Now get out ! " Lucy clutched her face , eyes wide in disbelief , before she fled the apartment in tears . For three days and nights , Gary locked himself in my empty room . He drowned himself in liquor , stared at my photos , and sent messages that would never be answered . He scoured the country , but I had vanished like smoke . Finally , he drunkenly drove out one night with bloodshot eyes to my dad's grave .