Chapter 9 Keith didn't return until the next day . He pushed the door open and stepped inside . The villa was unusually quiet , but he didn't think much of it . Seeing no one in the living room , he assumed Julia was still sulking and went straight upstairs . He opened the bedroom door , speaking as he stepped inside . " Jules , are you still mad at me ? Something really came up at work last night . That's why I couldn't make it . To make up for it , how about I give you my whole day today ? " The room remained silent . Only his own breathing echoed through the empty room . The bed was perfectly made . She hadn't slept here . He stepped farther in and checked the bathroom . It was just as quiet . She clearly wasn't there . Keith frowned and muttered to himself , " Looks like she's really upset this time . She's even started sleeping in a different room . " He turned and walked out , never once noticing what had been left on the nightstand . Then , he pushed open the guest room door and called out , " Jules ? " There was no response . She wasn't there either . He repeated this process over and over , checking every room one by one . For the first time , Keith felt just how large the villa truly was and realized how many rooms it had . Catherine showed up just as he opened the door to the last room . And when he found that one empty too , a flicker of unease finally crept into his chest . If Julia wasn't home , then where else could she be ? He pulled out his phone and dialed her number . The ringtone played for a long time , but the line eventually cut off without anyone picking up . Julia was clearly avoiding him , but he refused to give up just yet . He tried calling again , only to be stunned when he realized that she had blocked him . A sense of dread surged through his chest , and that feeling turned into certainty when he realized she'd blocked him on every possible platform . In a panic , he rushed back to the master bedroom and flung open the closet . The space that once held both their clothes now held only his suits . And with that , only one possibility remained . Julia was really gone . In that moment , he could no longer contain the panic rising inside him . His hands began to tremble as he muttered to himself , " No … this can't be real . She promised me that as long as the forgiveness cards weren't all used up , she would never leave . How could she Chapter 9 break her word ? " 2/2 He turned to search for the box that held the forgiveness cards , desperate to prove she had broken her promise . The moment he turned around , he spotted it in a place he never would have expected . The dark wooden box sat quietly on the nightstand , with a sheet of paper tucked beneath it . He had a feeling he shouldn't look , that whatever it was , he might regret seeing it . But his feet moved on their own , carrying him toward it anyway . As he stepped closer , he noticed a note attached to the box . He pulled it off and brought it to eye level . The words came into focus . : " All one hundred forgiveness cards have been used . I once told you that when these cards run out , I would leave for good . Keith Carson , goodbye forever . " Keith couldn't believe all one hundred cards were gone . His eyes widened as he stared at the first sentence , instinctively ready to argue . He clearly remembered there were still over 60 left . How could they have been used up so quickly ? He opened the box in disbelief . The one hundred cards that had once been neatly stacked were now torn to pieces , just as the message had said . Still , Keith refused to accept it . He thought she must have changed her mind and torn them up herself . That shouldn't count . Without thinking , he began counting how many cards he had actually used . One memory after another came rushing back , and he started tallying them , beginning with the most recent . Chapte