Seven Times I Drew Blank, Seven Times They Drew Each Other Chapter 05

Seven Times I Drew Blank, Seven Times They Drew Each Other Chapter 05

The laughter on the terrace was still going when I rolled my suitcase out of the hotel.

Julian probably assumed I was doing what I had done countless times before-hiding somewhere, waiting for him to come coax me back.

My phone buzzed with a message from him.

Julian: [Come back when you’re done with the drama.]

A few minutes later, two more appeared.

Julian: [Vanessa’s drunk.]

Julian: [Where did you put the hangover remedy you bought?]

I stared at those messages for a long time before turning off my phone.

Even after I had left, his first thought wasn’t to wonder where I had

gone.

It was whether I had a hangover remedy ready for Vanessa.

By the time I reached the airport, there were forty minutes left before departure.

I checked in and handed over my last suitcase.

For seven years, I had imagined my wedding to Julian more times than I could count.

I had thought about the dress, what the invitations would say, and what color the centerpieces would be.

I had even finished the seating chart a full year in advance,

I had assigned seats to his family, his friends, and Vanessa.

I had given her a seat as close to us as possible because I had always believed she was my best friend.

The boarding announcement began.

Before I left for the gate, I turned the plain band over to the airport’s lost-and-found desk.

As the attendant filled out the tag, she looked at the ring.

“Are you sure this isn’t valuable?”

1 looked down at it.

“It isn’t.”

Whatever had once made that ring precious was already gone the moment Julian took it off my

finger and put it on Vanessa’s.

At one in the morning, Julian finally realized I was gone.

Vanessa was very drunk, leaning heavily against him and refusing to let go.

The others were still egging the two of them on to keep the mock newlywed act going through the

night.

But Julian was growing increasingly agitated.

He called me more than a dozen times, but my phone was off.

Derek laughed.

“Nora’s probably hiding in the room crying. Just go give her a hug. She’ll be fine.”

Miles didn’t seem concerned either.

“She put up with seven blank cards. You really think she’d leave?”

“At worst, she’ll be in a mood tomorrow morning.”

Every one of them believed that.

Because after all these years, I had never truly left.

Once, Julian forgot to pick me up, and I waited three hours for him in pouring rain.

My phone was water-damaged, and my shoes were ruined.

When he finally showed up, all he said was, “Couldn’t you have called an Uber?”

I cried and told him we were over.

But the next day, when I heard his stomach problems had flared up again, I still showed up at the hospital carrying an insulated food container.

Another time, Vanessa went through a breakup late at night.

Julian left me in the middle of my birthday celebration and rushed off to comfort her.

I finished the cake alone and made a wish over the candles that he would come home soon.

He finally came back at four in the morning.

When he saw me asleep with my head on the table, he only ran a hand over my hair.

“You’re always so understanding.”

And I forgave him again.

I forgave him so many times that eventually, everyone came to believe the same thing.

No matter how badly they treated me, I would always be there.