Chapter Five:The Goodbye Note

"Mimi! Mimi! Are you really leaving James? Will your marriage end because of this? With piercing and accusatory comments, the reporters yelled.

Mimi remained silent. She was unable to. She was limited to walking, one step at a time, her gaze focused on the road ahead, the elevator doors getting closer by the second. The security officers stood on either side of them, their bulk forming a barrier between them and the onlookers. However, the incessant, blazing questions persisted even after that.

Simeon's face was white and marked with bewilderment as he glanced up at her. "Mom? Why are they posing those questions to you?

The knot in her throat grew as she swallowed forcefully. Her voice was tight as she murmured, "Just keep walking, sweetheart." She didn't know the answers. Not for him. Not for herself. All she had to do was get them out. Get out of this nightmare.

The doors of the elevator slid silently shut with a final shove, and they were inside. Mimi let out a breath, but it was short-lived. Already, the harm was done.

As they raced through the streets of Las Vegas, the automobile hummed softly beneath them. The city appeared far away now, vanishing into the rearview mirror with its dazzling lights and gilded promises. With her hands grasping the steering wheel as if it were the only thing keeping her together, Mimi maintained her eyes on the road.

With his face buried in his hands and his tiny figure huddled into himself, Simeon sat in the passenger seat. She could hear him crying, and the sound kept shattering her heart. Each cry he cried reminded her of the suffering she was powerless to shield him from, and it felt like a knife in her chest.

"What prevented Dad from speaking the truth?" The silence was broken by Simeon's voice, which was tremulous and harsh. Why didn't he speak up? Why did he simply allow her to— His cries grew stronger as his voice trailed off.

Mimi's knuckles turned white as she tightened her hold on the driving wheel. She didn't know how to respond. There was no justification for James' decision to remain silent or for allowing her and their son to be abandoned. The man she previously believed to be her true love and trusted had changed into someone she didn't know.

Her voice was full with sorrow as she muttered, "I don't know, sweetheart." "I'm not sure."

The truth was too difficult to speak out loud, and the weight of the words lingered between them. There was no justification for his cowardice, no explanation for the treachery that now influenced their lives.

This time, Simeon's voice was softer but still full of the innocence that still held onto him. She shouldn't be my mother. Mom, I want you. The earnestness in his voice made Mimi's chest hurt. She blinked back the tears she had been resisting, and her heart broke into a thousand pieces. She was unable to cry, though. Not quite yet. Not before him.

She put her hand on his and held it tenderly, providing what little consolation she could. "I'm here, my love. I will always be present.

When they got there, the home was silent, nearly deafening after the day's turmoil. With a heavy heart and an uncontrollable stream of thoughts, Mimi led Simeon inside. She desired to run. She felt like screaming. But all she could do was go through the motions, as though her body was doing everything for her but her mind was having a hard time processing it all.

Simeon curled up to her as she sat down on the couch in the living room, his little body still shaking from the emotional strain. She put her arms around him and held him tight, but she couldn't get the question out of her head: Was it all a lie?

She noticed their framed wedding picture on the mantel above the fireplace. A harsh reminder of all that had fallen apart after Scarlett's birth, the picture of her and James, so young and hopeful, grinned back at her.

Mimi's eyes lingered on the picture of the guy who had once promised her eternal life as her fingers skimmed over the frame. Why had everything gone so wrong?

She couldn't breathe because the thought kept eating away at her. She was unable to make amends between the man she had married and the one who had permitted this to occur. And the man who had watched in silence while Scarlett took it all.

Was it all a lie? Was it ever real?

With the question pressing down on her like a dense mist, Mimi pressed her palm to her brow. She needed to decide something. A choice that would alter the course of history. For the time being, though, she was limited to sitting in silence while the picture continued to stare back at her, the truth elusive.

Mimi stood in the kitchen, her hands shaking under the weight of the house's silence. Louder than any argument or criticism, the quiet was deafening. She was having trouble breathing. She stood motionless in this house that no longer seemed like home, even if the outside world was swirling.

Her pen was shaking in her hands as she picked up a notebook from the counter. Though her thoughts was racing, she was unable to speak. Only the burden of all she was unable to express and all that had been kept silent for too long.

She let out a harsh sigh and scribbled three words, harder than any sentence she had ever written: I was never... Her heart thumping in her chest, her hand hovered for a second. As she scribbled the last phrase, "your wife," the ink felt heavy under her fingers.

As she gazed at the message before her, her heartbeat accelerated. The straightforward yet blazing comments felt like a betrayal of what she had previously believed. She was not the woman to whom eternity had been promised. She wasn't the lady who had waited for a future with James.

She had been a completely different person. Something that can be thrown away.

Mimi blinked aside the tears that threatened to fall as she gulped hard. She was unable to cry. Not right now. Not when everything she had worked so hard to achieve and everything she had built was ending. This letter was a farewell, a last statement.

As though folding the paper would somehow make it seem less real, she did so with care. Like it would make a difference.

With heavy footsteps that sounded like distant echo in the quiet, Mimi moved slowly across the kitchen. She felt the weight of the folded letter in her palms as she looked down at it. Paper wasn't all that was left. Everything came to an end.

With his tiny face buried in his hands and the tears he had shed earlier now dried on his cheeks, Simeon sat on the couch. The weight of what had transpired, the brutal annihilation of their world, still made his little frame shiver. Though she knew better, Mimi wanted to cuddle him and reassure him that everything would be alright. She was unable to guarantee him that.

The message was set on the kitchen table by her. The surface was cold to the touch, like though it were soaking up the grief that spilled out of her.

Her gaze lingered on the message, the three words seeming to have a life of their own, looking back at her and accusing her. The decision to go away was weighing heavily on her bones, and she could feel the tension in her chest tighten.

Her heart heaving in her chest, she turned to face the door. She was unable to remain here. She was bound to a man who had decided to forget her, so she couldn't be the person she used to be. It was too much treachery.

The faint sound of an automobile engine outside reverberated throughout the home as she approached the door. A reminder that she was no longer with the world. But before the anguish engulfed her, she had to go out and take charge.

There was no one in the home when the door softly clicked shut behind her.

Mimi sat in the car, gazing out the window at the fading sky as the last of the day's light crept through the curtains. She didn't get up to answer her phone when it buzzed on her lap. She was unable to. Not quite yet.

There were a lot of ideas racing through her head, and none of them made sense. The note was left by her. The initial step had been taken by her. Where would that take her, though?

She felt suffocated by the weight of her choice, which was pressing down on her chest. She had made the correct decision. She must have. Did she not?

Mimi felt the tears begin to fall once more as the car raced through the silent streets, but she didn't resist this time. With the weight of everything finally settling her, she allowed them in. She needed to get over it. There was nothing else to do. However, the idea of leaving everything behind and beginning anew seemed like an insurmountable challenge.

Once more, her phone buzzed. Another message. When she saw who it was from—James—she glanced at the computer, her heart pounding.

She paused. Then she opened the message with trembling hands. According to the note, "I was never your Wife."