Get out
The moment Austin asked Paulina about the letter, he saw the internal struggle in her eyes. But he wasn’t interested in hearing anything other than holding that letter in his hands. The fury in his eyes made her shiver, and without hesitation, she walked forward and pulled the letter from the trash bin.
"Who the hell are you to throw it away?" he yelled, startling her.
Paulina flinched as Austin quickly rose from the bed, taking two quick strides toward her. She was stunned to see him move so fast when just moments ago he had been struggling to sit up.
"I…I…" she stammered, but he cut her off.
"Get out," he said in a calm voice that sent a chill down her spine. When she didn’t move, he shouted, "Get the fuck out of here before I do something to you!"
Paulina stepped back, horrified by his change in demeanor. Without a second thought, she ran out of the room, wiping away her tears. The man she thought of as a friend, the one who had never treated her harshly, now humiliated her over a mere letter.
Though she understood he was heartbroken, this wasn’t the Austin she knew. She left, planning to visit him the next day, unaware it would be the last time she saw him.
The entire night, Austin read Dora’s letter over and over again, each time sinking deeper into his despair. As sleep finally took over, he whispered, “If that’s what you want, Dora.”
Three months later:
“Abi, please. For the sake of our friendship, give me another chance,” Paulina pleaded over the phone.
“You shouldn’t have dared to touch Dora’s letter,” he sneered.
Austin stood against the glass wall of his office, one hand in his pocket, his gaze distant.
“I’m sorry. I thought it was for your good,” she sobbed, her voice shaking.
“I told you before, I’m not angry at you,” he replied flatly. “I don’t want to talk to anyone. Please, Paulina, like you said, for the sake of our friendship... let me be.”
Without waiting for her response, he hung up, blocking her number.
True to his words, he wasn’t angry at Paulina anymore. But he had turned apathetic, something beyond his control. The moment he saw Dora’s ring, something inside him broke. He didn’t care about anything anymore, except for her.
He tried to convince himself to forgive Paulina, to share the emptiness he felt, but his heart wouldn’t allow anyone in. The void left by Dora had become a part of him, and no one could fill it.
Paulina had called him from a new number four times in the past month. Each time, he blocked her number, pushing everyone out of his life. Sighing, he leaned his forehead against the glass wall. That night in the hospital, he promised himself to let Dora go. He would do it for her happiness, just as James had said.
But as the days passed, a devastating truth revealed itself, one that shattered him even more.
Turning away from the window, Austin walked toward his desk. His eyes fell on the bathroom door, and a memory of Dora flashed before him. A weak smile tugged at his lips as he relived the moments they had shared. Even broken, her memories held him together. The emptiness inside him had become a part of who he was, and every day, he grew used to it. For him, the void was a reminder of her, enough to keep him breathing.
He returned to his work, still lost in his thoughts when a knock interrupted him.
“Mr. Austin, the team is waiting in the meeting room. Shall we begin?” Sienna asked.
In the past three months, the only thing that had changed was Sienna and Douglas’s behavior toward Austin.
A week after Dora left, news spread about how Austin had helped the police capture a notorious criminal. He was rewarded for his efforts, but he chose to donate the reward to charity. At that time, Sienna, realizing the mess the situation had caused, couldn’t hold back anymore. She recounted how Austin had slandered Dora in front of everyone, and how that had ultimately led to her leaving.
If Austin had once resented George, after hearing the truth, he wanted to bring him back to life just to give him the most painful death imaginable. He now understood why Dora had left, and he felt the weight of his failure to protect her.
For a month, Austin had searched for Dora, but she was nowhere to be found. What disturbed him most was that Dora hadn’t called Sienna or Douglas after they had left her at his apartment. Even Ronan couldn’t trace her, she had simply vanished.
Austin initially thought her parents might know where she was, but when he confided in Sienna, she offered to help. Sienna had seen the pain in his eyes and, realizing how deeply she had misunderstood him, she regretted her words. The look of desperation in his eyes for Dora made her feel guilty for everything she had ever said against him.
However, when she called James, pretending to ask about Fiona, she was shocked to learn that Dora had been calling her family every week. They had no idea she was missing. When Sienna probed further, James, sensing something was off, asked if something was wrong with
Dora.
That was when the real truth began to unravel.
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