What does he want now?
Author’s pov
It was early in the morning, and Juliana was just waking up in her large pink bed. As she stretched to fully awaken, her phone started ringing. Too tired to answer, she moved slowly towards the edge of the bed, and by the time she reached the phone, the ringing stopped. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was her mom. Sighing, she returned the call, pressing the phone to her ear as she walked towards the giant mirror in her room. Wearing a grey nightgown, she gently touched her face, her thoughts drifting to her appearance.
Her mom picked up after a couple of rings, jolting Juliana from her reflection.
"Juliana, how was your night?" her mom's voice asked.
"It was fine. Good morning. How was yours?"
"It was alright. What about your dad? I just wanted to ask."
"He's doing great. He's not far from me. Should I give him the phone?"
"No, don't give it to him," Juliana replied quickly, her tone sharp. A pause followed.
"Juliana, are you still angry with him?"
"I don’t want to talk about it," she snapped. "His obsession with baseball led me into this mess with Justin. All I wanted was to make him happy, and look where it got me—married to someone I barely recognize. You know I loved someone else, but he didn’t care."
Her mom sighed. "How long will you keep bringing this up? Did Justin call you, by the way?"
"No, why would he?" Juliana frowned, feeling a knot of irritation tighten. "Why do you ask?"
"We spoke yesterday. He couldn’t give me a clear reason for your separation. He mentioned something about going through mental healing, which sounds vague to me."
Juliana’s frustration boiled over. "He didn’t call me, and I heard he's opening a new house. I’m only going if he personally invites me. I've already started the divorce process with my lawyer. Justin can’t claim to love me with his behavior."
Her mom’s voice softened. "I understand, sweetheart. Your dad and I are planning to come see you soon—"
"Come alone," Juliana interrupted. "He's the one who made me marry a mentally unstable man."
"Juliana!" Her mom’s tone turned stern. "Watch the way you speak about your father. He’s responsible for who you are today."
Juliana bit her lip, silence filling the line.
Her mom continued after a pause. "There’s something I need to tell you. A feeling, more like."
"What is it?" Juliana asked, her voice softer now.
"I think Justin is hiding something. Call it mother’s intuition, but I’m sure of it. He’s not telling us everything."
"To hell with what he's thinking," Juliana muttered angrily. "I'm done. He had plenty of chances to reach out and fix things, but he chose not to. I’m moving on. Period. Can we talk later?"
"Alright, dear." Her mom hung up.
Juliana almost threw her phone in frustration. She caught sight of her reflection again and groaned. "Why does Mom always have to ruin my day?"
Shaking her head, she headed to the kitchen for some coffee. As she poured the hot liquid, she couldn’t stop her mind from spinning back to Justin and her dad—their insistence, their manipulation, everything they did to push her into that marriage.
Three hours later, Juliana had showered, eaten breakfast, and dressed. She sat in the living room wearing a short skirt and a black bra, feeling the emptiness of her home weigh on her. She decided to call her secretary, Doris.
"Good morning, ma'am," Doris answered quickly.
"Are you at the office?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Any appointments?"
"No, but there are documents waiting for your approval."
"I’ll handle them on Friday," Juliana said.
"Yes, ma'am." Doris hesitated, then added, "But Mr. Gabriel came by. He wanted to see you. He didn’t have an appointment."
Juliana froze. "What did you tell him?"
"I said you weren’t in the office."
"Why didn’t you call me? You should’ve informed me! Did he leave anything?"
"No, ma'am. But I told him to come back on Friday."
Juliana let out a breath. "Alright. Friday it is." She ended the call abruptly.
Standing up, she paced the room. "I should have gone to the office yesterday. Justin’s drama is throwing everything off. I need to see Gabriel. He’s come three times now... whatever this is, it’s serious."
Her mind raced, excitement mixing with nerves. "On Friday..." she whispered, her smile widening. "Friday is when everything changes."
Unable to wait, she called Stephanie.
"Hey, can you come by after work? I have something important to share," Juliana asked.
"Sure, I'll come this evening," Stephanie replied.
"Great. We’ll talk later," Juliana said, ending the call.
But as she hung up, her phone buzzed again. This time, it wasn’t her mom or Stephanie.
It was Justin.
Her heart skipped a beat as she stared at the screen, her hand hovering above the phone.
What could he possibly want now?
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