Chapter 2 The Goodbye He Never Expected

"Yes, Mom?"

Tessie appeared at the doorway, looking from her mother to her father with a slight frown. She could tell something was wrong. The tension in the air was impossible to ignore, and her mother's tear-stained face only made her more concerned.

Audrey took a breath, trying to steady herself before speaking.

"Go and get Charlie, sweetheart."

Tessie glanced down the hallway. "He's already on his way, Mom."

As if on cue, Charlie came hurrying toward them, his little footsteps echoing against the floor.

"Yeah, Mom? You called?"

Audrey looked at her two children. For a brief moment, the sight of their innocent faces nearly broke the little strength she had managed to gather. They had no idea how much their world was about to change, and she wished more than anything that she could spare them the pain of it all.

But she couldn't keep pretending.

"Both of you, go downstairs and put on your shoes. We're going to see Grandpa for a while."

Charlie's eyes widened with excitement.

"Yay! Yay! We're going to see Grandpa?" he asked happily. "I love seeing Grandpa!"

A small smile appeared on Tessie's face, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the atmosphere seemed to lighten.

"Come on, Tessie, let's go!" Charlie exclaimed, already turning toward the stairs.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming!" Tessie replied, following him.

The two children hurried away, their voices fading as they made their way downstairs.

Audrey watched them disappear before turning back to the open suitcase on the bed. She couldn't afford to lose her nerve now. If she allowed herself to dwell on the memories, the promises, and all the years she had invested in her marriage, she might never find the courage to walk away.

She began folding her clothes and placing them inside the suitcase. Then she took out another bag and started packing the children's belongings.

David stood near the bedroom door, watching her in disbelief.

For a moment, he seemed unable to accept what was happening. Audrey was actually packing. She wasn't threatening to leave to get his attention, and she wasn't waiting for him to apologize before deciding what to do.

She was preparing to go.

"Audrey, we can talk about this like adults."

She didn't even look at him.

"There is nothing more to talk about."

"How can you say that?" David asked, stepping farther into the room. "After all these years we've spent together, you're just going to walk away from me?"

Audrey paused, one of Charlie's shirts in her hands.

Slowly, she turned to face him.

"How can I leave you? You ask?" she repeated, her voice filled with disbelief. "You seriously stand right in front of me and ask how I can leave you?"

David opened his mouth, but she didn't give him a chance to interrupt.

"Okay, David. Let's talk about those years. Charlie just had his fifth birthday party last week, remember?"

He looked at her, saying nothing.

"Your own son's fifth birthday, David! Do you remember what you told me? You said you had to work late. You said there was an important business matter you couldn't postpone, so I believed you."

Her voice trembled, and she briefly looked away as the memory came rushing back.

She remembered Charlie repeatedly looking toward the entrance, waiting for his father to arrive. She remembered reassuring her son that Daddy would come as soon as he finished his work. She had smiled through the disappointment, trying to make the celebration special despite David's absence.

Now, she knew there had been more to his excuse than work.

"But now I know what exactly you were working out with," she continued bitterly.

David's expression tightened.

"It's not like that, Audrey."

She gave a short, humorless laugh.

"Then what is it like? No, tell me. I don't understand. Make me understand!"

He rubbed his forehead, visibly frustrated.

"Can you just calm down? Then we can-"

"Just stop!"

Her sudden interruption silenced him.

Audrey placed the shirt into the suitcase and zipped it halfway before facing him again.

"That's all you've been asking me to do, David. Calm down. Stop talking. Go to my room. Wait until later. Every time I try to make you understand how much you're hurting me, you act as though I'm the problem."

"That's not fair."

"Fair?" she echoed. "You want to talk about fairness now?"

David took a step toward her.

"Auri, please. You're not listening to me."

"Don't call me that."

He stopped, but Audrey had already turned away to finish packing.

She couldn't bear to hear that name coming from him. It belonged to another time, to a version of their marriage she had once treasured. Back then, when David called her Auri, she would turn toward him with a smile, sometimes pretending to be annoyed just to make him laugh.

Now, the same name felt like a reminder of everything she was losing.

Or perhaps everything she had already lost.

David watched her pack the remaining clothes.

"Audrey, look at me."

She kept her eyes on the suitcase.

"I am looking at you, David. I've been looking at you for years. Maybe that's the problem. I kept looking at you and seeing the man I fell in love with, even when your actions kept showing me someone else."

His face changed.

"That's not true. You know I love you."

Audrey finally turned around.

"Do I?"

The question hung between them.

David seemed to struggle for an answer, and that hesitation hurt her more than she wanted to admit.

She shook her head and wiped her cheek.

"You are just not the Dave I knew before. And the more I see you, the more agitated and frustrated I become. I can't keep living like this, wondering what else you're hiding from me or when the next excuse will come."

She closed the suitcase and pulled the zipper all the way around.

"I think this is the best thing for both of us."

David stared at her.

"The best thing for both of us?" he repeated. "You really believe leaving is going to solve everything?"

"No," Audrey answered honestly. "I don't know what will happen tomorrow. I don't know how I'm going to explain this to the children or how I'm going to rebuild my life. But I know I can't continue pretending that our marriage is fine when it isn't."

She reached for the handles of the two large suitcases.

David moved toward her, but she lifted one hand to stop him.

"Don't."

He froze.

For a moment, his eyes searched her face, perhaps hoping to find a trace of the woman who would usually soften whenever he looked at her that way.

But Audrey had reached a point where even the sight of him made her feel exhausted.

She lifted the bags and walked toward the door.

"Audrey, please!" David called, hurrying after her. "Audrey! Just listen to me. You know I would never want to hurt you, but I just had to do it."

She stopped in the hallway and slowly turned around.

A look of disbelief crossed her face.

"You just had to do it?"

David swallowed.

"Auri, I-"

"That is such a sad story," she replied sarcastically. "Really, David. Such a sad story."

She shook her head and continued walking.

He followed her, his frustration growing as he realized that none of his words were changing her mind.

"Audrey, don't do this. Please. We can work something out."

But she had heard enough.

Downstairs, Tessie and Charlie were waiting near the entrance, already wearing their shoes. Charlie looked excited about visiting his grandfather, while Tessie glanced between her parents, quietly sensing that something serious was happening.

Audrey carefully set the suitcases down.

"Come on, Tessie and Charlie. Go get into the car."

Charlie hurried toward the door.

"Are we leaving now, Mom?"

"Yes, sweetheart. Go ahead."

Tessie hesitated for a moment and looked at her mother.

"Mom, are you okay?"

Audrey's heart tightened.

She forced a gentle smile and brushed a strand of hair away from her daughter's face.

"I'm okay, sweetheart. Just go and get into the car. I'll be right there."

Tessie studied her for another second before following her brother outside.

David stood a short distance away, watching his children leave. The sight seemed to make the situation more real than anything Audrey had said upstairs.

They were going.

His wife was leaving, and his children were going with her.

He stepped closer, his voice falling into a desperate plea.

"Please, Audrey. Don't leave me."

She picked up the suitcases again and looked at him.

"I'm already gone, David, so don't bother coming to meet us."

His face fell.

Audrey continued, her voice quieter now but no less firm.

"Don't worry. I'll still let the kids speak to you over the phone once in a while, if you even care to hear their voices."

"How can you say that?" he asked. "They're my children too!"

"Then you should have remembered that before making choices that could tear this family apart."

David had no immediate answer.

Audrey turned toward the door, but his voice stopped her once more.

"Auri!"

She went completely still.

For a second, the world around her seemed to fall silent. She stood with her back to him, gripping the suitcase handles tightly as memories flooded her mind.

That name.

Only her Dave used to call her that with such warmth. Her Dave, who would pull her close after a difficult day, make her laugh when she wanted to cry, and promise that she would never have to face life alone.

She had spent so long waiting for that man to return that she had almost forgotten how much it hurt to keep waiting.

Slowly, Audrey turned around.

"Never call me that again!"

David stared at her, startled by the force of her words.

"Audrey-"

"No!" she shouted, tears gathering in her eyes again. "Only my Dave, the man who loved me back then, gets to call me that. I don't know where he went, David. I don't know what happened to him, and I don't know if he's ever coming back."

Her voice broke, but she forced herself to continue.

"But in case he never comes back, tell him something for me."

David stood motionless.

"Tell him it's so unfortunate that he lost me."

For the first time, he looked as though he truly understood that she wasn't simply angry. He was watching the consequences of his choices unfold right in front of him, and there was nothing he could say to make them disappear.

Audrey wiped her tears and gave him one final look.

"Goodbye, Dave."

Then she turned and walked out.

She didn't look back.

David remained in the doorway, watching as Audrey carried the suitcases toward the car. Tessie and Charlie were already inside, waiting for their mother. Audrey placed the bags in the car, got in, and closed the door.

A moment later, the car pulled away.

Just like that, she was gone.

David stood frozen, staring at the empty space where the car had been. The silence that followed was unbearable. Only minutes earlier, the house had been filled with arguments, accusations, and the sound of Audrey's voice.

Now there was nothing.

No Audrey.

No children.

No familiar footsteps moving through the house.

His face twisted with anger and disbelief.

"What the hell?"

He turned abruptly and stormed back inside. The living room came into view, with the couch standing where it always had and the furniture arranged just as Audrey liked it.

Everything looked the same.

Yet nothing felt the same.

"How could this happen?" he muttered, his voice rising. "How could I just let her leave?"

He kicked the couch in frustration, then turned toward the table and struck it with his knuckles.

"Damn it!"

Pain shot through his hand, but he barely noticed. His mind was racing, replaying Audrey's words over and over again.

I'm already gone.

Never call me that again.

It's so unfortunate that he lost me.

David clenched his fists, furious at the situation, furious at Audrey for walking away, and perhaps most of all, furious that he had failed to stop her.

He had thought she would eventually calm down. He had thought there would be another conversation, another chance to explain himself, another opportunity to convince her to stay.

But Audrey had made her decision.

And for the first time, David was left alone with the consequences.

He stared at the front door, his breathing heavy and his expression dark.

"How could you do this to me, Audrey?" he whispered.

The house offered no answer.

And somewhere beyond those walls, the woman he had taken for granted was driving away with their children, leaving behind the life she had once believed would last forever.