Souls Remember What Matters — Corey Gibson 10
010 – Home
SERA
I didn’t expect to see Darius here.
But there he was, walking into the ballroom with Vivienne’s hand tucked into the crook of his arm like they were husband and wife. Like they belonged together. Like I was just some distant memory he’d forgotten about.
I shouldn’t care anymore. I’d already made my decision to let him go, to stop fighting for something that was never really mine to begin with.
But my heart didn’t get that message. It twisted in my chest, a fresh cut on top of all the old scars.
Because despite everything I’d tried to tell myself, I really did care about him. So much it hurts just seeing him.
Even more when he’s with another woman, when he’s with Vivienne.
“Sera, you know Vivienne is sick, and her last wish is to work with AJ. Why can’t you have a little sympathy and let her make this happen?”
His words hit me like stones. She was sick, yes. But that didn’t mean I had to give her everything she wanted. That didn’t mean I had to sacrifice myself on the altar of her dying wishes.
When was Darius going to understand that I was also a person with wants and desires?
The familiar feeling wrapped around my throat like invisible hands, making it hard to breathe. Ever since Vivienne came back with her terminal diagnosis, it had been the same story. Darius focusing all his attention on her while I disappeared into the background. Me having to smile and nod and accept whatever Vivienne wanted to do.
Move into our lives? Fine, she’s dying.
Take over my birthday party? Fine, she’s dying.
Win my daughter’s heart? Fine, she’s dying.
Destroy my marriage? Fine, she’s dying.
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with air that tasted like freedom.
Darius had no right to ask me to serve Vivienne. Not anymore.
I was AJ. I was successful and talented and worth something beyond being someone’s convenient wife. But I wasn’t going to tell them that. I wasn’t going to give Darlus and Vivienne that satisfaction.
If they knew I was AJ, they’d find some way to use it against me. Darius would probably try to control my career the same way he’d controlled everything else in my life. And Vivienne would play the dying card to guilt me into writing her music.
No. This secret was mine to keep.
After I made it clear that AJ wouldn’t meet with her, Vivienne’s face went red with anger and embarrassment. She whispered something sharp to Darius, then turned on her heel and walked away.
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010–Home
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Of course, Darius followed her. He was her protector now, her knight in shining armor.
But before he left, he gave me one long look. His eyes were full of questions and something that might have been hurt. Or maybe just annoyance that his wife wasn’t being cooperative as he wanted her to be.
I watched them disappear into the crowd together, and something inside me felt both broken and free at the same time.
“Who was that guy?” Johnson appeared beside me, his voice carefully neutral.
“My husband.”
“The jerk?” He raised one eyebrow, and I could see he was trying not to smile.
I laughed despite everything. Trust Johnson to cut straight to the heart of it. “Yes, the jerk.”
“He brought another woman to a public event while he’s still married to you?” Johnson’s voice got harder, more protective. “What kind of man does that?”
“He says they’re just friends.”
Just friends. Right. A friend who happened to be his ex–girlfriend and first love. A friend who was stealing my family piece by piece while I watched helplessly.
I lifted my wine glass to my lips, but all I could taste was bitterness. The expensive champagne might as well have been vinegar.
Johnson reached over and gently took the glass from my hands. His fingers brushed mine, warm and steady, and I saw the worry in his dark eyes.
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, eyes boring into mine, his soft gaze filled with concern.
“Sorry,” I said, backing away from his touch. “I need to go to the bathroom,” I exhaled shakily, my entire body betraying me now that I was no longer in front of Darius.
I walked away as fast as I could without running, weaving between groups of elegant people who were probably judging the drama they’d just witnessed. My cheeks burned with embarrassment.
I hated how the feeling had somehow become a norm and each time…it was because of Darius.
The bathroom was at the end of a long hallway, and I was grateful for the quiet. Away from the music and laughter and the weight of everyone’s stares. I just needed a minute to pull myself together.
But I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. I didn’t notice the footsteps behind me until someone blocked my path.
I crashed into a solid chest, the familiar smell of expensive cologne filling my nose. It knocked the breath out of me and I’d almost lost my balance.
His arms went around my waist in the next instant, holding me firmly against his solid chest before I lost my balance.
“Are you drunk?” Darius’s hands came up to steady me, but I jerked away from his touch the second it registered that it was him.
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My heart hammered endlessly as I took a quick step back.
“No.” I straightened my shoulders and looked him in the eye, trying to project confidence I didn’t feel. I feared he could see through it all, I feared he could feel just how shaky and unpleasant his presence had left me.
“Your boss let you drink too much at a work event. He doesn’t seem to take very good care of you,” His lips pursed with obvious disapproval as his eyes took in my slightly unsteady form.
I might’ve indulged more than I should’ve because of how at ease I was throughout the night, it was the first night in a long time that I truly felt like me…until I saw them together.
“This has nothing to do with Johnson.” My voice came out sharper than I meant it to. “What do you want?” I shifted the topic.
Darius adjusted his tie, a nervous habit I’d noticed over the years. “You left home without saying goodbye. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”
“I have every right to work instead of sitting at home being your obedient wife,” I countered calmly though I felt anything but.
“If you wanted to work, you didn’t need to run off to New York. There are plenty of job opportunities at home.” His voice got softer, more persuasive.
“Luna has been asking for you every night since you left. Come home, Sera.” Darius‘ voice was gentle, almost pleading.
Home.
The word hit me like a punch to my gut. Home meant everything to me. It was supposed to be my safe place, my sanctuary, the thing I’d dreamed about during all those lonely years in the orphanage.
My nose burned with unshed tears and my chest felt heavy. I missed home so much it physically hurt. I missed tucking Luna into bed and reading her stories. I missed the smell of coffee in the morning and the way sunlight came through our kitchen windows.
Darius would never understand what home meant to someone like me. Someone who’d spent her childhood dreaming of belonging somewhere, of having a family that was really hers.
He’d grown up with everything handed to him–parents who loved him, a house that had been in his family for generations, the absolute certainty that he belonged somewhere.
He couldn’t understand how it felt to watch someone else come in and destroy the only home you’d ever known. To watch your husband cross every emotional boundary with another woman while you stood there powerless to stop it.
Vivienne was wrecking my home, and Darius was letting her do it. Helping her do it.
I looked at my husband standing there in his perfect suit with his perfect hair and his perfect confidence that I would come crawling back like I always did.
His expression was focused on me with that intense way he had when he wanted something. I bet he was already planning how this conversation would go–how he’d convince me to give up this silly independence phase and come back to being the quiet, grateful wife he preferred.
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010 Home
But I wasn’t that woman anymore.
“No,”
,” I said, my voice steady and clear. “I won’t go back.”
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