I Was Never the Woman in Focus Chapter 05

I Was Never the Woman in Focus Chapter 05

Zion froze for a moment. 

Blocked? 

Childish nonsense. 

He tossed his phone irritably onto the car’s center console. 

She always pulled this stuff after arguments- blocking him, giving him the silent treatment. She’d come crawling back eventually anyway. 

Shrugging it off, he turned the car around and headed back to his studio. 

The next few days passed surprisingly easily for Zion. No more Kelly nagging him to eat breakfast, no late–night calls urging him home when he was out drinking. 

Saturday night brought Selena’s lively birthday camping party. As the main photographer, he darted around the grounds with his camera. 

When the bonfire blazed to life after dark, Selena, slightly tipsy with pink flushed cheeks, leaned her head on his shoulder. 

“Zion, I’ve had such a wonderful day. Thank you 

for being here.” 

Zion patted her shoulder. “We’re buddies. No need 

for formalities.” 

Someone in the crowd whistled and teased. “Zion, 

you skipped out to celebrate Selena’s birthday. 

Didn’t your girlfriend give you an earful?” 

Zion let out a scoff. “She’s away on a work trip.” 

“Wow, she doesn’t even check up on you? She’s 

pretty laid–back.” 

“She doesn’t understand a thing.” Zion took a sip 

of beer. “Women get spoiled too easily. Give her a 

little space, and she’ll come to her senses.” 

The party ended well after midnight. Zion returned 

to the apartment he’d shared with Kelly. 

He pushed open the door to pitch–black darkness. No nightlight left on, no heater running. The air hung cold and stale, as if no one had lived here for 

ages. 

He flipped on the light. As he kicked off his shoes, his gaze drifted to the shoe cabinet. Her favorite pair of flat shoes was gone. 

Frowning, he walked into the living room. The 

coffee table was spotlessly clean–no water glass, no remote control, none of the magazines she 

always read. 

Only two items sat alone on the dining table: a set of keys, and a document. 

He stepped forward and picked up the paper. It 

was a Rental Termination Agreement. 

At the bottom, the signature read Kelly Walsh, in 

her neat, delicate handwriting. The date was four 

days prior. 

Zion’s heart skipped a beat. 

He dropped the document and bolted for the 

bedroom, yanking open the closet door. The once 

packed wardrobe was now half–empty. All of 

Kelly’s clothes and handbags were gone. 

He checked the bathroom. Her toothbrush, towels, 

skincare products–everything had vanished. 

Standing in the empty bathroom, his mind went 

blank. 

“What is going on…” he mumbled to himself. 

He pulled out his phone and dialed her number. 

“We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is no 

longer in service.” 

Disconnected. She’d canceled her phone line. 

His hands began to tremble. He exited the call screen and tried to add her on Instagram again. The search result read: User does not exist. She’d deleted her account entirely. 

Panic crashed over him like a tidal wave. Frantic, he dialed Letitia’s number. 

It rang seven or eight times before she answered. 

“Spit it out.” Letitia’s voice was ice cold. 

“Letitia, where’s Kelly? Is she at your place?” Zion’s voice raced with urgency. 

“At my place?” Letitia let out a sharp laugh. “Are 

you out of your mind? Your girlfriend disappears, and you come asking me?” 

“All her things are gone, and she canceled her number! You must know where she is!” 

“I do know,” Letitia drawled, “but why on earth. would I tell you?” 

“Quit messing around!” Zion paced wildly across 

the living room. “Where did she go? Just getting away for a while? Tell her to call me back. I’ll let 

the blocking incident slide.” 

“You’ll let it slide?” Letitia sounded as if she’d just heard the funniest joke alive. “Who do you think 

you are? What right do you have to hold anything against her?” 

“Aren’t you busy celebrating your ‘buddy‘ Selena’s birthday? Not having fun anymore? Come running over here looking for attention?” 

Her words struck a raw nerve. 

“This has nothing to do with Selena!” 

“Nothing?” Letitia gritted her teeth. “What were you doing Wednesday night, when Kelly was 

running a fever of 102°F and sitting alone in the emergency room getting an IV?” 

“You were at the vet with Selena’s dog!” 

Zion stiffened completely. “She… she went to the hospital with a fever?” 

“You didn’t know?” Letitia’s tone dripped with 

sarcasm. “Of course you didn’t. Your eyes were 

only ever on your precious camera, on your aurora 

goddess Selena.” 

“Do you remember last month, when Kelly had a 

sudden appendicitis and collapsed in agony on 

the floor?” 

“She called you. What did you say?” 

Cold sweat broke out across Zion’s forehead. 

Vague memories surfaced. He’d been going over renovation blueprints with Selena back then, 

annoyed by Kelly’s call, and hung up on her. He’d even told her to come up with a better lie if she 

was going to fake being sick. 

“You didn’t just hang up. You texted her and called her dramatic,” Letitia said, each word cutting like a 

blade. 

“I was the one who carried her downstairs. She 

spent three hours in surgery, and you didn’t send 

her a single message.” 

Zion’s fingers clenched tightly. “I thought she…” 

“You thought she’d always stay put, waiting for 

someone who never cared about her?” Letitia said 

coldly. “She’s gone. Left for good.” 

“Where did she go?” Zion’s voice shook. 

“Don’t waste your time. She’s somewhere you’ll 

never reach in your lifetime.” 

The line went dead. When he tried to call again, he 

found he’d been blocked.