Soon, the results of my search started to appear and my heart shrank when I saw more pictures of her at what seemed to be an exclusive gathering.
I took the time to examine each picture. She was wearing a red dress that I was sure belonged to Doinel's collection. She had a radiant smile while embracing Paul. More pictures of the two of them appeared and my frustration grew. That idiot's hand was always on Sarah's waist, on the waist that I had once held in my hands.
"Sources inform us that Paul Dubois has been the reason for the separation of Sarah Petit with renowned CEO, Alexander Lancaster."
"Infidelity on the part of the new vice president of Doinel would have ended the two-year marriage with businessman Lancaster.”
More news began to appear distorting the reason for our separation and portraying her as the unfaithful one.
My fingers typed her name on the social network and I was surprised to see that she had not blocked me. Soon, I began scrolling down, seeing all the posts that were summarized in photos of us together, from when we were in college, to our wedding day. Her face never lacked a smile, until solo photos of her started appearing six months ago.
"Missing Alex."
"Alex arrived tired from work, I prepared his favorite meal."
"It's cold, I wonder if Alex is bundled up."
"On vacation in Orlando, I will miss Alex."
My chest began to ache as I saw each photo of hers without that smile on her face like the ones in which we appeared together. Despite my absence, she always included me in each of her posts and I didn't realize it until now.
Soon, the photos started disappearing one by one and I panicked. I refreshed the page, only to find that she had deleted all the photos. I entered the chat to leave her a message, as it was the only way I could communicate with her.
"Sarah, come back home, I need to talk to you."
I pressed send without beating around the bush, and I felt furious when I realized she had blocked me.
I let out a loud sigh and unable to control my impulses, I ended up sweeping my desk with my hands, making everything fly to the floor, including the divorce papers. My pulse raced and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.
"Cristina, come to my office, please." I ordered my secretary over the phone, and within seconds, she was standing at the door without stepping inside.
"Sir, do you need something?"
Yes, I needed to turn back time and tell Rachel to go to hell when she started blackmailing me.
"I need you to locate Mrs. Lancaster."
Cristina nodded and rushed out of the office.
I poured myself another drink of whisky and sat on the couch, trying to relax my tense muscles.
Why was Sarah suddenly the vice president of Doinel?
How did she reach such a high position so quickly?
What the hell did Paul have to do with this?
She was still my wife until I signed the papers, she couldn't do this to me with someone she just met.
"It's clear that she's been taking advantage of you for a long time."
My mother's words began to resonate in my head, and I had to shake my head, pushing away that silly idea. Clearly, that didn't happen. There must be something more behind her unexpected rise. It was not because she got romantically involved with Doinel's partner, they just misinterpreted the pictures.
"Excuse me." Cristina returned to my office just as I finished my glass of whisky. I looked at her expectantly, hoping for some positive news.
"Mrs. Lancaster was seen at the private airport in New York, she was alone and traveled on a private jet to Orlando. Hours later, she used the same private jet to travel to Paris. That's all I could find, there's no further information about her whereabouts."
Cristina's information led me to draw many conclusions, which I refused to believe. If I combined the information with my mother's words, everything seemed to point to...
"Did she travel to Paris alone?" I asked, cutting off any further attempts by my mind to create more stories.
"She traveled accompanied, but I haven't been given any information about her companion." I nodded and signaled for Cristina to leave my office, which she obediently did.
Being alone and with another glass of whisky, I started connecting the dots.
She was going on a week-long vacation to Orlando. I didn't know why she came back early, maybe she came to ask me for a divorce to be with her lover, and I made it easy for her.
She took her documents, went back to Orlando where someone was waiting for her, and they went to Paris together. That companion could be no one other than Paul Dubois.
I got up from the couch and smashed the second glass against the wall. This shit was going to end right now. If what she wanted was to divorce me and go into the arms of another man, I would oblige her.
I picked up the papers from the floor with boiling blood in my veins. Thankfully, they were still intact despite being thrown to the ground in a fit of rage. I signed in the spaces where I needed to sign and put the sheets in the envelope.
I knew I failed her, that I got involved with her best friend, but I had my reasons. Whereas she, she pretended to be the victim, a good woman, and ended up being what my mother said, ended up cheating on me with Paul and wanted to act dignified.
From this moment on, Sarah did not exist to me.