What The Heart Wants (Sebastian Vettel)

23. Welcome Home

Seb breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Ava scrawl her signature onto the two sets of papers in front of her.  He glanced sideways at his lawyer, who gave him a knowing nod. He had won, albeit at a cost. 

He looked back across the table at Ava, whose expression was unreadable.

"I'll be in touch about having my stuff collected," he told her.  He'd also added a clause into the agreement that she would not attempt to sell or dispose of any of his belongings as long as he arranged for their collection within twenty eight days.

She nodded but didn't speak.
She stood up, as did her lawyer.  The lawyer bade them goodbye and the two of them left. 

Seb's lawyer, Robert, turned to him. 

"I will file the paperwork with the courts.  The divorce will take three to four months, possibly quicker as there are no children involved."

They shook hands.

"Thank you Robert."

"It's a pleasure Sebastian. Have a safe trip home."

Seb made his way out of the room and back out onto the street.  He felt like a massive weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.   Sure, his bank account was a lot lighter, he'd transferred the agreed sum to Ava as she'd signed, but it was worth it.

Arriving back at his car, he got in and headed straight for the airport.  His flight was in two hours.

He hadn't told Jessie he was coming home today.  Not yet.  Maybe he'd just turn up and surprise her.  He didn't know yet.  What he did know though was he wasn't going to be getting much sleep that night. He and Jessie had five nights to make up for.

                        ***

Jessie watched the five tiny ducklings swimming around the pond in single file behind their mother.  She didn't know where their dad had gone, but she was certain he wouldn't be far.  

She smiled at the sight of the little family, then felt a growing sadness inside her.

The past few days had brought about a strong feeling of trepidation inside her.  Seb had left Ava because she'd lied to him about trying for a baby.  Seb wanted a family,  and she could not give him that.  Would he leave her too?

She'd hidden her feelings from him when he'd FaceTimed her over the past few days.   She'd put on a brave face and acted as if nothing was wrong, but inside she was full of self doubt.  Would she be enough for him?  

She smiled weakly as she thought about their FaceTime calls.   As Seb had suggested, she'd showed him her toys, and he'd managed to persuade her to give him a demonstration on camera, not that she'd taken much persuading.   Then of course he'd got horny and things had escalated. 

A loud quacking sound startled her.  The father duck came flying in from wherever he'd been and landed in the water. 

Jessie glanced at her watch. She hadn't heard from Seb since early that morning and it was now half past six.  She hoped everything had gone smoothly.  Surely he should be done with the lawyer by now. 

She began to walk slowly back up to the house.   She should really eat.  She hadn't eaten since breakfast and her tummy was beginning to rumble. 

As she reached the house she heard a rumble of thunder in the distance.  She quickly took the sun parasol down and put it in the shed so it didn't get wet, then folded the sunlounger up and put that away too. 

The first spots of rain began to fall as she finally headed indoors. 

She went to her phone, which was charging on the kitchen counter.  There was still nothing from Seb, but she already knew that.  If he'd texted or called while she'd been down the garden she'd have got a notification on her watch.