Chapter 297 297:- Aditya's Absence [II]; Consequences
The first thing Julia did in the morning was open her eyes. The first thing her body did unconsciously looked for Aditya beside her. Seeing that Aditya was no longer here, Julia felt very sad and empty when she woke up. As a habit, Aditya would gently hold her body while she slept. It became a habit for her to sleep in his arms while hugging him. Now that he wasn't here, it became very difficult for her to fall asleep.
A lot of the time, he was the first one up in the morning. Often, he would stare at Julia's face, gently stroking her back, as he embraced her. He would make sure that her body did not get cold. When Julia woke up, she was always met with a loving kiss on her lips when she awoke. Instead of getting up, they would both cuddle together for at least five minutes before getting up.
It had become a habit for Julia to have Aditya pamper her. And now that he wasn't here, she desperately missed him. Every time she tried to sleep, she remembered him. She would remember his touch. She missed his presence.
Julia used to look forward to sleeping with her prince charming, but now she finds that it has become one of the most difficult things for her. In fact, she even had to take sleeping pills in order to get to sleep. Otherwise, she will not be able to fall asleep without him no matter how hard she tries.
Her eyes rubbed as she sat up. As she looked to her right, she saw that her husband had disappeared. Tears started to form in her eyes as she realized that the life she lived without him had become very lonely. Julia felt lost without him. Without him, she could not focus on her work. The girl felt nothing. Her life had not changed in the last 34 days in a single way. She was unable to smile, she was unable to experience joy, and she was unable to enjoy the taste of food even if she was hungry. It was as if all she had been holding on to had disappeared with his disappearance.
The words that Julia uttered were "I miss you. I hope you come back soon." As she buried her face in her pillow, she began to cry silently. This was not her first time shed tears in this manner. It was the 33rd consecutive morning that she had shed tears like this. Knowing that her husband was not with her when she awoke, she could never stop herself from crying every day when she got up.
It's difficult!
It's painful!
⸢Without you, everything has become black and white.
Without you, The world seems to have become a lonely place.
As if Darkness has consumed the world and only you can save it.
My beloved, I miss you.
Please come back.
I can't live without you.⸣
Knock! Knock!
"Lady Julia!!!"
"Are you awake?"
The door was knocked on by the maid. Julia quickly wiped the tears from her face.
"Yes, I am awake."
"Would you like to join others for breakfast or shall I bring you breakfast as usual?" Without Aditya, the family had stopped having their meals together. Before it had become a rule to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together but now Julia had her meals alone; in her bedroom. Julia very rarely got out of the bedroom. Since she can't focus on her work, all of her work has been put on big sister Paige's shoulders.
"I will have my breakfast in my bedroom" Julia replied in a low tone. But that was enough for the maid to hear what her lady just said. This bedroom belonged to Aditya and Julia. After Aditya's disappearance, Julia spends most of her time here as this is the place where both of them had made most memories together.
"Alright. I will be back in a few minutes." Meanwhile, Julia got up with her. She walked in front of the mirror and stared at her face. These 34 days have changed her physical appearance a lot.
She stopped cultivating. Her face was a mess. She looked like someone who is depressed. Her eyes were devoid of any emotions. Dark circles formed under her eyes. Her hair was a mess. She stopped taking care of her appearance. Her eyes were slightly swollen and red from all the crying.
The goddess slowly walked to the bathroom. When she came out of the bathroom, the breakfast was already on the table. But seeing the mouth drooling food, she had an appetite. Ignoring the breakfast, she climbed the bed and then lied diagonally and stared at the ceiling. She began to recall all the good memories that she made with Aditya.
It seems that Julia is spending most of her time doing this now that she has stopped working. All her responsibilities have been left on the shoulders of others, and she was very depressed.
In comparison to Julia, Sophia was at least somewhat able to keep her composure under the circumstances. When Adam was absent, Sophia took on all of Adam's responsibilities. The first thing that Sophia did in Adam's absence was to change the school where Julia's little brother went to.
Sophia had made sure Zak attended the same school as Clara. This was done in order to ensure Zak's safety. If the enemies of Adam were to find out that Adam had disappeared, then they would definitely try to harm his family.
The news of Adam's disappearance had only been revealed to Adam's right-hand man. As Adam's right-hand man, Eddie was tasked with the responsibility of protecting the entire territory while Adam was away.
Eddie would attend important meetings in Adam's place. To the public, it was stated that Adam is very near reaching Peak 5th-order so he has decided to take some time off and focus more on cultivation.
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Scene change ____
Far from the Istarin empire, a woman with emerald eyes was sitting on a chair and writing a letter to her right hand man. The woman had covered her face with a veil.
Knock! Knock!
After Aditya's disappearance, Alicia had completely immersed herself in her work. She was very sad when Aditya disappeared. She cried for days before she came back to the office.
In spite of the fact that she hasn't forgotten Aditya, she was trying to shield herself from this pain by completely immersing herself in her work. However, the feeling of loss is something that never goes away from her.
A maid of Alicia's stepped into the room carrying a cup of tea and some pastries. She said to Alicia, "Milady, you have been working all night. I think you should get some rest.".
I am not hungry at all. This is distracting me. Take it away from me." Alicia exclaimed in a cold and indifferent tone.
In spite of Alicia's request, the maid refused to comply with Alicia's orders. She has been staying with Alicia for years now, and it was the first time in years that she had seen her lady looking so sad and heartbroken.
"Milady, I'd like you to take a break. You have been working nonstop, so you can leave the rest to others and take some time off." The maid was insistent that she needed to rest.
The maid's words seemed to have triggered Alicia's emotions and even though she has been suppressing them in her heart for a long time, they erupted on her.
Bang!
Alicia smashed the table, shattering it and shredding it into pieces. She was angrily glaring at her maid and shouted in a loud voice, "I do not want to eat, as I said before." As soon as these words left her mouth, she regretted it. The goddess regretted losing her calm.
It was at this point that Alicia calmed down. She was left with guilt and regret. "I am sorry. Please leave me alone. I would like some time to myself." Alicia sat down and spoke with her head lowered.
"As you wish Milady." The Maid bowed her head to Alicia before leaving her alone in the room.
When the goddess' maid left, the goddess broke down in tears, unable to hold on anymore. Since he left, things have become very difficult for her. She cannot find any peace or happiness in her life, and although she is the goddess of wealth, she does not even find pleasure in making money or a sense of joy in it.
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Scene change____
Bang!
Riya angrily punched the wall. "The three of you are the best runemasters in the Celestial Terrain continents. And you guys are saying that you can't break the barrier." Dark green Aura glowed around Riya as he angrily stared at the three elves whom she had bought from her Celestial Terrain continent.
These three elves were the best runemasters of the Celestial Terrain. One of them was a 4-star runemaster and the other two are 3-star runemasters. This whole month, they have been trying to break the barrier that prevented anyone from getting inside the portal. But even after an entire month of research and hard work and after wasting countless resources, they still failed.
"Your Highness, please understand that we are trying our best. But this is something that is completely out of our hands. From this entire month of research, I have concluded that the only way we can break the barrier would be with the help of a 6-star runemaster. And currently, I don't think there is any 6-star runemaster in this world. Not even the Main continent has any 6-star runemasters."
"So you're telling me to give up on my beloved." Riya felt like killing these three elves.
"Lady Riya, please calm down. Getting angry won't take us anywhere." Watson who was standing beside Riya tried his best to calm her down.
Watson has accepted the fact that they can't break the barrier. Now he can only pray and hope that his King would somehow break the barrier from inside and come out of that hell. In his King's absence, Watson and Spencer have been trying their best to do everything. Although both of them couldn't fill the role of a King, at least they were able to make sure that the empire would be able to run even without his presence. Watson and Spencer didn't let anyone in the Empire feel the absence of Aditya.
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Thousands of the Istarin empire guarded the Icy Shattered Ruin village. No outside was allowed to go in. If anyone tried to go to the portal, then the Istarin soldiers won't hesitate to kill that person. This was the strict order that the Prime Minister had given them. Only members of the Royal family and the high-ranking people of the Istarin Empire were allowed to go in.
"I can't believe we have been guarding this place for over a month now. Everything here is so boring." Ever since the Istarin Empire took this village under their control, no one dared to even come near this place. So except for eating, sleeping, and guarding, the soldiers had no other job.
"Don't complain. This is much better than being sent to war. At least, we can spend our time playing cards." Another soldier lazily replied while distributing cards.
Suddenly the portal that hasn't reacted for over a month reacted. The size of the portal began to enlarge which attracted the attention of all the soldiers.
"Captain, what is happening?" Some soldiers asked the Captain in panic.
The Captain of the soldiers was a Dragonian. As the portal enlarged, the Dragonian was able to feel the presence of his King. The Dragonian's entire body trembled in excitement. Others might not know it but he has been told that their King has been trapped inside.
"The portal has opened." The Dragonian shouted in excitement.
"Inform the Prime Minister about this."
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Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!
This is one of those chapters which is sad and also maybe a little dramatic. I have tried my best to show the affect of Aditya's disappearance on the females.
Each of the main and side-characters are going through 5 stages of grief.
- Julia is depressed and is in denial. She wants to escape this painful reality by dreaming all the times.
- Alicia is angry and depressed. She frequently loses her anger.
- Riya is bargaining. Even though she knows that it is impossible to break the barrier, she still wants to bargain and push her luck. She is doing everything in her powers to bring him back.
- Watson has accepted Aditya's disappearance and hopes that Aditya will make his return as soon as possible. He is also sad over his King's disappearance.
- Sophia has experienced all of the five phases and has accepted the reality. Now she is trying her best to take her husband's role even though she is broken.
- Leo is depressed but he still hasn't accepted the reality.
Thank you for reading. I hope you guys liked the chapter