Homecoming to an Empty Heart

The moment Julia opened the door, she was greeted by a cheerful atmosphere. Elijah was playing the piano, while Juliette was dancing along.

Coby sat on the couch, clapping enthusiastically. "You're so pretty, Aunt Juliette!"

They were the picture-perfect family of three.

Suddenly, Juliette lost her footing and fell to the floor in a graceful tumble. As soon as she did, the piano let out a jarring, discordant sound. Elijah rushed to his feet and scooped her up, placing her gently on the couch.

Coby hurried over as well, asking, "Are you alright, Aunt Juliette?"

Grasping Elijah's sleeve, Juliette whimpered, "My leg hurts, Eli!"

Elijah was crouching on the floor, and when he heard what she said, he quickly checked on her sprained ankle.

"It's okay. It's not a serious injury. Coby, go to my bedroom and bring me the ointment from the nightstand."

"Okay!"

Coby scrambled to the bedroom before running back to the living room moments later.

With a concerned expression, Elijah instructed Juliette to place her feet on his thigh. Then, he expertly rubbed the ointment between his hands before giving her a massage. His gaze was tender and helpless. Each time she winced in pain, he would press a little more gently.

Coby sat on the side and comforted Juliette as well. "I'll blow on it, Aunt Juliette, and it won't hurt so much anymore."

Amid all of this, Julia recalled that a long time ago, Elijah would tend to her injuries and massage her as well. Due to the nature of her job, she was no stranger to bruises and sprains. He'd bought that ointment specifically for her.

It was only when the kitten she was holding let out a mewl that the three people in the house finally turned toward the door.

"What are you doing here?" Elijah and Coby asked at the same time.

Julia's eyes flashed with self-mockery. She didn't know how to answer that question of theirs.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Julia," Juliette said, though she showed no intention of withdrawing her leg.

Elijah resumed his massage. Without even looking at Julia, he said, "You came back too late. We've already had dinner. There are still some leftovers in the fridge. You can heat it up and eat it."

Though only minutes had passed, Julia felt as if she'd been standing frozen in place for days. Moving her stiff legs, she walked toward Coby.

"You wanted a pet, right? I got you a kitten."

She bent down, letting him see the kitten she held.

After glancing at it, Coby looked up at her and said, "But Aunt Juliette already got me a parrot. It can even repeat the phrases I teach it. A cat can't do that. It just meows all the time. It's so annoying."

Julia believed she had a heart of stone, but she still felt a prick of pain anyway. Looking up, she finally spotted the bird cage out on the balcony. The colorful parrot seemed to notice that someone was looking at it, so it cried out, "I hate Mommy! I hate Mommy!"

She could sense that everyone else was checking her reaction, but she no longer knew what kind of expression she was supposed to have. Before she could say anything, Elijah said, "It's just a bird. You're not going to get upset with it, are you?"

Julia could tell that he was mocking her over the way she'd reacted to Coby's drawing.

Meeting his indifferent gaze, she smiled and said, "Of course not."

What was there to be upset about? No matter what she did, to Elijah and Coby, she was just kicking up a fuss over nothing. In any case, she was about to leave anyway.

Elijah seemed startled by how calm Julia was.

"Eli, you're hurting me!" Juliette yelped.

He quickly apologized and softly appeased her. It was only after he'd stood up that he realized Julia had gone to the kitchen.

Under the warm light of the kitchen, Julia got some of Coby's milk from the fridge and poured some into a bowl for the kitten. She was still feeding it when her phone rang with a call from Kayla Powell, one of her subordinates.

"What's going on, Captain Graham? Why am I attending next week's briefing? Aren't you the one who's supposed to be attending it? Why did I hear from Chief Davis that you'll be leaving Greendale for a training course? You're the best detective there is! What else is there for you to learn?"

Julia's departure was top-secret. She couldn't share it with anyone, not even her most trusted subordinate. Moreover, Kayla happened to be quite the chatterbox.

"I'm just following orders. Relax. You'll have to take charge of the squad from now on," Julia said.

She was feeling a little melancholic, but Kayla simply brushed it off with a carefree laugh. "Why are you making it sound like you're never coming back? I'm counting on you to give a speech at my daughter's birthday party, you know."

Out of nowhere, Elijah's voice rang out from behind.

"Who's never coming back?"