48 The Unkept Promise of the Springs
48 The Unkept Promise of the Springs
Elara’s POV
The bright morning sun streamed through the windows as Cora bounded into my room, already dressed in her favorite pink swimsuit and a matching cover–up.
“Mom! Are you ready yet? Can we leave now?” She jumped onto the bed, her excitement palpable as she bounced up and down.
I smiled at her enthusiasm while packing my overnight bag. “Almost done, sweetie. Is your bag packed?”
“Yes! Dad helped me last night before bedtime.” She flopped onto her back, staring at the ceiling. “He said there’s a new water slide this year!”
I nodded, trying to maintain my smile. “That sounds fun.”
Cora rolled onto her stomach, watching me fold a blouse. “Are you excited, Mom?”
The question caught me off guard. Was I excited to spend a weekend pretending to be a happy family? To watch Damien check his phone every few minutes, waiting for messages that weren’t about work?
“Of course,” I lied. “Who wouldn’t be excited about hot springs?”
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Julian’s name flashed on the screen.
“I need to take this,” I said, grabbing the phone. “Why don’t you go check if your dad is ready?”
As Cora skipped out of the room, I answered the call. “Good morning, Julian.”
“Elara, we’ve got a situation with the YodaVision prototype,” Julian’s voice was tense. “The interface is glitching during the third test sequence.”
I sat on the edge of the bed, instantly shifting into work mode. “Send me the diagnostics. I can look at the code remotely.”
“Already sent. But there’s more – the investors moved up their timeline. They want a demo next Wednesday instead of Friday.”
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48 The Unkept Promise of the Springs
“What? That’s not enough time to fix the interface and run proper tests!”
Julian sighed. “I know. That’s why I need you to come in today.”
I glanced at my half–packed bag. “I can’t. I’m taking Cora to the hot springs retreat.”
“The family thing you mentioned? Can’t you join them
tomorrow?
Before I could answer, I noticed Cora standing in the doorway, her excitement replaced with disappointment.
“I’ll call you back,” I told Julian before hanging up.
“You’re not coming?” Cora’s lower lip trembled slightly.
I went to her, kneeling to her level. “Of course I’m coming. That was just work.”
“You’re always working now,” she mumbled, looking down at her sandals.
The observation stung, especially coming from my six–year–old daughter. Had I been that absent lately?
“I’ll be right down,” I promised, kissing her forehead. “Go make sure we haven’t forgotten anything important.”
After she left, I called Julian back and explained the situation.
“I’ll look at the code tonight after Cora goes to bed,” I promised. “And I can come in
early Monday morning.”
“Fine, Julian relented. “But expect more calls. This deadline is brutal,”
When I finally made it downstairs with my bag, Damien was checking his watch in the foyer. He wore casual clothes – a rarity for him – dark jeans and a light blue
button–down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
“There you are,” he said, his tone neutral. “The car’s been waiting”
“Sorry,” I replied automatically. “Work call.”
Something flickered across his face. “You’ve been taking a lot of those lately.”
“The YodaVision project is at a critical stage,” I explained, though I didn’t owe him explanations anymore.
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48 The Unkept Promise of the Springs
Mr. Finch appeared, taking my overnight bag. “I’ve packed some snacks for the journey, Mrs. Thorne.”
I nodded my thanks, ignoring the twinge I felt at being called Mrs. Thorne. That title belonged to a different woman now one who still believed her marriage meant
something.
–
In the car, Cora chattered excitedly between us, filling the silence Damien and 1 created. I watched the city scenery gradually give way to lush countryside, feeling the weight of pretense settling heavier on my shoulders with each mile.
My phone rang again. Julian.
“Excuse me,” I said, answering quickly. “Yes?”
“The error’s in the tracking module,” Julian explained without preamble. “I’ve isolated it, but I need your input on the fix.”
I glanced at Damien, who was pointedly staring out the window while Cora played a game on her tablet.
“Can you send me the segment? I’ll look at it when we arrive,” I kept my voice low.
“Already done. But Elara, this is time–sensitive-
“I understand. I’ll call you later.” I ended the call, feeling Damien’s eyes on me.
“Work again?” he asked mildly.
“Yes.”
“Mr. Croft seems to need you constantly these days.”
There was an edge to his voice that I couldn’t quite place. Was it annoyance? Criticism? Or something else entirely?
“Julian values my input,” I replied simply.
Damien’s phone chimed with a message. He checked it, frowned slightly, and typed a
response.
Cora looked up from her game. “Is that work, Daddy?”
“Just something quick, he assured her with a smile that never reached his eyes.
21:00 E
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48 The Unkept Promise of the Springs
The drive continued, punctuated by more work interruptions for both of us. By the time we reached the mountain resort, I had mentally solved half of Julian’s coding problem and Damien had taken three calls in the car’s privacy mode.
Mr. Finch helped unload our bags while Cora ran ahead to the resort entrance.
“I need to make one more call,” Damien announced, stepping away with his phone. “Check us in, will you?”
I watched him walk away, phone pressed to his ear, his posture stiff. Some vacation this would be.
After check–in, I spent the afternoon with Cora at the children’s pool while Damien was nowhere to be found. He finally appeared for an early dinner, apologizing for his absence with vague references to “urgent matters.”
“Will you take me on the big water slide now, Daddy?” Cora asked as she finished her dessert.
Damien checked his watch. “It’s getting late, princess. Maybe tomorrow morning.”
“But you promised!” Cora’s voice rose in disappointment.
“I know, but-” His phone rang. He glanced at the screen. “I need to take this. It’s important.”
As he walked away, Cora’s face fell. I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “How about we go look at the stars instead? I heard there’s a great viewing spot near the spring garden”
Her smile returned, albeit dimmer than before.
Later that night, after tucking Cora into bed in our family suite, I sat on the balcony with my laptop, working through Julian’s code problem. The mountain air was crisp, carrying the mineral scent of the hot springs below.
My phone rang. Julian again.
“I think I’ve found the issue, I told him before he could speak. “It’s not in the tracking module itself but in how it interfaces with the visual recognition component.”
“That’s why I need you on this project, Julian replied, relief evident in his voice. “No one else would have caught that so quickly.”
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48 The Unkept Promise of the Springs
We spent the next hour discussing potential fixes, my fingers flying over the keyboard as I rewrote sections of code.
I didn’t notice Cora had woken up until she spoke from the doorway.
“You’re working too,” she said accusingly. “Just like Dad.”
Guilt washed over me. “Sweetie, 1-‘
“Where is Dad anyway?” She rubbed her eyes sleepily.
That was a good question. Damien had disappeared after dinner and hadn’t returned. to the suite.
“He probably had to handle something for work,” I offered lamely, closing my laptop. “Let’s get you back to bed.”
After Cora fell asleep again, I waited for Damien. One hour passed. Then two. By midnight, there was still no sign of him.
I sent him a text: “Where are you? Cora was asking.”
No response.
Unable to sleep, I worked on my laptop until my eyes burned. When I finally crawled into bed in the room adjacent to Cora’s, I stared at the ceiling, wondering if Damien would come back at all tonight.
Morning arrived with sunlight filtering through the curtains and still no sign of Damien. Cora bounded into my room, ready for another day of adventure.
“Is Dad back? Can we go to the big slide now?”
I checked my phone. No messages, no missed calls.
“Let’s have breakfast first, I suggested, not wanting to make promises I couldn’t keep.
In the resort’s dining room, I finally received a text from Damien: “Emergency at Milan office. Had to fly out last night. Tell Cora I’m sorry about the water slide. Will make it up to her.”
I stared at the message, anger building in my chest. Not for myself – I’d long stopped expecting anything from him- but for Cora, who deserved better.
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48 The Unkept Promise of the Springs
“Is that Dad?” Cora asked hopefully, noticing my phone.
I hesitated, then made a decision. “Yes. He had to go to work, sweetheart.”
“So he’s not coming back?” Her small voice cracked.
“Not this weekend.” I reached for her hand across the table. “But we can still have fun, just the two of us.”
She pulled her hand away, tears welling in her eyes. “He promised about the water slide! He promised!”
As Cora’s disappointment turned to quiet sniffles, I felt something break inside me – the last thread of hope that Damien might someday put his family first. He hadn’t even bothered to call, to hear Cora’s voice when he delivered his news.
Later, as I watched Cora splash halfheartedly in the pool, my phone rang again. Julian, with more questions about the code.
This time, I didn’t hesitate to answer. At least Julian valued what I had to offer.
The unkept promise of the springs hung over us like a cloud, reminding me that some things would never change – no matter how much I wished they would.
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