A Heartfelt Goodbye

The dazzling lights of the rooftop party had dimmed, leaving the once vibrant atmosphere a quiet memory. Zara Parker opened her eyes and glanced at Jax, who was sitting beside her, sipping a glass of lemon water to stabilize himself.

“Where’s my phone?” Zara asked, struggling to get up from the sofa.

“Take it… it’ll help you feel better,” Jax replied, handing her his glass.

She took the glass, gulped half of the lemonade, and scanned the room. Most of their friends were sprawled across sofas and chairs, passed out from the night’s festivities. Ignoring them, Zara pulled out her phone and, as she unlocked it, saw twenty-seven missed calls and several voice messages. Her heart raced when she saw the name of her grandmother’s caretaker. With growing unease, she tapped on the voice notes.

The caretaker’s voice, urgent and strained, filled the room. “Zara, it’s urgent. Your grandmother is in critical condition.”

Zara’s heart pounded as she played the next message. “Zara, come home soon.” The caretaker’s voice was thick with worry.

She played the last message, the words hitting her like a hammer. “Zara, where are you? Your grandma is dead.” The voice was laden with grief.

Zara’s phone slipped from her hand, clattering to the ground. She felt as though her entire body had been crushed under a ton of bricks.

“Zara, look at me,” Jax said, stepping closer, his voice trembling with concern. But Zara was beyond hearing him. Her body and mind were numb, her nerves frayed. She staggered to her feet, struggling to breathe as a violent cough erupted from her chest.

“Zara, drink this,” Jax said, offering her the glass of water. But she didn’t even glance at him and bolted from the rooftop, rushing toward her car.

Jax raced after Zara and slipped into the passenger seat without hesitation.

“You need to calm down… Let me drive,” Jax said firmly, noticing the tears in Zara’s eyes and the strain on her face as she struggled to keep her emotions in check.

“Zara, please let me drive,” he insisted, his voice soft but urgent. But Zara ignored him and sped toward her villa, where her grandmother’s lifeless body awaited her.

An hour later, Zara’s car skidded into the driveway of her lavish villa. She leaped out and sprinted inside, her heart pounding.

She burst into her grandmother’s bedroom and glanced at the bed. The room was eerily silent, without the familiar, comforting voice of her grandmother saying, “Zara… my dear girl…”

She fell to her knees beside the bed, her heart breaking as she saw her grandmother’s pale, lifeless form. She had lost her only remaining family, and now she felt utterly alone.

Zara knelt beside her, tears streaming down her face. “I’m here, Grandma. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” she sobbed, her voice cracking with grief.

Jax moved closer, trying to turn her face toward him. “Zara, please don’t cry like this,” he said gently. But Zara was lost in her sorrow, unable to tear her gaze away from her grandmother’s frail face.

“Ma’am, I’ve arranged the funeral,” Greg, Zara’s PA, said quietly. “You should see her one last time before we prepare her for the service.”

The caretaker had reached out to Greg to find Zara and bring her home. But Zara was too consumed by her grief to notice.

“Grandma, I’m so sorry,” Zara whispered, clutching her grandmother’s hand. “I was so caught up in the party and the engagement that I didn’t check my phone. I should have been here.”

Her sobs grew louder, filled with the pain of regret. “I’m sorry, Grandma. I never lived up to your expectations. I always let you down,” she said in a broken tone, resting her head on the arm of her deceased grandmother.

Zara’s heart was heavy with regret and sorrow. Her grandmother had been her guiding light, her moral compass, and now, with her gone, her world felt cloaked in darkness.

“Ma’am, the priest has arrived. We should let him perform the last rites,” Greg said softly, placing a hand on Zara’s shoulder.

Zara took a deep breath, staring at her grandmother’s still form. She knew this was the last time she would see her, and that soon, her face would be gone forever. She moved closer, pressing a tender kiss to her grandmother’s forehead and closing her eyes in a final, heartfelt goodbye.

Afterward, she stepped back, allowing Greg and the others to prepare her grandmother for the last rites.

As dawn broke, the villa was quiet and somber. Zara was left alone with her thoughts, grappling with the weight of her grandmother’s final words and the void her absence left behind. The party, the engagement, and the glamorous life she had been living all felt distant and hollow in the face of this profound personal loss.