Chapter 13
That night, no one in the Slater or Quill families got any sleep. The Quills wanted to downplay the situation–after all, in high society, no family’s hands were truly clean. Nadine’s mother, Melania Geoffrey, had personally dealt with her fair share of mistresses. So, she dismissed Nadine’s actions as nothing more than impulsive behavior. Besides, Nadine had already paid a price–she had lost her unborn child, and after the brutal kick from Enzo, there was a chance she would never be able to have children again. Yet, the Slaters were adamant–Enzo had to divorce Nadine. They would never allow a woman with multiple lives on her hands to remain as his wife.
Just as the two families were in the middle of a heated argument, a team of police officers burst through the doors. Right in front of both families, they arrested Nadine on the spot. Overnight, the Slaters became the hottest topic online. The once inseparable newlyweds–one was thrown in jail, and the other landed in the hospital.
Both families fell into utter chaos, but Enzo no longer cared. All he wanted now was to find Alyssa and apologize. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he could not find a single trace of her.
Every person he sent to look for her came back with the same answer–nothing. The once indomitable Enzo, who had dominated the business world with ease, found himself bedridden, utterly defeated.
He lay there, staring out the window with vacant eyes, like a hollow shell of a man. Only now did he finally realize just how horribly wrong he had been. He had become an executioner, pushing the one person who truly loved him straight into hell.
Every time Enzo closed his eyes, Alyssa’s tear–streaked face haunted him, and her desperate pleas echoed in his ears. Yet, what had he done? He had ignored her, not believing her at all, and he had not even cared.
When Enzo finally dragged himself back to the villa, the house was empty. Before, every time he returned home, a small, lively figure would suddenly leap onto his back, calling his name in a playful voice.
And every time, he would smile indulgently and carry her around the house. His friends had always joked that Alyssa did not act like a younger family member–she was more like his future bride.
At parties, when the drinks were flowing, some of Enzo’s friends would even tease him, asking if he had ever seen Alyssa that way. Each time, he had answered without hesitation -no. After all, the 12–year age gap was too big, and Alyssa was just a child to him.
Besides, he had only ever loved Nadine. From the moment he first laid eyes on her, he had decided she would be his one and only. As for those fleeting, unexplainable emotions he sometimes felt around Alyssa, he had never given them much thought.
But now, standing in the eerily silent villa, he found himself walking toward Alyssa’s room. Everything was exactly as she had left it, as if she could walk in at any moment and startle him with one of her pranks.
Enzo stood in the doorway for a long time before finally stepping inside. He did not do anything but just walked slowly around the room, following an invisible path. With every step, the memories came rushing back, each item bringing back a different scene. Then, he reached her desk and pulled open the drawer.
This drawer had once been overflowing with her love for him, but now, it was completely empty. For a brief second, Enzo could almost see the shredded love letters and torn sketches being ripped apart before his very eyes.
Her voice rang in his ears–the countless times she had told him, over and over, that she no longer loved him. A sharp, unbearable pain clenched around his heart, so sudden and overwhelming that he instinctively hunched forward.
His fingers curled tightly around the edge of the drawer, his knuckles turning white from the force of his grip. Eventually, the pain dulled.
In its place, something else lingered–something deep, something he could not quite name. Just as he was about to figure it out, the door suddenly burst open.
Calvin rushed inside, breathless, his eyes alight with urgency. He exclaimed, “We’ve found Alyssa!”
