Chapter 18
772words
Night had fallen, and a chilly breeze was blowing.
Without thinking, Elias slipped off his jacket and placed it gently on Tania's shoulders.
Tania shivered from the cold and nestled closer into Elias's embrace.
Samuel stood in the crowd, his gaze fixed on Tania from afar.
Whispers and stares surrounded him.
Lucy lay unconscious on the ground, but Samuel had no intention of helping her.
He watched Tania's figure disappearing into the night, watched her seek comfort in another man's arms, and felt an urge to chase after her, leaving the press behind.
He longed to grab Tania, and ask whether, with all his regrets, there was still a chance to start over again.
However, all he grasped was a breeze scented with Tania's hair.
Samuel walked the twenty-plus kilometers home.
His phone would not stop ringing, and with a huff of annoyance, he shut it off.
He arrived at the Ferguson family mansion, the home he and Tania had shared for four years.
Tania had been gone for less than a month, yet the mansion felt empty, her presence barely noticeable, all traces of her seemingly erased by Lucy.
Samuel stepped into the basement, his eyes catching the faint bloodstains on the steps.
They belonged to Tania.
He quickly dialed the bodyguard's number.
"Where's Mrs. Ferguson?"
The bodyguard sounded worried. "She's at the hospital, sir. It's serious. She's pregnant, but the doctors say something's not right with her tests. They need you there right away..."
Samuel cut him off, growing impatient.
"Get Lucy here, now."
An hour later, Lucy showed up.
She held her belly, her eyes pleading with Samuel.
"Samuel, I'm carrying our baby. I know I messed up with Tania, but that's all behind us! Can't we just forget about her? Let's raise this child and be a happy family, please?"
Samuel was not listening.
His mind was stuck on those three days Tania was trapped there.
How terrified she must have been.
He pushed Lucy into the basement, locking the door hard, ignoring her knocks and cries.
Samuel wandered the villa, searching for any sign of Tania, but slowly he realized that Tania had been fading from his life since the day Lucy came back.
It started when she accidentally broke the dishes.
All their shared memories in that house — the gifts he gave, their pictures together — were gone.
He had not even noticed when their big wedding photo, the one that hung right in the middle of the villa, had disappeared.
Samuel called for the servant to ask about it.
The servant paused to remember, then said, "It was when Ms. Russell... She lost a lot of blood. She called the ambulance herself, stayed in the hospital for two days and, after coming home, she had the movers come over. She threw out so many things and left."
While remembering, the servant continued, "It looks like she tossed out all the clothes you gave her, saying they made her feel sick. She also threw out lots of little gifts, necklaces, earrings, and even handmade keepsakes, those DIY trinkets that aren't worth much... Ms. Russell said you were just pretending to be nice, and it was gross."
Samuel shook with pain, taking deep breaths, like a fish gasping for water.
The servant went on, "Those days, Ms. Russell had a fever. She got so tired throwing things out that she fainted a few times."
"Was she upset?" Samuel did not even know why he asked.
While Tania was getting rid of her things, he was off with Lucy, having a romantic and wild time.
The servant shook their head, "Not upset. Ms. Russell was very calm, even a bit annoyed."
Samuel got in touch with the moving company to find out where everything had been dumped.
"They went straight to the trash incinerator. There was so much stuff, we were worried Ms. Russell might change her mind, so we only took it yesterday."
Samuel got the address and drove there right away.
When he got there, he immediately saw the huge wedding picture going into the furnace.
Samuel ran up like crazy, trying to grab it, almost touching the scorching heat, but the workers pulled him back.
Still, Samuel's fingers got burned, and it hurt terribly.
He watched the big wedding picture turn to ash in the flames, leaving nothing but a sense of emptiness.
It was like the love and future he hoped to have with Tania.
Samuel then found out where Tania was staying and made his way to her hotel.
