CHAPTER 90: – WHO ARE YOU? –

Nikolas was pacing the house.

Where was she?

Where was he to begin looking for her? He needed to see her, to talk to her and explain himself.

If he knew it was going to be like this, he would have...

Picking his phone up from the table, he dialled York’s number.

[Sir?]

"York..."

Silence fell on the other side of the phone. [Sir...are you okay?]

"My wife. Please...find my wife for me."

[I don’t...understand]

"My wife is gone and I’m unable to get a hold of her. Things went wrong. And I need to see her, I have to talk to her. So please, help me find her York. I have no clue where to begin looking and if there is anyone who’s good at tracking people down, it’s you."

A soft breath fled from York, and he agreed: [Of course, Sir. I’ll get to it, and I’ll see that I respond in no less than forty eight hours]

"Thank you." Nikolas ended the call.

He tossed the phone on the couch and threw his head back to stare at the ceiling. "You can’t leave me like this... At least...give me a chance." He staggered out of the living room into the bedroom where he went for the closet.

He pulled it open.

Her things were still here. So surely she still had the intention to come back.

Picking out one of her clothes that smelled heavily like her, he smelt it, basking in the warmth of it, wanting to convince himself for even a second, that she as there—that she hadn’t left him.

But Nikolas wasn’t delusional. Things were bad, and if he didn’t act fast, Viviana might leave him.

———

Viviana laid on the bed, staring at the floor length window of the hotel room she’d booked. She looked a mess, in nothing but a bath robe, hair tousled all over the bed. She hadn’t even bothered to comb it, which was a first for a woman like her.

Someone who was flawless in every sense.

Her face lacked colour. She looked pale, tired and as if she hadn’t had the appetite to eat. Just laid on the bed and thinking, over and over again.

She had wanted to go home initially—

Home...

She blinked slowly.

No matter how hard she thought about it, it all made sense—what Sabrina had said. Otherwise, why would he have gone along with her request? Why would he have stayed, pretending right by her side?

She must have been so funny to him.

Such an amusement that could warm his day...huh

Viviana tossed around on the bed.

But how could he? What had she done wrong to him? Why would he lead her on...like that?

Yes, it had been nothing but a deal in the begining—something that wasn’’t real. But she wasn’t stupid, she wasn’t naive. She could swear it’d gotten real. All those times he held her, all those times he listened to her cry and made all those promises.

He’d said he loved her.

Were they all...lies? How fun could it have been for him toying around with her like that? Messing with her head, and making her almost—

Her phone rang on the bed.

She lazily glanced at it.

Nikolas had been calling her non stop, and at some point, she’d had to turn off her phone.

The ringing stopped. But started again, and finally she looked at the screen, just to find out it was an unknown number calling.

Her brows furrowed. This had better not be Emilio, because if it was, she—

[Hello, Viviana]

This voice...

She was stunned. "Fernando!"

[Surprised, huh? Didn’t think I’d ever call you?]

"I’m seconds away from ending this call and blocking your fucking number!"

[You sound way more miserable than I am. I wonder what’s wrong. And don’t even think about ending the call, else you’d be missing out on something pretty juicy]

Her face scrunched too deeply. "What do you want from me?"

[It’s about your sweet husband you seem to be head over heels for]

"Fernando—"

[You don’t really know what he is, do you?]

"What are you talking about?"

[If I told you your husband wasn’t human, but a creature you’ve never seen before, would you believe me?]

"Fernando, are you out of your mind? Did you hit your head when you fell on that plartform." Her mood worsened. "Don’t ever contact me again. Because if you do—"

[Nothing is impossible in this world, you know. Even I didn’t believe it first, but here I am, looking out for you]

"Meaning what?" She sat up on the bed.

[I’ll send a location to you. Come there and you’ll see for yourself, the monster of a man the man you married is. You’ll find out his true nature. And I hope you won’t be frightened. There is no harm in giving a situation like this a chance. You have nothing to lose anyway]

"What the—" The call ended.

She scowled, lowering her gaze to the screen. Just like he’d said, an address was sent.

What in the world was this nonsense?

Another day had passed by and he hadn’t gotten a sign of Viviana anywhere. York hadn’t contacted him, so he was sure that York had not gotten anything.

Nikolas rubbed his temple, stressed. He hadn’t gone to work in the past three days because he was afraid. What if she comes by when he is gone? And what if by the time he returns, her things would have been gone?

They were the only thing keeping him sane right now. It was the only thing giving him hope that Viviana would come back here eventually.

The sudden sound of his phone ringing, snapped him out of his trance. He jumped up on his feet, grabbed, however, a grim look emerged on his feet. It wasn’t Viviana nor York calling.

But it was an unknown number which he’d never seen before.

Reluctantly, he answered.

[Hello]

The voice seemed familiar. He’d heard it somewhere before, just that he couldn’t recall where.

He questioned, "Who are you?"