Blames

“So, where do you know that she has gone to?”

Dante was seen pacing the length of his office, one arm folded tightly across his chest whilst the other held his chin.

“You shouldn't have let her leave the house at that time of the night, what if something had happened to her?” Rowan continued, refusing to let him off the hook.

“I know” Dante shouted as if trying to catch a break from the blames Rowan had been throwing at him.

“I just… I didn't know she was serious about leaving. I expected that she would have returned home by now.”

“Can you hear yourself? How could you not know she was seriously going to leave? Your security informed you about her leaving but you still gave no word. Now you are here pacing forth and back, why even bother like you care?”

Dante held a stern gaze at Rowan. His words came out in anger. He became aggravated, almost throwing a punch at him.

“What! Are you implying that I shouldn't care about my wife's whereabouts?”

Rowan saw the way his face burned with rage. He became frightened and confused because he had never seen him this worried before.

“No, all I'm saying is I don't get the reason why you are so worked up when you initially married this woman just to cause her pain.” He held both his hands up in a way that gestures don't come for me as he tried to justify himself.

Dante sighed heavily. His mind in total chaos. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He had sworn to break her, to make her pay. Yet now, nothing felt certain anymore.

Also, he is obliged to keep her safe as his legal wife. Him not having an idea about where she might be poses a shame to him.

“I should be worried. It's been 48 hours since she left. What am I going to say when people start raising questions? Mrs. Collins hasn't stopped asking of her and all I could say to her was that she traveled for work and would be back soon because I didn't know she would be gone for this long.”

“She left so abruptly, the staff are beginning to make side-talks about what happened that night. If this gets out of hand and the media gets hold of it, you know the effect it would have on the companies.”

“I see why you are worried now,” Rowan said, a smile tugging the corner of his lips. “For a moment I thought you had fallen head over heels for her. Only a man in love would react the way you did.”

“Love? No! I want that woman to suffer. I will make her pay for all that her despicable father has caused my family. What's the fun in that if I don't get her to stay close to me? That's why I married her, and now I have no idea where she is.” Dante ran his hands through his hair, brushing it back in utmost frustration.

“That man stole ten years of my life. He took away my joy and happiness. When I finally decided I won’t be a slave to it anymore, I made the choice to marry his daughter on exactly the tenth year the incident happened.” His words came out in complete rage.

Dante’s phone vibrated softly on the desk. He reached for it, but the screen lit up before he could flip it over.

[Hey love, I’ll be at yours tonight]

Rowan caught a glimpse of the notification. His brows shot up. “Isn't that Sylvia? Why is she coming over to your place again?”

Dante hesitated, his thumb hovering over the screen. “She’s been… staying over since she got back from her trip.”

Rowan leaned forward, his tone calm but firm. “You can’t keep doing this, man. Not in your matrimonial home. If you must see her, get her an apartment somewhere else. This…” he gestured toward Dante’s phone, “...this isn’t right.”

Dante’s gaze met the man who looked rather annoyed. Rowan had always been the one to speak sense when everyone else kept quiet. Asides handling his contracts as his legal advisor, he has also been the most reliable friend he ever had.

Dante exhaled, pressing a hand to the bridge of his nose. “You know how Sylvia is,” he muttered. “Stubborn as hell. She’s never accepted my marriage to Heira. I tried to make her understand, but she wouldn't listen.”

Rowan sighed while leaning back in his chair. “Then you need to set boundaries before she crosses them again.”

Before Dante could respond, his phone buzzed again with another message from Sylvia. He didn’t open it. Instead, his thoughts drifted to his grandmother’s words from the call earlier that morning, her gentle excitement as she mentioned she’d be coming over for a visit.

That has been the main reason putting him on edge. Granny Mae adores Heira. Even though she hasn't gotten to meet her, she speaks of her every time. “She's going to be a lovely girl, I know that for sure.”

He knew the main purpose of her visit was to finally meet the woman he married. After all, she had been on his case for years, reminding him he wasn’t getting any younger.

He could already picture her face if she opened the front door and found Sylvia in his house instead of the wife she’d been waiting to meet. He knew how much it would shatter her heart.

He cherishes his granny so much and wouldn't let that happen. Granny Mae had been the only family left for him, which explains why she has a special spot in his heart.

Without thinking, he grabbed his keys from the desk. “I need to find her,” he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone in the room.

He hurried towards the door, his foot faltering halfway there. A new panic rose in him. If he didn’t know where Heira was, how could he ask her father without revealing that he had lost track of his own wife?

He then realised that he didn’t know anyone else related to her. Finding her was definitely not going to be easy. “What do I do now?” he thought to himself.

Dante turned to his friend who had been quietly watching him mumble from across the office, “I need you to help me find out where she is or who she’s with.”

“Okay, I’ll get to it,” Rowan replied without hesitation. He's best at digging out information, and he never seems bothered by the weight of the task.

Dante watched as Rowan left the office, knowing he could always count on him. Deep inside, he hoped Heira was safe. He hated to admit that he cared but he could feel it. Most importantly, he was scared of the trouble it would cause him when things spiralled out of control.