Chapter 3 : Searching

If it wasn’t for Sandro, even on the edge of death she wouldn’t contact her ex-husband that sounded so arrogant, even though the phone and she can’t seem to remember why she had chosen to marry that man in the first place. Giggles that she could hear from the other side of the call made her flinch and curl her fingers in a fist as it remind her what a cheating bastard Giuseppe De Rossi was. It burns her from inside out hearing how happy they were after putting her through an emotional train wreck.

“What do you want from me now, Lia?” His voice almost growling and surely smiling as he hears her voice. It agitates Amelia that he uses the same name he once used throughout their marriage.

It felt dirty in her mouth but this conversation is not about her. It’s about their son.

“I don’t need anything from you, Giuseppe. All I need is for you to be there for your son! He is your fucking son! He is of your flesh and blood. Not just any kid from the street you seem to despise so much. He married the woman of his dream, the woman that he loves! Surely you would understand that if there’s even a small shred of feelings inside you.” She gritted through her teeth.

She hears small laughter from him and that practically triggers Amelia.

“What in the world is wrong with you?”

“I like it when you’re mad, Lia. It sounded so hot.” Loud slap echoes and Giuseppe laugh even more when his mistress made a sound of frustration at what he had said to Lia.

“Pervert!” Amelia yelled and he laughed even more.

“Alright, alright. Let’s be serious now. We both know how much I ‘adore’ that dead daughter-in-law of yours.”

“She is not dead!” Amelia screamed, making Giuseppe flinch and had to pull away from his ear from the phone. Nevertheless, a grin formed on his cheeks with his mistress swaying her hips seductively ass he approach him. He curled his arms around her waist and pulls her close to his chest.

“Better if she did so she won’t bother my life or my family’s life anymore. To think someone of lowly born to become a De Rossi. Disgusting.” He still replied in the same tone.

Just thinking about Selena Salvatore, the woman who had taken his son from him. The very woman who had made his son hated him and leave his side, eventually causing him billion dollars losses when Sandro chose to reject the Gerardo family’s younger daughter. A family with a long line of old money and whose grandfather had come to America with his and find success in the hotel business.

How he despises the woman whose parents are just simple educators and nothing more. Nothing interesting about them nor did they come from money but Sandro finds Selena to be appealing enough for him to sacrifice all the relationship he had with his father.

No doubt Selena was a beautiful woman. Heck, even more, beautiful and sexier than her current mistress but the fact that she dared to enter his family and break the father and son relationship he had with his son, he would rather see him dead than see his son happy.

Sandro has gone against his father. He deserves all the pain of losing his wife.

“How could you say that about your son’s wife? Don’t you care about his happiness? At all?”

“Listen carefully, Amelia. Whatever Sandro is going through is none of my business. I have zero interest in the son who had turned his back on his father for a mere bitch. Not that you don’t know how I am by now, do you?”

“You bastard! You fucking bastard!”

She slammed the telephone down as she pants hard. She can feel her legs weaken so she slowly backs away so she could sit on the couch.

Never had she felt so useless. Hopeless and the words coming from her former husband just break her heart entirely and not even his cheating had done that. His refusal to help his son hurts her so much. She had thought that she knew him. She had thought that there was good inside of him but God, did she have him wrong.

Now that his son is suffering and she has no one to turn to for help, what can she do?

….

Abraham ‘Abe’ Flemming gazes down at his best friend’s face. Looking lifeless as if he is only alive but without a soul. His one and only best friend seem to be living in his own world now. Refuse to leave his bedroom since his accident and the disappearance of his wife. Not only did he lost his wife, but he had also lost his will to live as well.

“Sandro, have you ate yet?” Abe asked.

His hands softly brush Sandro’s shoulder but Sandro responded with silence and despite staring back at Abe, it’s as if he was staring past Abe. He has no mood whatsoever to talk to anyone at that moment. A huge portrait of him and Selena during their engagement party and seeing the joy in her face while wearing her beautiful red dress was plastered on the wall and it aches him, every time she remains missing.

Abe sighed. “Abe, you have to stop doing this. If you don’t eat, you will starve to death. Look at your mom, she wouldn’t stop crying seeing you like this. Please, you need to get out of this room, eat and just live again.”

Again, his pleas were ignored and Abe can see Sandro’s eyes were glued to the wedding picture of his on the wall. Feeling annoyed by the lack of response, Abe stood up and walk towards the wall where the picture was. He grips the edge of the frame and removes it from the wall.

Sandro’s eyes widen at Abe's sudden act and quickly he stood and up and tried to snatch the picture from him.

“What’s your fucking problem?” Sandro yelled. Each time he tries to get the picture, he became super dizzy and definitely due to the lack of food because he was much taller and lean than Abe. He was too exhausted to even move around.

“You see? Do you see how weak you have gotten? You can’t even get this damn picture from me? You are killing yourself, Sandro. Starving yourself and hiding in your room won’t bring Selena back!”

“Then what? What else should I do? The cops and all the PI I’ve hired have no news on her, Abe. No one has seen her since the accident! What else can I do?”

Abe rolled his eyes and slam the picture frame on the fireplace.

“Are you f*cking kidding me? You are a f*ucking billionaire, Sandro! Rather than just depending on the cops, shouldn’t you go out yourself and tried to find her? Shouldn’t you be the one working your ass off to find Selena rather than just putting your faith on the hands of the cops or PI that do not love your wife as much as you do?”

His words seems to affect Sandro, making him looks down in shame.

“I… I don’t know what to do, Abe…”

“Get this one thing clear in that head of yours. Selena is your wife. Not theirs. You want to get the job done right, you gotta do it yourself. Your wife needs you, pal. You have me. You don’t have to do this on your own.”

Sandro nodded weakly and quick he flopped on a wooden chair nearby and his head was facing down. Mixture of pain made it impossible not to cry knowing the woman of his dream is gone.

The hardest part of it was not knowing if she was hurt, alive or worst – dead. Her last words haunt him till now

…I don’t ever want to let you go, my love. Amore Mio, my heart. My life…” 

She needs to be alive. Even if she wasn’t, he will still find her. No excuses now.