Chapt. 25 - Abduction

“You’re right. When one of us disappears, it’s as if half of our soul leaves our body. I feel it now.” –Mike–

***

Angie shook her head, refusing the man’s decision, even with tears streaming down her face, but Mike, without looking at her, threw several bills and a card at her feet. She froze for a moment until Mike finally spoke.

“Use it to meet your needs, whatever they may be. I’ve promised to cover your tuition until you graduate and your mother’s medical expenses. You deserve it for your efforts over the past few months.”

“No, Mike. What about you? I’ll stay here to fulfill my duties as your wife,” Angie said, refusing Mike’s order even though she knew he would never accept any form of refusal.

“You weren’t my wife from the start. We married for convenience.”

“Mike, are you serious?” The mother approached Angie, holding her shoulders and trying to offer any support she could. “You chose him yourself. Is it fair to say that just because you don’t want to complicate his life? Decide if you truly want what’s best for him, but not by hurting him like this.”

Mike remained silent, refusing to comment even though his mother was the person he feared most in the world. This time, he had made up his mind and didn’t care what his mother would say; he wouldn’t change his mind.

There were no words of persuasion Angie could utter to prevent Mike’s decision. She had entered that family because of Mike, so if the man said the contract ended that very day, then that was what she had to accept.

Angie turned away, taking not a single penny of what Mike offered. She didn’t need it. Her heart ached at the thought that she wasn’t just a widow now, but had also lost the hope that had just begun to grow in her heart.

This was indeed her own fault. Why had she hoped for a man who had never felt anything for her from the start? Their marriage was only for Mike’s benefit; she hadn’t gained anything. So it was only fair that he should pay with some money and any facilities if he wanted to.

Unfortunately, Angie didn’t need that.

“Will Mike be okay?” Angie murmured as she packed her clothes and left everything Mike had given her. “Why do I feel so uneasy? Why did he change so drastically? What made him act like that? Is it Cynthia? Or…”

Angie fell silent, recalling some people who might have influenced Mike’s change in attitude toward her.

It was clear that Mike had wanted to make peace—he had even said goodbye at the time—but why had he suddenly changed and turned against Angie?

Angie had already dragged her suitcase and was about to leave the apartment. However, as soon as she opened the door, someone was standing in front of her with a menacing grin that was all too familiar and always present on Mike’s face.

This time, the grin looked more terrifying than Mike’s, and she knew she wouldn’t be okay with this man’s arrival. With a swift movement, Angie, who had been trying to escape, found herself in the embrace of the mysterious man.

***

“Sir, we’ve found the trail of the armed man who carried out the attack during the operation the other day,” said a young man, reporting the results of his investigation. His eyes didn’t leave Mike, who looked unenthusiastic. He knew exactly what Mike was like since marrying Angie. Enthusiastic, even more wild than usual. “Do you want me to bring that man here for you to question?”

“Am I the only one who can do that, Greg? Have you lost your tongue that you can’t even question him, so I have to do it?” Mike replied flatly.

Greg bowed his head in regret. He should have known his boss wasn’t feeling well. “And don’t look at me with that pitying gaze. I don’t like anyone feeling sorry for me.”

“I’m not feeling sorry for you. I’m just thinking about the Young Lady—er, I mean, Miss Reviera.”

A strange feeling crept into Mike’s heart the moment he heard the name of the woman who had filled half of his life for the past few months. Though not out of love, the girl had brought color into his monochromatic world, filled his head with odd behavior and pampering he didn’t understand as a man, and various troublesome antics that he had grown accustomed to.

He himself had ended everything. Regret would be useless because, according to his calculations, Angie must have already left her apartment by now.

“Don’t bring it up. She’s no longer a member of the Genosie family now. Let’s focus on the unfinished task of moving the belongings.” Mike tried to change the subject, reaching out to take the tablet from Greg’s hand and reading whatever was written there. “What about the shares of the weapons company that’s supposedly ready for us to acquire? Has Aunt Cintya handled everything?”

“Pardon me, sir?”

“Didn’t you hear?”

“Oh, I mean, do you want Mrs. Denver to handle it? Wouldn’t it be better if you handled it yourself?”

“Under these circumstances? Are you mocking me? Just do what I asked. Let Aunt Cintya handle everything. I trust her.”

Greg clearly disagreed. There were many things he wanted to say to Mike, but with his superior’s words, he could no longer argue. He was just a subordinate who couldn’t defy orders. Especially since the one giving the orders was the Crown Prince.

Greg left the room, leaving Mike to sink back into silence and emptiness. Watching him from outside, Greg was certain of something that was now plaguing Mike’s soul.

“May I say that he regrets his actions and is longing for Miss Reviera?” Greg muttered before finally leaving the hospital to carry out the order Mike had given him.

***

“Let me go! Hey, you!” Angie pressed her lips together and whistled, causing the large man who had been facing away from her to turn and confront her. “What do you want from me, huh? I don’t have anything you need.”

“Shut up! If you keep making noise, I’ll stuff your mouth with my sock!” the large man snapped in a booming voice that made Angie’s courage falter instantly. Her eyes scanned the room, finding nothing that could clue her in to her location. Just a stuffy room that seemed to have been unused for a long time.

Her hands and feet were bound, making it difficult for her to move. Does this mean she’s been kidnapped? But who did it, and why?

Suddenly, Angie remembered a memory from a few months ago when she had been held captive by Mike for several hours until she finally decided to sign that ridiculous contract.

That memory felt sweet now. But she had to erase it, because Mike no longer needed her. Though it was suffocating, that was the reality she had to accept.

Is this Mike’s doing, deliberately staging it as a kidnapping, out of pride to admit he doesn’t want Angie to leave?

“Hey! Is it Mike Genosie who told you to kidnap me?” Angie spoke up again. She wouldn’t stay silent until she knew what was really happening to her right now.

One of the large men turned and approached, kneeling down to match Angie’s position sitting on a chair. The smirk reappeared on his pale white face with several scratch marks.

“Do you think Mike Genosie cares about you?”

“Then tell me who it is. Is it Mama Vivian?” The man laughed at Angie’s hopeful question. Of course, she was hoping the Genosie family was behind all this, as that would be far better for her.

Unfortunately, the big man still refused to say it, instead laughing with a deafening voice.

“Since I’m being kind, I’ll tell you. The ones planning this are a female businesswoman and a wealthy man. They’ll be here soon, and you’ll know who I’m talking about.”

Angie nodded, impatiently awaiting the arrival of the mysterious criminals as the man had mentioned, but by nightfall, no one had come, and she began to grow weary.

When the kidnappers were distracted, Angie tried to find something to help her escape. She vowed that if she were free, she would never appear before the Genosie family again.

“Ugh! What kind of bad luck is this? If I’d known my life would be this complicated dealing with Mike, I wouldn’t have gone along with Jimmy’s crazy idea,” Angie thought to herself, struggling hard to escape but still failing.

She gave up, and the only hope she had left was to ask Jimmy to come help her immediately or come up with a much better idea than this.