Discovery

Chapter Ten

Adrian's POV

I slowly gulped down the last of the drink in the bottle, letting the warmth of the alcohol burn down my throat. It did nothing to ease the heaviness in my chest. If anything, the silence that followed made everything worse.

It had only been a few days since Eleanor signed the divorce papers. A few days since she walked out of my life. It was what I had wanted, wasn't it?

I had spent months convincing myself that I no longer loved her, that whatever we had between us had already died long before either of us had the courage to admit it. I had wanted the divorce. I had been the one who allowed everything to get to that point.

The house felt empty and there was nothing to anticipate for anymore.

So why did the thought of her leaving hurt this much?

I reached for the bottle again, only to realize it was empty.

My eyes settled on my phone lying on the table. I had called her more times than I cared to admit, even though I knew she probably wouldn't answer. Every unanswered call somehow made me feel more foolish, yet I couldn't stop myself from trying.

I had even considered sending her money.

She was no longer my wife, but I couldn't bring myself to imagine her struggling because of the divorce. I wanted to know she would be fine, even if she never wanted anything to do with me again.

My friends had all said the same thing. I had made the biggest mistake of my life.

The sound of footsteps pulled me from my thoughts, followed by Stacy's voice.

"You've been drinking for days. I think you should get some rest."

I turned my head slowly and found her standing behind me. She walked closer, her expression filled with concern as she placed both hands on my shoulders and began rubbing them gently.

My body stiffened at the contact.

"What are you doing here?"

My voice came out rough, and I cleared my throat, hoping it would sound less strained the next time.

"I came to check on you." Her fingers continued moving over my shoulders. "You've been like this ever since the divorce, and honestly, Adrian, she doesn't even seem affected by any of this."

My eyes narrowed.

"You didn't answer my question."

She paused before pulling a chair beside me.

"What?"

"Why are you here?"

She sighed as though my question irritated her. "Because you're my friend. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

She picked up another bottle from the table, poured herself a small drink and took a sip.

"You'll be fine," she continued. "Whatever you're feeling right now is probably because you're bored and suddenly have too much time to think. Give it a little while and you'll get over her."

I stared at the glass in my hand. Was it really because I was bored?

"I'll be fine," I muttered.

Stacy took another sip before looking at me.

"I saw her today."

My head snapped toward her before I could stop myself.

The smug little expression on her face disappeared almost immediately, replaced by something closer to satisfaction.

"Where?"

She shrugged. "At my father's company."

My stomach tightened.

"What was she doing there?"

"At first, I thought she had gone there looking for a job." Stacy rolled her eyes. "Then I saw her standing beside Julian. It turned out she has been clinging around him, and also followed him to see my father."

"Julian Caldwell?"

"Yes."

I stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I also saw her with Ryan the other day. Apparently, he was the one who dropped her off. I found out later that the car belonged to him since it was a rare one."

Something twisted painfully inside my stomach. I tried to ignore it.

"Maybe there's an explanation."

Stacy laughed softly. "An explanation? This one someone who had cheated on you with the designer."

She leaned back in her chair, watching my face carefully.

"I can't believe she's actually shameless enough to get involved with two brothers. I wonder if either of them even knows what she's doing."

My grip tightened around the empty bottle.

"Stop."

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm just telling you what I saw."

"Then don't. You are definitely making things worse instead of helping me like you have claimed." My voice came out colder than I intended.

She stared at me for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

"Adrian, she has clearly moved on. You need to stop sulking over something that's already in the past."

Eleanor had moved on? That quickly?

My mind immediately went back to the last time I had seen her, the way she had looked at me before walking away. There had been so much anger in her eyes, so much hurt that I had almost felt guilty.

But now she was already with other men? My chest tightened. Even after the way she initially begged me not to leave her?

I pushed myself away from the table and stood.

"Just leave."

Stacy blinked. "What?"

"I said leave."

Her expression changed. "Adrian, I'm only trying to—"

"I don't need you to try anything." I ran a hand through my hair, feeling a headache beginning to form behind my eyes. "Just go home, Stacy."

She remained seated, watching me carefully.

"You're angry because I told you the truth?"

"No." I looked at her, my voice quieter this time. "I'm angry because I don't want to hear anything else about Eleanor."

The words sounded ridiculous even as I said them.

If I was truly over Eleanor, why did hearing her name make my chest hurt?

Why did the thought of another man standing beside her make something ugly twist inside me? Why did I suddenly care who she was with? Stacy eventually stood, her lips pressing into a thin line.

"You'll regret pushing away everyone who cares about you."

I didn't answer.

I simply watched her walk out. The front door closed behind her, and the house immediately felt too quiet.

I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly, but the ache refused to disappear.

I needed to get some sleep maybe once I'm sober and awake I'll stop thinking about her this way and my chest was going to hurt less.

I made my way toward the stairs, but I had barely taken a few steps when one of the housekeepers hurried toward me.

"Sir?"

I stopped and looked at her. Her expression was unusually worried. She was the head housekeeper and also been the one in charge of most things most of the times we were not around.

"What is it?"

She hesitated before speaking.

"Sir, what about Madam? I hope she's fine?"

My brows furrowed.

"Why are you asking?"

She clasped her hands together nervously, taking in a deep breath biting her lower lips.

"The other day, I cleaned blood off the floor. It was quite much and it just just in one area and not splattered."

My body went still.

"What?"

"I found blood on the floor near the living room." She swallowed. "I thought Madam had injured herself because there was quite a lot of it, but when I saw you later, you didn't have any injury."

I stared at her.

"When was this?"

"The morning Madam fell."

My heartbeat suddenly became louder.

"Which morning?"

She frowned, trying to remember.

"The morning she fell against the glass table with Miss Stacy."

I had been so focused on Stacy that I hadn't even looked closely enough at Eleanor. What the hell really happened that morning? She didn't have any physical injuries

My mouth went dry trying to think of any possibilities. She didn't come home three days after.

"Get me footage from the security camera." I immediately instructed.