CHAPTER 3: NADIA'S DEATH

The house was eerily silent, the bulbs shining, doing their jobs. Asha noticed a missing car from the driveway before he and Victoria walked right through the front door. They had expected to see Nadia moping and crying like she had done the past few days, even joked about her current situation.

“Why is everywhere quiet?” Asha asked aloud. Something felt wrong, yet he couldn't place it. His eyes caught the contents on the dining table. Without a second thought, he froze. Blood drained from his eyes like he had just seen a ghost.

He turned swiftly to Victoria, his facial expression strong enough to tell her to choose her words carefully if she valued her life. “Who the hell are you?”

“W-wh-what do you mean Asha?” She stammered. “It's me, your love, remember.”

Taking each step towards her, the tone of his voice laid so much emphasis on them. “I'm not going to ask twice. Tell me who you are right now.” His voice went up a notch, causing Victoria to land on her buttocks.

Her voice trembled but she managed to mask it a bit. “Why the sudden question Asha?”

“What happened to the ring I gave you years ago?”

“I told you, I misplaced it. It's been a long time,” she said. “Really, where are all these accusations coming from?”

He opened his right palm. There laid the ring Nadia dropped. “This was the ring Victoria. This was my late mother's ring that I gave out years ago. And Nadia just dropped it before leaving. Now tell me, who are you and what are you doing in my house?”

Seeing that she was busted, she began mumbling. Her words overlapping each other like a child just learning how to speak. “I can explain…”

Keeping his anger in check, he did the next thing reasonable to him. He went in, grabbed all of her things and threw her out. Her pleas and cries meant nothing to him. If he could maltreat the only person he waited for his entire life, then she was nothing.

It was nightfall already. He sat by the dining table for as long as he could, afraid to open the letter she left behind. Afraid that his reality was now dealing with the fact that Nadia was truly gone, that he had really lost her. He couldn't let go of the ring, remembering the smile that shone on her face when he wore it for her outside the burnt school. He had entrusted it to her and she made sure to keep it. The signed papers glared at Asha like a zombie. Reality dawned on him that he had lost her finally.

“Dear Asha,” the letter started, “I didn't have the courage to tell you who I was because I believed one day you'd be able to piece it out yourself and that would make the surprise more beautiful. 20 years ago, I loved you. Moving away unexpectedly was something I didn't plan but I made sure to keep tabs on you. I wanted to know what you would look like, I wanted to know what it would be like reuniting with the little boy that made my heart flutter even when we were kids. But I guess I was wrong. You changed. You treated me badly, you dishonored my father's memory. After hearing what you planned today with the love of your life, I realized that you would do anything to get what you want. You might be hardworking to be able to call yourself a billionaire but at the same time, you are a callous person. I wish you the very best in life. I never wanted anything from you. All I needed was your love. I am going to find my own path. Please find yours as well. Love and light, Nadia.

Being devastated was an understatement. Knowing that she heard the plot he had with Victoria crushed his soul. She was a beautiful person, and moreover the one person he had searched for his entire life. That conversation was enough to break anybody.

“What have I done?” He picked his phone and rang her number multiple times. It left the same automated message: this number does not exist.

There was nowhere to find her. He ran to her fashion store. “Amelia,” he barged into her assistant’s office. “Have you seen Nadia?”

“No I haven't,” the short, fair lady stood up, clearing the files away. “Since when have you been looking for her?”

Ashamed to tell the whole truth about the matter, he said half of the truth. “This evening.” He started stepping out, “call me if anything comes up.”

“I will,” Amelia's voice boomed behind him.

The drive around town made him more crazy. Each time every scene of how he treated her, called her names popped in his head, he berated himself the more.

He received a call from an unknown number. Picking up at the second ring, he said: “hello?”

“Hi, am I on to Mr Ashton?”

His voice was stoic, devoid of emotions that didn't concern Nadia's safety. “Yes, how can I help you?”

“I'm sorry to inform you but a black Mercedes belonging to one Mrs Nadia Ashton was found crashed into a fire truck, burnt. There was no survivor but all that we were able to salvage was her phone, with you as her emergency contact and her luggage. Please pick her belongings up at the nearest fire station.”

As the call dropped, so did a single tear from his eyes. His fear, ready to feast on him. “It’s not possible. Nadia can't end up dead, not when I've not made it up to her.”

He hit the steering wheel multiple times, transferring his rage into it. His face, filled with that same tears he always mocked her about. A message notification of the fire station address with the picture of her burnt car confirmed his worst fears. He doubted if he really had the nerves to visit the crash site. Nadia Ashton was dead.