CHAPTER 11

Heart beating hard against his chest, his fingers tightened hard around the steering wheel. Orion changed the direction he was moving in; Seraphina had just sent a message to him that she had been taken to her house.

Which he found quite weird, but not for long; the feeling that the accident might have been a bit severe clouded his judgment a bit.

It took him quite a while to arrive at her upscale apartment in the city, which was in the opposite direction he was moving earlier.

He finally arrived at her apartment. He packed his car and made his way to her gate.

After pressing the doorbell twice, Seraphina decided to answer him.

Her lips stretched into a wide smile, revealing her teeth.

For obvious reasons, Orion wasn't smitten by her smile like he had always been; it was different this time.

He had struggled to make a difficult choice an hour plus ago, only to get here and find out he had been pranked.

Seraphina was looking perfectly fine, dressed in a tight blue gown that stopped so high up her thighs, just below her ass.

No injuries or wounds decorated her body like she had insinuated on the voice call.

Finally suppressing the shock that had overwhelmed him, Orion said in a questioning tone, “I thought you said you were involved in an accident.”

Seraphina drew him inside and led him into her apartment.

“Well, that was just an excuse to draw you over here,and just like I had hoped…” She paused and reached for a bottle of whiskey, pouring a glass for him.

She offered the glass of whiskey to him with a wink after he collected it.

“Just like I hoped, you came,” she added, after having her seat.

She crossed her right leg over her left.

Orion stared at the drink with a slightly pissed expression, anger dancing in his eyes, but he was quick to bury the anger.

The liquid he was staring at was obviously the best whiskey he loved to drink; it wasn't a surprise that she knew it.

He placed the glass gently on the coffee table and raised his head to stare at her. Offering the best smile he could manage, he replied, “I am here. So what do you want to see me for?”

Seraphina stared at him with a feigned surprised expression plastered on her face. “What do you mean by "What do I want to see you here for?””

“You sounded like it was an emergency, and I had to rush over as fast as I could,” he responded with a calm voice that was a huge façade and was taking him more than enough energy to maintain.

“Well, it's not like I lied,” she began and leaned back against the couch, sending a little bit of whiskey down her throat.

“This is really an emergency. It felt like I was going to run mad literally if I didn't see you anytime soon,” she added.

Orion didn't say anything in response; instead, he let out a sigh and leaned back against the couch also.

Mixed emotions danced in his eyes as he stared at the ceiling: pain, regret, and anger.

Seraphina kept talking, but her voice felt like she was quite far away from him; he could barely hear her voice.

His mind had been separated from his body.

The sound of shuffling feet and the sight of a moving silhouette drew him back to earth.

She rose to her feet and moved across to the couch he was sitting on.

Settling in the space beside him, she leaned her head on his shoulders and wrapped her hands around his arm, or rather, that was what she had in mind to do, but Orion pulled back immediately she got too close to him.

Sensing something was wrong, Seraphina adjusted her sitting position to stare at him directly and easily.

“What's wrong?” She questioned with puppy-wide eyes, “I called you here because we don't get time together again, and I have been missing you, so why not spend the rest of the day with me?”

“I have been busy, you know, with work and the rest…” he replied.

A couple seconds of silence followed immediately but didn't last long.

“I have a question,” she mentioned, and he turned to stare at her; his expression alone was giving her an affirmative response to go on.

“Do you love me?” She asked suddenly, staring at him with a hard gaze.

Orion schooled his expression, making it hard for her to read him or tell what he was thinking.

He stared at her a while longer without answering her question, and then he suddenly stood up.

“I have to go,”

Seraphina hurriedly followed his movement and reached for him. “Why do you have to leave now? It's still quite early,”

Before he could reply, she quickly added,”You know I have been more than patient enough, waiting for you, for your response, but you're not being fair to me.”

Orion took a step backwards. “I'm sorry.” He turned his back to her and made his way out.

****

The night sky was dark and thick already when he left, he had one destination but the feeling in his guts won't go away. The hospital.

He drove past cars almost at the speed of light, beating the lights of the traffic just before any could stop him.

"Don't start this again baby doll, pick up the damn phone." He hissed through gritted teeth.

Since he had driven her down to the hospital, he knew she couldn't drive back so tracking her car was useless.

He bolted home.

Back in his home, the house felt too quiet and too empty.

Walking through the hallways, Orion kept checking all the rooms of his house. Who he hoped to see was in none of the rooms, but her scent lingered, acting as a reminder that she was once here.

He didn't need the lingering scent to remind him that she was once here, he had a lot of things reminding him that she was once here.

Things like his judging conscience, the regret weighing his heart down, the heavy beating of his heart against his rib cage.

He pulled out his phone and dialed her number once more, but it got disconnected. "Don't do this please, I'm losing my mind trying to find you. Where are you?" He left her the same text everywhere he ever communicated with her.

The ticking of the wall clock irritated him, reminded him that he was losing time.

His eyes widened a bit with a glimmer of hope, immediately the idea of where she might have been appeared on the surface of his mind.

He scrolled through his contact list and dialed the number he was looking for.

It didn't take long for Elysia's grandmother to pick the call.

“Hi Nana,” he said with a faint smile.

“Hello, Orion, how have you been?” She asked, her tone heavily filled with happiness. She had stayed up a bit later hoping he'd call after getting her gift so she could wish him a happy day and a happy year ahead.

“I'm fine, I just wanted to ask if Elysia is there with you,”

“Nope, she promised to visit again, but I'm yet to see her,” granny responded, with the undertone of worry. “Is anything the problem, is she there with you?"

“No, grandmother, nothing is wrong and she's fine,” he assured her.

“I'll call you back, I have something to attend to,” he added and listened for her bye, just before he ended the call.

Subconsciously, he had dragged himself to her room while on the call. Standing at the doorway, he stared at empty shelves that were once occupied with her belongings.

Just as he was about to slip his phone into his pocket, his phone buzzed and he hurriedly pulled it out, a flicker of hope shining in the depth of his heart.

It died as soon as it had appeared, immediately after he saw the caller ID of the caller.

A part of him had wished it was Elysia, but it was Seraphina.

He stared at the phone ring, making no attempt to answer it, he didn't also make any attempt to decline the call.

He just stared at it ring and ring, over and over until it ended.

For the first time, he felt what it was to be left behind and he couldn't help but wonder if she had felt this way also when she came out and didn't see him waiting for her.

The only word he could use to describe the feeling was, miserable.

A question made its way to the surface of his mind, “Did he really choose wrong?”

He threw his head backwards and let out a sigh, just before he turned off his phone and slipped his phone into his pockets, letting the silence sink in.

“Is she really gone?”