All Chapters of The Winter He Lost Her: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Nick had always been the kind of man who hid his emotions well, but now the control was gone. His rage filled the room like a storm.The crash of papers and the sound of his shouting made his secretary outside go pale. She glanced down at the file in her trembling hands, too afraid to knock.“Give it to me.”Susie appeared suddenly, taking the file from her grasp. “I’ll bring it in. Go handle something else.”The secretary looked relieved. “Thank you, Miss Sanders.”Susie smiled faintly. Nick had given her privileges no one else had. She could go anywhere in the building, even walk into his office without knocking.She pushed the door open, still holding the file, and froze.Nick’s face was ashen. His eyes were bloodshot, locked on his phone. Blood streaked his hand, soaking the cuff of his white shirt.“Mr. Horden, what are you doing? Hurting yourself now?” she asked, her voice shaking despite the edge of arrogance she tried to keep.Nick turned his head slowly, and the look

Nick waved a hand, and several bodyguards stepped forward. They grabbed Susie by the arms and began slapping her across the face, alternating from left to right.Within moments, her cheeks were swollen, her teeth loosened, and blood ran from the corner of her mouth. The proud, composed woman she once pretended to be was gone. Tears streamed down her face as she choked out, “Please… stop. I’m begging you, stop!”“Do you understand now?” Nick sat above her, one leg crossed over the other, his tone deceptively calm as he watched her struggle.Susie trembled violently. The pain made her break. “I—I only went after Lisa because I love you. I thought you loved me too. I wanted to clear the path for us.”Nick let out a short, bitter laugh. “You really don’t get it, do you? You were just a plaything. The only woman I’ve ever loved is Lisa.”“That’s not true,” she said through tears, her voice shaking. “You love me. You divorced her for me… You did everything for me…” But her words faltere

Nick woke up in the hospital, the blinding white lights making him dizzy for a moment. His first instinct was to mutter, “Tell my wife to come see me.”His assistant froze, his face pale as death. “Sir… she’s gone.”Nick’s eyes snapped open, clarity flooding in as the memories of the past few days hit him like a wave. His chest tightened with frustration. Lisa had left him.He ignored the doctor’s warnings and discharged himself from the hospital. The first thing he did was order his villa to be completely remodeled. Everything restored to the way it was before Susie ever set foot inside.He sent out team after team to look for Lisa, but she had vanished without a trace. It was as if she had been erased from the world.He spent every day in his office, unable to focus on anything. Multi-billion-dollar projects fell apart because of his indifference, and within a month, the company had lost hundreds of millions.Only then did Nick realize it had never been that Lisa couldn’t

Lisa had been living in the small German town for three months now. Life here had become familiar, peaceful even. She’d gotten to know her neighbors, and people had begun to smile and wave when they saw her on the cobblestone streets.Jay, the man who had greeted her on her first day, was also from the same country. He’d moved here years ago with his remarried mother and had a ten-year-old half-sister named June. June was a sweet, freckled girl with two little dimples that appeared whenever she smiled.June loved the violin. Every time Lisa played, the girl would sit cross-legged on the floor, completely entranced. Eventually, Lisa began teaching her. Jay often lingered nearby, helping where he could, always cheerful and easygoing.He was nothing like Nick. Jay was warm and open, with a light in him that reminded Lisa of sunlight after a storm. Around him, she didn’t have to tiptoe or guess his moods. She didn’t have to fear being ignored or scolded for speaking her mind. With Jay,

Nick stood in the empty studio for nearly an hour before finally turning to leave.He was torn, hesitating over whether he should force Lisa to come back or let her go.The old Nick would have dragged her home without hesitation. As long as she was by his side, he could tolerate anything. But now, something inside him had changed. For the first time, he wanted her to return because she wanted to, not because she was trapped. He wanted her to smile again, to love him the way she once did.Those two voices, one possessive and one remorseful, clashed in his head until the noise made his ears ring.He ended up in a bar, ordering bottle after bottle of whiskey. Each glass burned down his throat, but it did nothing to quiet the storm inside him. The more he drank, the deeper the ache grew. His eyes were red, his laughter hollow.How had it all come to this?They had loved each other so deeply once. She used to cling to him as if he were her entire world, so why had he pushed her away?