Todos los capítulos de The Flowers Bloom in the South, but You're Nowhere to Be Found: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

Three years into their marriage, Vivian Cole was thrown into the basement for the ninety-ninth time. Half her face was swollen, and a bruise darkened the corner of her eye. Before she could struggle, a bodyguard roughly forced her into a chair.“Last month, you sneaked into bars three times and went street racing once. You ended up bedridden for a week. Haven’t you learned your lesson?”Disappointment weighed heavily on Alexander Blackwood’s face.“When will you finally learn to behave and become a proper Mrs. Blackwood?”Vivian glanced at the restraints wrapped around her arms and gave him a faint smile.“So this is how a Mrs. Blackwood is supposed to be treated? I’m living worse than a stray dog on the street.”His expression darkened, and his chest heaved with anger.“If you hadn’t kept breaking the rules, I wouldn’t have had to lay a hand on you!“You’re my wife! You’re the face of the Blackwood family, not some woman out on the street who can do whatever she pleases!”“Ru

Vivian walked from noon until sunset. Blisters had formed on her feet, and by the time she finally reached home, she was on the verge of collapse from hunger and cold.Seething with resentment, she pushed open the front door, only to find Diane Reed and Isabelle Cole sitting on the living room sofa, chatting and laughing with Thomas.The moment they saw her, all three turned toward her. The room fell silent.Vivian sneered and spread her hands innocently.“Sorry to interrupt your little family reunion. Just pretend I was never here. Please, carry on.”Diane put on a pitiful expression and raised a hand to dab at her eyes.“Vivian, since we’re all here, why don’t we talk? Do you have some misunderstanding about me? Or have I done something to upset you? If so, I’ll do my best to make it right...”Vivian’s expression darkened.“Dad, you shouldn’t let stray dogs into the house. What if they bite someone?”Diane’s carefully cultivated image nearly crumbled. She widened her eyes an

“What did you say?”Vivian stopped dead in her tracks, staring at him in disbelief.“You want me to kneel before her? You want me to apologize?“I’m still your fiancée in name, at least. Aren’t you afraid people will laugh at you behind your back?”“She’s your sister, too. Yet you still had the heart to push her down the stairs!”Alexander’s gaze sharpened, and his voice turned icy.“I treat everyone equally.“Guards, carry it out. Now!”Two stone-faced bodyguards seized her from either side. With tremendous force, they shoved her down, slamming her knees against the hard floor.“Let go of me! Alexander Blackwood, you bastard! I regret ever falling in love with you…”Her furious string of curses was cut short as they forced her head down until her forehead struck the ground.“No! I was only saying those things to disgust you! I didn’t push her! She fell on her own!”Vivian tried to explain, but Alexander had already stormed away, rushing toward the elevator shaft to rescue

Alexander spent a long time out with Isabelle before finally returning to the Cole family home.A shy blush still lingered on Isabelle’s cheeks. She gazed at him sweetly and said, “Thank you for standing up for me, Alexander. From now on… we’ll be together for the rest of our lives. I hope you’ll always be as gentle with me as you were today.”During the drive, she had already received a text from Thomas Cole. She had been so excited that she nearly screamed, but remembering that she was supposed to be a demure young lady, she forced herself to calm down.Alexander found her words a little strange, but he didn’t dwell on them. Instead, he sighed.“If only your sister were as sweet and obedient as you. I wouldn’t have had to be so disappointed in her.”Isabelle’s smile never wavered, though inwardly she was sneering. She could already picture Vivian’s despair and heartbreak when she learned that her engagement had been called off.The thought made her even happier. She practically

“To avoid disrupting the wedding, we had no choice but to…”“What? She left?”Alexander’s mind went blank. It felt as though lightning had struck him, and his entire body began trembling uncontrollably.Where could she have gone?!He felt as though all the blood in his body was rushing backward. One terrible possibility after another flashed through his mind until his eyes nearly bulged with panic.He couldn’t take it anymore. He tore off his tuxedo jacket and bolted out like a madman.“Find her! All of you, get out there and find her! I want to know where she is. Now!”Inside his car, Alexander roared into his phone before slamming his foot on the accelerator and speeding away.The engine roared as he raced down the streets. He searched every corner of Ashford and revisited every place they had ever been together, but he couldn’t find a single trace of her.An overwhelming sense of panic engulfed him. The cold, hollow uncertainty threatened to swallow him whole.Desperate, h