chapter 5

Samuel felt as if someone had punched a hole straight through his chest. A cold draft rushed in, numbing him from the inside out.

"Where is my wife? Tell me where she is!"

He grabbed a houseman by the collar and shouted in his face.

The man stammered, "I don't know! I asked Mrs. Gray, but she wouldn't tell us!

"We called you, but you didn't pick up. We couldn't force her to stay."

Samuel shoved him away. The moment the man stumbled back, Samuel slapped himself so hard the sound echoed through the foyer.

When Hayley left, he was marrying another woman.

Regret and shame crashed over him so violently that his whole body trembled.

His hands shook as he pulled out the divorce papers.

He read every line as tears slid down his face.

Then he broke down completely, sobbing.

Hayley had known everything.

He looked around and realized the villa was bare—so many things were gone.

Dazed, he finally understood. Anything tied to Hayley had vanished.

She'd already made up her mind and planned this exit.

He was about to give up when something hit him.

He spun around and bolted upstairs like a man possessed. He tore through drawers and boxes until he found their marriage certificate.

Tucked behind it was a note in Hayley's handwriting.

She wrote it right after they got married.

"If you ever fall out of love, I won't cling to you. I'll disappear from your life, somewhere you'll never find me."

He stared at the familiar handwriting, tears spilling fast.

He had forgotten—Hayley was never the type to beg, never the type to stay where she wasn't wanted.

He used to think betrayal was impossible. He had brushed off her words.

Now he wished he could go back and drag his past self to hell.

The butler stepped quietly into the doorway. "Mr. Gray… you could try calling her. Or text her."

It was like Samuel woke up. He muttered to himself, trying to calm down, "Hayley loves me so much. She'll forgive me. Yeah… call her!"

His fingers shook so badly he kept hitting the wrong buttons.

A number he could usually dial in seconds took him nearly five agonizing minutes.

Then the recording came on. The number had been deactivated.

Samuel refused to accept it. He tried again and again—same result.

He sent her a message and discovered he'd been blocked.

Then he called Hayley's friends. Everyone connected to her.

No one knew where she was.

As time slipped by, panic swelled inside him.

He might lose Hayley for good.

He might never see her again.

He slammed a fist into the hardwood floor. His knuckles split instantly, blood smearing across the polished surface. He barely felt it.

Losing Hayley felt like someone had ripped out a piece of his soul.

Physical pain couldn't compare.

A sudden memory flashed through his mind. He turned to the butler.

"When did she start acting… off?"

The butler thought for a moment. "It was after she brought home a small box."

Samuel's expression sharpened. He had someone fetch the box.

He opened it. Inside were hundreds of photos of Macy with him. His face went cold and he said nothing.

He dumped the box out and let out a twisted laugh. "So this is it. Macy… you pathetic little snake. You actually thought you could provoke Hayley."