Chapter 11
In the early hours before dawn, Rosalie’s fever finally broke!
Once Emery had soothed her back to sleep, he slipped quietly onto the balcony. Rubbing his tired eyes, he pulled out his phone and sent two messages to Arlene
“Arlene, something’s come up tonight. Il visit you tomorrow
“How are you feeling? Any discomfon? Do you want me to send a doctor over to check on you??
Usually, Arlene replied within seconds, but tonight, there was nothing. Emery waited a few minutes, then assumed she’d already gone to bed and didn’t want to disturb her further
Sighing, he eased into a chair, propped his elbows on the backrest, and tackled a handful of work messages before idly scrolling through his social feed. The timeline was flooded with vacation snapshots and party photos, but in between a few engagement videos caught his eye–all shot from the same angle
They’d been shared by a couple of Arlene’s friends. Emery squinted, curiosity piqued, and tapped on one
The video opened with a closeup of the man proposing. Something about his face seemed oddly familiar, though Emery couldn’t quite place him. He was about to exit the app when the camera panned left, catching the back of the woman being proposed to
Emery’s body snapped upright. He brought the phone closer, eyes wide. That silhouette–why did it look so much like Arlene?!
The thought flashed through his mind, but he dismissed it almost instantly. He shook his head, trying to clear the exhaustion. They were still married, after all. She wore her wedding ring every day. There was no way she’d accept someone else’s proposal, was probably just a friend he didn’t know!!
Satisfied by his own reasoning. Emery closed the video and even gave it a like
A moment later, a coughing fit echoed from the hospital room. His chance for rest evaporated, he got up and went back to care for Rosalie
All night Rosalie drifted in and out of restless sleep, never settling for long. Emery stayed awake at her bedside, womed her fever might spike again
By sunnse, exhaustion hit him hard. He called his assistant to take over and finally set off for home.
The moment Emery stepped into the house, he sensed something was off. The place felt emper than usual–a hollow stillness he couldn’t quite explain Scanning the living room, he quickly realized why. The shelves that once overflowed with collectibles were nearly bare. The quirky dishware in the dining hutch had vanished. The couch was sinpped of its throw pillows and stuffed animals
The further he walked, the deeper his frown grew
When he reached the bedroom, he pushed open the door intending to ask Arlene what was going on–but the sight inside left him frozen.
If the living room looked half–empty, the bedroom was gutted. Only his own clothes remained in the walk–in closet, the vanity and jewelry cabinets had been cleared out entirely. Every shelf and surface was empty, not a trace of her left behind.
It was only then that Emery finally reared something was tembly wrong.
Arlene–her presence, her things–everything was gone.
Was this another one of her dramatic move out and make a scene stunts?
The thought sparked a surge of frustration. How many times had he told her it was all just for show–why couldn’t the take a joke?”
Clearly, all that recent patience and understanding had just been an act for his benefit
The more he thought about it, the more imitated he became. He summoned the housekeeper his tone sharp and unforgiving.
“Why didn’t you tell me my wife moved out? Where did she go?”
The housekeeper flinched, stumbling over her words. “S–Sir, you told us not to bother you with these things, no matter what Mrs. Sinclair did. That we should let her be So we didn’t report it this time. She had the Sinclair family drivers pick her up. I think she might have gone back to her family’s estate“%
