Chapter 9
By the time Bryce made it home, it was already past midnight.
He’d stopped by the police station, cooperating with their
investigation.
“Mr. Oswin, if someone’s been missing for two years, you can
come back here to file for a death certificate,” the officer had
told him.
Bryce collapsed onto the couch, letting out a bitter laugh as he
tossed aside the missing person’s report.
“A death certificate? For what?
wwwwww
www.
“She’s probably just playing another one of her games with me.
“She just wants me to come home.”
He lowered his gaze. On the floor, the birthday cake he’d
knocked over earlier still lay scattered.
The open window rattled in the wind, letting in a sharp, cold
draft.
Every detail–the ruined cake, the icy air, the emptiness of the
Chapter 9
living room–reminded him that everything that had happened
tonight was real.
Suddenly, a chill swept over him, creeping up from his feet and winding its way straight to his heart, leaving him frozen to the
core.
He couldn’t stand to be in the living room another second.
Fleeing, he hurried back to his bedroom.
At that moment, it felt like something had gouged a hole in his
heart, the pain so sharp, he sucked in a breath.
He could still remember, as if it were yesterday, the night he’d
held her hands so tenderly and made her a solemn vow, word by
word.
“Angela, I swear, I’ll give you a good life. I promise.”
And he had kept that promise–he’d rebuilt the Oswin family
business from the ground up, turning it into a thriving empire.
He’d moved Angela, step by step, from a dingy basement
apartment to a downtown condo, then to a luxury penthouse,
and finally to a beautiful villa.
But somewhere along the way, he’d lost himself in the excesses of wealth and temptation.
Chapter 9
Even when Angela discovered his affairs–his flings with
models, his betrayals, the endless arguments and fights–he
hadn’t thought there was anything wrong.
He told himself it was all just a game.
After all, he’d been repressed for so long. Now, he wanted to
experience everything life had to offer–to make up for lost time.
He thought, “All the guys at the top do this. Every businessman
has a mistress on the side–it’s normal, right?”
He’d never heard of a wife who threatened divorce every day, let alone one who would go so far as to attempt suicide.
He just couldn’t understand it.
In his mind, as long as she was willing, she would always be Mrs. Oswin–forever and ever.
How had things spiraled to this point, where her fate was now a complete mystery?
Somehow, Bryce had forgotten the reason he’d worked so hard, clawing his way out of the mud and building a new life. He’d done it all just to be with Angela–to grow old together in love.
