Chapter 15
The villa was unnervingly empty, a silence that clung to the air like a heavy fog, making the place feel lifeless.
When Benedict stepped inside, his heart sank. There were no delightful scents of food, no cake waiting on the table, and, most painfully, no Odette.
He wandered through the rooms, disappointment gnawing at him with each step until he finally had to admit the truth: Odette was nowhere to be found.
But the location tracker clearly showed she was home.
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Panic flared inside him. Benedict rushed to
the bedroom, threw open the wardrobe, and found nothing but his clothes, neatly arranged and untouched.
His gaze swept the room, and it hit him; the villa, once so familiar, now felt alien. Where were Odette’s belongings? Everything was gone as if she had never lived there.
Not only had all of Odette’s clothes and belongings vanished, but even the photos, the ones that had once filled the walls with
memories, had disappeared, leaving only his
own.
There wasn’t a single trace of her.
It was as though Odette had never been there at all.
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The floor–to–ceiling windows, once dotted
with sticky notes filled with reminders and messages, now stood bare.
Benedict called out her name, his voice breaking the stillness of the villa, but there
was no answer.
With every step he took, the pain in his chest intensified as if his heart was being torn
apart.
He felt like he was on the brink of collapse, drowning in the void she had left behind.
And then, his gaze landed on the pillow, Odette‘ s phone.
The phone he had given her.
She hadn’t taken it with her.
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Shakily, Benedict unlocked the device.
His hands trembled as he opened the photo gallery, only to find it empty.
All the apps had been deleted, save for two: the location app and WhatsApp.
He tapped into WhatsApp, heart racing, and saw that Odette was still logged into her work
account.
Then he noticed it, the familiar profile
picture, a haunting reminder of the woman
he had lost.
On her work account, there was only one friend left; everyone else had been erased.
The name that remained was Millicent.
Benedict opened the chat history and scrolled
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down slowly, a sense of dread settling over
him.
He discovered that over the past ten days, Millicent had relentlessly taunted Odette, her social media posts, videos, texts, and pictures all designed to dig deep into her wounds.
Each message was like a cruel blade stabbing relentlessly at Odette’s heart.
And yet, Odette had endured it all, never once replying to Millicent‘ s provocations.
She had kept her silence, never revealing to Benedict that she knew the painful truth about his affair.
Instead, she had quietly left behind her form of evidence, carefully preparing his “birthday gift” before slipping away without a word.
CIO
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She had vanished from Benedict‘ s world in
an instant, leaving nothing but emptiness.
Benedict collapsed to the floor, his chest tight with unbearable pain as he wondered. What had Odette thought when she saw those photos and messages?
Had she been heartbroken?
Had she cried for him?
Was she simply disappointed by his betrayal?
The thought of her suffering nearly tore him
apart.
She must have been in agony; there was no other explanation for why she had allowed someone to rip out the begonia tree they had once planted together.
Chapter 15
She wouldn’t have been so cold if she hadn’t been in so much pain.
She wouldn’t have left without a single trace of affection for him.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have shattered their relationship, delivering her message through the lights that adorned the towering buildings.
She didn’t love him anymore.
Benedict recalled the location–tracking app
they had once set up together.
Odette must have checked it at some point.
But when?
Was it when he couldn’t wait to take Millicent to the hotel?
Chapter 15
Suddenly, a strange call came through, and Benedict, on instinct, answered it.
“Hello, Mr. Evander, I’m terribly sorry,” the voice on the other end said. “A few days ago, your wife called the front desk to inquire if you had checked into a hotel. A new staff member answered the phone and may have said something inappropriate. We’re unsure if this caused you any trouble…”
Benedict‘ s grip on the phone tightened as he ground his teeth. “What did she say?”
The front desk manager spoke hesitantly, “She mentioned that you sometimes bring your wife to the hotel.”
