Mateo’s eyes were bright—almost dazzling—when he looked at her. “Because… you.“I thought that I would finally be able to move on after a hug from you. But when your body collapsed into my arms, I had a revelation—I can never move on; it’s impossible. At that moment, I felt as though my one true dream had finally come true,” he explained. “I demand more. There is no way I can let you go like this… So, I want to take you with me, to a place where no one knows us, and I will use the rest of my life to make you love me. I’ve already spent so many years bound to you; adding the rest of my life into it is a small feat.”Arianne’s mind was a mess, but as she worked hard to connect the dots, the truth slowly reared its head in her own. “And Geralt Bernard knew about this all along, didn’t he? He helped you fake your death. He then came to save me from your mother when she abducted me, because he was privy to your scheme. The things he said to me—and that time he brought me to that so-called
Shock stimulated her memory, and Arianne remembered losing her handbag when Mrs. Rodriguez abducted her. All of her identification documents had been inside. But later, Geralt told her he had gotten those things all “cleaned up”, which was why she had not……That was a lie too, wasn’t it? Arianne was only stymied from replacing her lost ID and whatnot because this debacle had been developing at breakneck speed since then.Damn Mateo and his watertight scheme! Just the suggestion—that she might never see Mark and Smore ever again in her life—coursed into her chest before sharpening into an acute agony mangling her heart.“No! Never—! I’ll never leave with you unless I’m dead! Noooo!”Mateo let her hysterics roll past him without effect. He announced calmly, “You should rest; I have something to attend to, so please excuse me. Friendly reminder: don’t waste time and effort trying to escape this place, fair lady; it’s futile. When we’re finally abroad, I’ll help you reinvent a new iden
Geralt took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’ve lost the credibility to remain in this profession, which is why I submitted my resignation letter just yesterday. Even before you attended that funeral, I thought about rattling the truth out to you, yet… I cannot find it in me to betray Teo. For that, I’m truly, deeply sorry,” he explained. “I know your hatred is directed at me just as much as at him, so I won’t denigrate us both by trying to appeal to some sort of favorable impression in your mind. Instead, what do you say about a parley? You’ll begin to eat something, and I’ll help you pass a thing to Mark to let him know that you’re still alive.”Arianne reeled back in shock. Was he not the least bit worried that she might seize this chance to inform him her location?Of course, it did not take her long to realize how impossible it was to relay any useful information—even Arianne herself had no idea where this place was, let alone tell Mark anything concrete. One look outside the win
Silence befell Geralt. Was this how it needed to be? Had all that had happened to Arianne not been sadistic enough already?His lack of words, to Mateo, spoke volumes about his conviction—or rather, its faltering.“Ralt, there is no turning back for me,” Mateo said. “This is the only time I stopped being a nice guy; you understand why, don’t you? I just want it to be her and me. Us, together. But I can’t make that happen any other way. It’s she who didn’t want to leave Mark! After all that I’ve done for her, she just keeps clinging to this… faith in him! I have no other way! There’s only one way to resolve this, Ralt, and it’s to rescue her from here!”Geralt drew a sharp inhale of breath. “The fact that she never thought of leaving Mark Tremont despite everything is a solid, irrevocable testimonial of her love for him, don’t you see? What good do you think dragging her away from him is going to do? You will never possess her heart, Teo. The two of you will be doomed to grind out th
When Mark spoke, his voice was quaking as much as he was. “M-Must continue searching… T-Tell all of our people that we’ll… We’ll find her no matter how difficult it is, no matter the cost, no matter life or d-d-death… I want her found!”How close to the truth the parcel implied was already beyond his care, for the note and the earring had defeated his mental fortress. It had been days since anxiety became his companion in the dark, denying him his nightly reprieve and forcing him to turn to medication just to emulate some form of emotional stability.Home had become the den of his nightmares. He feared stepping inside the Tremont Estate because being in there, with emptiness surrounding him, forced him into confronting Arianne’s absence. Then there was Smore’s questioning; he feared the boy’s endless pelts of “Where is Mom, Dad? Where is my mom?”Deep down inside, he had become just a mortified man who wanted to run away from everything.Mark had not told Jackson nor Tiffany about
Tiffany was roused from her slumber by the commotion. “Mm? News of Ari? Oh, uh, wait! I’m—yawn—coming with, um, you...?”Jackson took one glance at her eyelids, which refused to open, and tucked her back under the sheet. “It’s all right, honey. Go back to bed,” he cooed. “I can go there alone; I’m only heading to Mark’s place, anyway. But you, sweetheart? You better get enough sleep. Remember, we’ve got our brats to take care of during the day. Better not worry yourself dead over Arianne, okay?”Without further ado, Jackson rushed to the Tremont Tower after the call. Turned out, a short drive was enough to make a man perk up and feel refreshed.“Is Mateo really, well... not-dead?” he asked straight off the bat.Mark passed the earring to him. “An anonymous sender delivered this to our doorstep today. It was one half of the pair Arianne was wearing on the day she went missing. I bought it for her, so I distinctly remember that there was no strange four-letter word on it during purch
Knowing that Mateo’s plan to whisk her away was nigh, Arianne panicked a little. “No, no! I’m not leaving with you!”Mateo spared her only a brief glance. He did not even give her a word.News of recent development had hit him: Mark’s people had begun watching every airport in the city. He had to move and fast. Even if he could not leave the country, changing the location he housed Arianne was still a must.Yes, he suspected betrayal from his dear pal Ralt. How else could he explain Mark’s obviously-guided focus on airports? The only explanation was if that bastard was somehow tipped into knowing that Mateo was still alive, and that he was the one who’d abducted Arianne!The old woman finished packing all of Arianne’s things. “Everything’s in order, sir.”Mateo nodded. “Wait for us outside. I’ll be with you in a moment.”She gave a confirmatory hum and went out, Arianne’s suitcase lumbering along.The room was left with just Arianne and Mateo. By this point, all of the favorable
Mateo casually replied with a “Yeap.”However, Arianne was in complete shock. She could not help but feel that what Geralt had said was meant for her. ‘How did Mark even think of keeping an eye on every entrance and exit in the airport? If he thought that I was purely being kidnapped, then the kidnappers would either want money or my life. I would definitely not have been taken overseas or to a city that’s far away!’Arianne suddenly realized why she thought that there was something wrong with Mateo and Geralt. ‘Geralt must have used the return of my earrings as an excuse to leak some information to Mark…’As Arianne peeked out the car window to look at the expression on Geralt’s face, Mateo suddenly reached out his hand and shut the car window on Arianne’s side. “It’s hot outside, and we’ve got the air conditioner on in here.”Arianne huddled herself and coldly said, “Stay away from me! My whole being feels sick just by looking at you!”Mateo’s body unknowingly froze but soon ret