Chapter 2

RYDER’S POINT OF VIEW

Devastation.

Pain.

Anger.

Sadness.

I felt them all as I watched nurses put my Isa in the morgue, alongside other dead people. How could she leave me after the vows we had said? She said she would be by my side for better for worse, in sickness and in health. What went wrong? Why did she leave so soon?

“Ryder?” Mirabel hugged me. “Please, come eat something. You look as though you’re going to faint.”

I gently pushed her away from me. “Eat? My wife is in there and she hasn’t eaten. I’m sure she didn’t eat before the wedding because she was nervous.”

“Please, Ryder.”

“Drop it, Mira.” I sounded harsher than intended. With everything that was happening, I felt as if I was slowly losing myself.

“I’m sorry.” She walked away, her head down.

This was hard. Losing someone dear to you on the day that was supposed to be your happiest day. The day you show your love to the world, the day you promise to love one person for the rest of your life. Where did it all go wrong?

“Sir, there’s a call for you.” One of my men held out a cellphone for me.

“I’m not in the mood to take calls.”

“But it’s from the attacker.”

I immediately snatched the phone from him and put it to my ear, cursing the next second. “You sick bastard. Show yourself to me this minute!”

There was laughter, and in that moment, my eyes twitched. He had the audacity to laugh after what he had done to me. Despite his annoying laughter, what irked me more was that they had made the voice to sound like that of a chipmunk. This person was a joker and a coward.

“There, there, Ryder. What’s the rush?”

I sucked in a deep breath to calm my burning heart. “Who are you?”

“Who I am doesn’t matter, now does it? I just called to tell you how sorry I am that Isabella died.”

What the hell?

“You killed her!”

“No, that’s where you are wrong. I didn’t intend to kill her. It was you whom I wanted to kill. My men messed up.”

“Messed up? I lost Isa because of you!”

“You’re wrong. Isabella wouldn’t have died if you had died. She died because of you. Blame yourself, not me.”

“Do you think this is a joke?”

“Oh, of course it isn’t a joke. Look, I know you want answers and I’m willing to give them to you. I just ask that you send me the burial date. You have my number. I’ll leave something for you there.”

The man hung up, leaving me more annoyed than ever. Why I was angry was unclear to me. Was it because of what he said, or was it because I actually believed Isabella died because of me? What sort of game was this person playing?

The guard who had given me the phone was still waiting. I looked at his name tag and then at his face.

“Kenneth, get this phone to Theo. Tell him to track this number down.”

“Yes, your majesty.” He turned to walk away, but I stopped him.

“Mirabel and my in-laws must not know about this. If they do, I’ll make you pay. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes, Sir.”

I turned away from him and ran a hand through my hair. God, what was happening to me?

“Ryder?”

Annalise.

I wasn’t ready to talk to her. Heck, I wasn’t ready to even look at her. Isa meant everything to her, and she was no more. I couldn’t look her in the eye.

“Here, take this.” She placed her hand on my shoulder and made me look at her. In her hand was the bracelet I had earlier seen on Isabella’s wrist while she was on the stretcher. “It belonged to my mother and Isa decided she wanted to wear it today. Even though I want to keep it, I can’t, so I’m giving it to you. It meant so much to my sister and I want you to have it.”

I took the bracelet from her and stared at it. It was beautiful and special, just like her.

“I’m sorry, Anna.”

She looked down at the marble floor and shook her head, her curly brown hair moving along. “You have nothing to be sorry about. My sister was happy today and that is all that matters to me. The way her eyes lit up when you both said your vows and exchanged rings is something I will never forget. That smile is the last happy memory I have of my sister and it is more than enough.”

“But-”

“I just want justice.” She cut me off. “I want you to find my sister’s murderer and make him or her pay.” A tear drop fell from her eyes and she furiously wiped it away. “After we take Isa’s body to Ordene, Pa and I will leave after the burial. We both can’t stay here.”

“You’re really going to leave?”

“Yes.” She confirmed. “There’s no need for me to stay anymore. Besides, I have a business to take care of. I hold no grudge against you, Ryder. All I ask for is justice.”

I nodded. “Alright. I do not want to stay in this place anymore, so tomorrow, we leave. I’ll book our flights. We leave first thing in the morning.”

“Sounds good.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Derick looking down at the floor with his hands in his hair. He looked devastated.

“How’s Derick holding up? Does he hate me?”

“He’s heartbroken, yes, but Pa would never hate you. He knows how much you love Isabella and that you would never put her in harms’ way. Pa just needs time to recover; he’ll be fine.”

I don’t think anyone will be able to recover from what happened.

“I’ll talk to him later.”

“Okay. I’ll go ahead now.”

How was she taking this calmly? Perhaps she wasn’t the kind of woman to show emotions. She was definitely hurting badly. Annalise and Isabella had a bond I had never seen. The two loved each other very much.

Everything was just too much for me to handle. The people at the wedding… Some had died. I would have to visit their families and sympathize with them even though I was also mourning the loss of my wife. Could I even call her that? I had failed her. I shouldn’t have sent her with them. She should have stayed by me.

Now that I paid closer attention to my surrounding, I noticed two men standing beside me. One had blood on his cheek and one eye was swollen. He was one of the men I had sent with Isabella. As much as I would love to know how they were unable to protect her, now wasn’t the time to ask questions. I would snap and probably do something I would regret later.

“Ace,” I called the bruised one, “get the car ready. We’ll be back tomorrow morning to get her body. Inform the rest.”

“Yes, sir.”

Goodness, how much I’d love to torture her murderer.

<<<>>> 

            Isabella and I sat on a blanket, admiring the setting sun. We laid down, hand in hand, enjoying the feeling of the cool breeze against our skin. The cool breeze sent strands of Isa’s hair right onto her face, and she moved them away. The smile on her lips didn’t go away despite the breeze scattering her hair.

The sunset made me think of the sky as an artist’s canvas. Pink, orange, purple and yellow colors beautified the sky. All I could do was enjoy the moment because I knew I wouldn’t see this every day. I wanted to take in the serenity and keep the memory with me forever.

We stayed that way, watching the sun completely set and turn into night.

“Ryder, I have to go.” Isa suddenly got up from where she had been lying down and kneeled beside me on the blanket. “I’ll miss you.” She kissed my cheek and stepped backwards.

“Where are you going?” I got up. “You’re not leaving me, are you?”

She smiled sweetly. “I’ll just be gone for a while.”

“Can’t you stay a little longer? There’s something I have to show you.”

Her smile turned into a frown, and she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I really have to go. I love you, Ryder.”

“Yeah, I know you love me and I love you too, but please stay. Two more minutes, okay?”

“I love you.” She repeated, this time firmer.

A red liquid dropped from the sky and fell on me. When I looked at Isa, she was crying.

“What’s wrong? Isa?” I took a step forward only to get screamed at.

“Stay back!” Her hands shot up to her ears, and she bent down, still crying. “Please, stay back.”

“Baby, I’m here for you. Come on, Isa, let me come to you.”

“No!” she screamed. “You can’t save me. It’s over for me.”

“No, it’s not.” I ignored her plea for me to stay away from her. With each step I took towards her, it became harder. It felt as though something was holding me back; stopping me from getting to her. “I’m here, Isa.”

“You don’t understand.” She looked up at me, and right before my eyes, Isabella began disappearing. It felt like I was in a damn movie, but it also felt real.

“What’s happening to you?” I held her body and pulled her close, despite the fact that she was disappearing right before my eyes. “Don’t leave me, please.”

“I can’t stop it.”

“Yes, you can. Stay with me, Isa.”

“I’m sorry.”

One minute she was in my arm, and the next, she was gone. She had left me yet again.

<<<>>> 

            After the dream I had last night, I couldn’t sleep. Whenever I closed my eyes, her face would appear before me. It scared me how a face that would light up my day was now the reason I lost sleep. Thankfully, it was now morning and the time to leave this damn place. I would never return to this place.

I picked up my phone that had been charging and saw I had four missed calls. One was from Theo and three were from Mirabel. I didn’t need her worrying about me. She had her life ahead of her and shouldn’t worry about me.

I called Theo first, hoping to hear some good news from him. I sincerely hoped he was able to track the phone.

“Good morning, Sir.” He greeted. “Hope you had a good night’s rest?”

Even though I knew he was trying to be nice, it irked me. No, I did not have a good night’s rest. I bit back the bitter comment and drew in a deep breath.

“Yes, I did. Any news on what I asked you to do last night?”

“Yes. I found the phone in a trash can at the hospital. The caller was at the hospital.”

“What?”

It could only mean that the person had been around us the whole time. The nerve of that bastard!

“Fingerprints. Did you check for fingerprints?”

“The person is smart. There were no fingerprints other than mine because I had picked up the phone.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to rein in my anger. I didn't want to lash out. “Alright. We’ll talk more when we return to Ordene. Get ready, we’re leaving.”