Three days ago, fter finding out what happened, Stefan came to realize a lot of things. Chris told him the words he had said the night he got drunk and he said all those things in front of Cayenne.
He told her that he would be fine without her, that he can sleep without her but it turned out wrong. His heart felt restless and he missed her so much. He wanted to see her, to talk with her and to stay with her forever.
He said that he would divorce her to get the shares that Seiji got but when the man gave it to him, he realized that those shares don't matter to him. He would never divorce his wife just for small number of shares. His wife's value was million times more than that.
He flared up when he found the connection between her and Jonas. Instead of communicating with her, he ran away and got himself drunk. In the end, he missed the most crucial time of her life. He abandoned her. And the dumbest thing out of everything was that, he got angry for something she wasn't at fault.
Jonas was pulled by Alexander's own selfish desire to die. Cayenne just happened to be Jonas' stepdaughter. They're not even blood-related.
His words pushed her away from his life and he can't blame no one but himself.
The past three days, he read Cayenne's letter again and again. He could feel the pain from her words and there were even dried tear marks on the paper. He hurt her.
And since Cayenne left him a key to the apartment, Stefan went to check what was left for him. To add more pain to what he felt, he found the things that he gifted to her and her family. She really meant it when she signed the divorce papers; she wanted to cut ties with him.
'Impossible.' Stefan thought. 'It's impossible for me to sign those stupid documents. I'd never write my name on it.' He thought to himself. Even when he came to work and even when he faced Seiji, he only got one thing in mind – he won't divorce his wife.
Stefan acted really quick after leaving Seiji. He didn't care about the man's opinion. He didn't care about his plan. All he wanted to do was find his wife as soon as he can.
"Sir, I have called Mr. Montefalco's secretary and he agreed to meet with you this evening." Chris stated after receiving an email confirmation from the other party.
"Thank you, Chris." Stefan walked back to the meeting without looking back to the visitor's lounge. Seiji can show himself out. "Let's go back to the meeting."
While Stefan was busy dealing with business problems, love rivals and finding Cayenne, his woman was currently lying on her bed. Cayenne was staring at the ceiling with tears falling off from the corner of her eyes. Since her brothers left for school, she had the whole house to herself. It's quiet with only the chirping of the birds and the rustling sound of the bushes and trees can be heard.
She only ate breakfast with her sibling before they left and now, she's so bored to death. She checked her bank account and found that she still got lots of money on her savings. It may not amount to millions but it can still help her and her siblings for the next three months.
"I'll just take this time to heal myself from the all the pain and invisible wounds." Cayenne mumbled to herself while wiping her tears. She sat up straight on her bed and looked around. The place was clean and spacious. She can even roll on the floor with no worry.
Because she was too bored and everything that comes to mind can only hurt her, she went down stairs and walked around the house. She had been preoccupied with so many things in the past few days and she didn't giver herself time to explore her surroundings.
Now that she was a bit sober from heartache, she could finally see how big the house was. The place was far from other houses, letting you have the privacy that you need. There were a lot of plants around the house and there were so many trees that she felt like she was in the middle of the forest.
Looking at the huge space at the backyard, Cayenne finally found something that she can use to distract herself. "I'll show you Stefan Dumrique that I, Cayenne Ardolf, can live my life without you. If you can do it, so can I." She put her hands on her hips and nodded to herself with a proud expression. She walked back to the house and looked for her phone to order some things online.
But the moment she saw her phone, she felt a stinging pain on her nose. Her vision became blurry once again because of her tears. "I hate you. I hate you so much." She sat on the floor and drew up her knees to hug it. She buried her face on the crook of her arms and just let herself cry again.
In truth, she missed him. She wanted to see him. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to stay with him for the rest of her life. 'But Stefan didn't like me. Everything was just a pretense to him.
I didn't even notice that he was just acting.'
"Am I really just a joke to him? Everything that happened, don't they have any special meaning? How can he do that when I didn't even do anything to offend him? I was genuine from the very start. Why? Why did everything fall apart?" Outside her window, only the birds witnessed her pitiful look and silent hiccups and sobs.
Her shoulders were shaking from her crying. Her tears kept falling on her shirt.
She felt extremely tired. So tired, that she wished she could close her eyes and never wake up to face her painful reality again.
Cayenne fell asleep, sitting on the cold floor while leaning her head on the side of her bed.
When she woke up again, the sun was slowly setting on the west. The sky was brushed with red and orange hue from the sun's rays while darkness slowly crept to bring in the night life.
She stood up and stretched her numb legs to let the blood circulate in her body. It felt tingly when she did it but the view outside her window made her forget the numbness and the tingling sensation of her feet.
"Slowly. I'll just take it slow. And I know, I'll eventually forget you." Cayenne muttered.
In Royale Restaurant, Stefan was having dinner with Reuben Montefalco, Cayenne's father. He knew the man in name and he had seen him several times in business dinners with some colleagues but he never had any experience of talking to him. Their business doesn't cross with each other.
But now, he had to dine with him in order to find Cayenne.
"I'm aware that you're not here to talk about business." Reuben commented without waiting for Stefan to say anything. "Is it really true that you married my daughter?" He still asked even though he knew.
"Yes." Came Stefan's short but firm answer.
"So, if you're married to him, how come I didn't see you or even your shadow when she was going through difficult times? Where were you?"
"I didn't know she was going through so much. I was in PH. No one said anything to me. I didn't contact her because I wanted to give her a surprise when I get back. I didn't know that I'd destroy our relationship instead."
"Do you think I'd believe that?"
Stefan kept quiet. He was well-aware that everything he'd say would sound like an excuse. Even if he was saying the truth, it will be hard for other people to believe his words.
"It doesn't matter if I believe you or not. I'm not your wife." Reuben stated which give Stefan a little hope. "However, you've hurt my daughter once, why should I give you another chance to hurt her again?"
"Mr. Montefalco, I know that my words alone can't convince you but this time, I'm willing to do anything for my wife. I just want her back. When she left, I realized how much she means to me. She completes my world. Without her, I don't know if I can still continue living.
I just want to get my wife back."
"You're willing to do anything? Are you sure? What if I ask you to give me your shares in Aurora' Snow World in JP, will you give it to me?"
"Hn." Stefan answered without any hesitation. Before he decided to meet the man, he already made up his mind to sacrifice anything for her.
Reuben looked at him and sneered. "I won't give you her exact location, though. I will only give you the city and it's up to you if you can find her there. After that, whether she forgives you and want you back, it's up to her to decide. I won't interfere in her matter."
"That's a deal. When can are you available to sign the transfer of shares?"
"I don't need it." Reuben wiped his mouth with his table napkin and stood up. "I hope this time, you can keep your promise. You can look for her in City B." Reuben turned around and left after saying those words. 'I hope you can give her a warm family, a place she can call home.'