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962 Words
Chloe stood still, her gaze fixed on Xavier’s retreating figure until he disappeared completely from sight. Only then did she let out a slow breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
A heavy, suffocating frustration settled deep in her chest.
She had crossed a line this time—she could feel it.
Xavier wasn’t someone who lost his temper easily, but when he did, the consequences were never light. The coldness in his eyes before he left still lingered in her mind, sharp and unsettling.
But if it wasn’t Xavier… then who?
Ever since the accident, Chloe had become extremely cautious. She had personally dismissed all newly hired staff, leaving only those who had served her family for years—people she trusted completely. For days, everything had been calm. Quiet. Safe.
Until tonight.
And it just happened to be the one night Xavier stayed over.
The coincidence was too precise… too suspicious.
Her brows furrowed as doubt crept in like a shadow she couldn’t escape.
Xavier… did you really stay away from my father’s room?
The question lingered, unanswered, gnawing at her thoughts.
The mansion was unusually silent, wrapped in a stillness that only made her unease worse. Thankfully, her mother had already fallen asleep, unaware of the storm raging inside Chloe’s mind.
Guilt tightened around her heart.
After a moment of hesitation, she pulled out her phone. Her fingers hovered over the screen before she finally typed a short message.
“I’m sorry, Xavier. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”
She stared at it for a second… then hit send.
The message disappeared into the void.
No reply came.
Of course not.
She didn’t expect one.
Just as her thoughts began to spiral again, her phone buzzed suddenly, breaking the suffocating silence. The screen lit up with a name that brought a small sense of relief.
Nora.
“Chloe, come out and have a drink with me.”
Chloe didn’t hesitate.
“I’ll be there,” she replied quickly.
She needed a distraction—anything to escape the chaos in her head.
The Grand Elite stood bathed in golden light, its luxurious aura unchanged as always.
Chloe stepped out of the elevator, her heels clicking softly against the polished floor. As she moved forward, she nearly brushed shoulders with a man walking in the opposite direction.
She paused slightly.
There was something vaguely familiar about him.
But her mind was too preoccupied to focus. In her social circle, she met countless people every week—faces blurred together over time.
She dismissed the thought and walked on.
Behind her, the man stopped.
Caleb.
The moment he recognized her, his eyes lit up with unmistakable hunger.
Ever since he had seen her the night before, her image had been etched into his mind. Her elegance, her beauty, the way she carried herself—it had all ignited a dangerous obsession within him.
He had been frustrated when she left the party early, slipping through his fingers before he even had a chance to approach her.
But tonight…
Tonight, he wouldn’t let that happen again.
A slow, calculating smile spread across his lips.
He had come prepared.
Inside his pocket was a small stash of potent sedative pills. Just one was enough to bring down a fully grown adult within minutes.
His gaze followed Chloe as she walked down the hallway, her figure disappearing into a private suite guarded by two men—clearly Nora’s security detail.
Caleb didn’t act immediately.
Instead, he waited patiently at the corner, his eyes fixed on the door like a predator watching its prey.
Minutes passed.
Then finally—
A waiter stepped out of the suite, carrying an empty tray.
Caleb’s eyes sharpened.
This was his chance.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward, intercepting the waiter before he could leave.
At the Martin villa, the atmosphere was completely different.
The house was quiet, dimly lit, and heavy with lingering tension.
Sara had finally fallen asleep.
After hours of crying—her voice trembling as she claimed she wasn’t good enough for Liam after enduring his grandmother’s harsh insults—exhaustion had finally taken over.
But Liam remained awake.
Restless.
He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, his thoughts in complete disarray.
Again and again, the same image replayed in his mind—
Chloe sitting inside Xavier’s car.
Her flushed cheeks.
Her softened expression.
Her closeness to another man.
His jaw tightened.
What did they do in that car?
The thought burned through him like fire.
Is Xavier in her bed right now?
The possibility made his chest tighten with something dangerously close to anger… or perhaps something deeper.
Unable to endure it any longer, Liam grabbed his phone.
His fingers moved quickly as he opened his contacts and typed the familiar name.
“Chlo—”
Nothing appeared.
He frowned.
Then he typed her full name.
Chloe Bishop.
Still nothing.
Confusion flickered across his face as he scrolled through his recent calls.
Empty.
Every call log.
Every message.
Every trace of her—
Gone.
It took a moment for the truth to hit him.
She hadn’t just deleted him.
She had blocked him.
Completely.
A memory surfaced suddenly—
The day Sara had used his phone to call Chloe, humiliating her without restraint… and Chloe, standing coldly in front of Xavier, had blocked the number without hesitation.
Liam’s face turned pale.
A strange panic rose in his chest.
Quickly, he opened his messaging app and typed a single symbol.
“?”
He hit send.
For a split second, nothing happened.
Then—
A bright red exclamation mark appeared beside the message.
System Message: Message sent, but rejected by the recipient.
The words hit harder than he expected.
Like a door slammed shut—permanently.
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