BILLIONAIRE REGRET: THE WIFE HE IGNORED

SOUGHT

Nelson’s POV

Morning felt like waking up to a hellhole void of actually sunlight even though rays of the sun peaks through the curtains. I picked up my phone and read through the messages I sent. None responded, and none of my calls returned.

Was Maria really leaving me?

Agitated, I rushed out of my room to meet Abraham. My father's long, loyal friend and my second father.

He is directing a maid on her duties when I enter the kitchen.

"Good morning, young master," he greets, dismissing the maid with a wave of his hand.

“Are you are aware, Maria left the house last night?" I ask.

“I am well aware," he answers calmly and begins to walk through the opposite direction, leading to the backyard.

“She hasn't answered any of my messages or calls. I am wondering if she has spoken to you as well." I scratch the back of my head, trying to stay calm.

“I got a call from her. She explained everything to me. In fact, we spoke for hours, and I congratulated her on her new job."

“A new job?" She returned his call and didn't answer mine. How petty of her. And what's with the new job? "Give me your phone. I need to speak with her."

"Sorry, young master. But I can't offer you such help," he declines, picking up a shear to trim the flowers.

I rake my fingers through my hair frustration seeping deep into my bones. What's with his attitude this morning?

"Abraham, this is something between us. I need to speak with her as soon as possible." I extend my hand for his phone, but he ignores me, tending to the flowers.

“Exactly as you have said. The matter is between the two of you. It's your cross to carry. Fix what you have ruined. I won't help you in any way. But if you need my advice, I will always be here," he says nonchalantly, obviously to spite me.

“Did I do something wrong, Abraham? Why are you being offish?"

“Now you get how it feels to be ignored. That's what the young miss have been through each time you leave her in this huge mansion. Yesterday was your anniversary. Do you know how long she waited outside? She came back looking unrecognizable, covered in bruises. You let her down again, Nelson. Why do you keep doing that to her?"

His question throws me off balance. Realization hits me as his woman piece together.

“I offered her gifts…"

"Expensive gifts don't warm a heart like hers." He interrupts me, waving the shear sideways. “She cared about you. Yet you took that for granted."

“I…I don't know what I am supposed to do, Abraham," I sigh, overwhelmed with everything that's happened.

“You can start from where it all went wrong. Like getting rid of the leech on your back," he says with an irritated tone.

“Lucy and I had nothing to do with each last night. She was drunk and vulnerable. I had to help," I explain, which I regret not knowing when I came home last night.

“Her situation was none of your business. If she had come to drink, then she must have made plans to get herself to safety. No celebrity exposes themselves to a scandal. Unless they want to make one," he points out to my face.

Everything adds up instantly. Meeting Lucy was a coincidence. She had shown up for a meeting that wasn't part of my schedule. However, after her appointment, she made her way to my office, drunk.

She was about to cause a scene. I didn't want that, so I led her to a safe place to keep her away.

Thinking about it, she must have planned everything out. How could I have been so dumb?

“I have to leave now. Can you tell me where she is? I promise to make things right," I urge him, hoping to deflect his hostility.

“That's a matter you have to do by yourself. If you want her, then you have to find her. Whether it is in the desert or the deepest ocean or across the seven seas. You have to do it yourself." He goes back to tending the flowers.

I pull out my phone from my pocket to contact my secretary when I see a news article.

NEWLY APPOINTED COO OF ADVENTI BEAUTY: MARIA CRAWFORD SIGNS A CONTRACT WITH THE BILLIONAIRE TYCOON RICHARD KINGSTON IN PARTNERSHIP

Richard Kingston! This is a joke. She won't partner with my enemy in business. Fake news these days.

I swipe the article off my screen and message my secretary.

Nelson: Greg, I need you to find my wife's location as soon as possible.

The text line appears and disappears for a few seconds. Then he sends a photo to me with a caption on it.

Greg: Mrs Winston is at the Avanti beauty press conference. Thought you knew about it.

I stare at the photo drastically, boiling up as rage seeps into my veins. I dial Greg's number.

“What's the meaning of this?" I snap as he picks my call. “How did you let this happen?"

“I thought you knew about the position."

“Do whatever it takes to stall the meeting. I am on my way." I end the call, giving him no room to explain.

Greg sent me the location of the press conference. I drive down to the Avanti beauty center infuriated by the news.

Richard Kingston is my rival. He always looks for a chance to get under my skin or steal from me. If I knew this, I'd the reason she wanted to divorce me, I won't have let her walk out that door last night.

I arrive at the center, and reporters littered all over the place like peasants. Greg shows up at the front and directs me through the back entrance.

"Did you stall the meeting?" I ask as I trudge down the hall, Greg following me behind.

“I tried what I could do, but Mrs Winston said something unusual."

“What did she say?" I ask, getting agitated as we get closer to the conference hall.

“She said you two are divorced." I stop in front of the door, grabbing the closest security guard. “What are you waiting for? Open the f*****g door!" I yank him aside and his other colleague hurriedly push the door open.

"Forgive us Mr Winston." They say in unison, bowing at the same time. I walk past, ignoring them as I entered the crowd filled hall of reporters.

Maria is standing on the with a bright smile as she looks at Richard.

"I have an announcement to make," she speaks into the mic. “Nelson Winston and I are getting a divorce."

The quiet room went into an uproar as reporters began to flash their cameras, throwing questions about the divorce here and there.

To make it worse, she adds, "With immediate effect.”