Chapter 6
714 Words
Elara suddenly remembered that during the first three years after her disappearance, Sebastian had posted on X almost every day, and somehow every post had been about her.
By the fourth year, his updates became fewer and fewer until, one day, his account was suddenly deactivated.
By then, he had already made his choice.
Unfortunately, Elara hadn't known.
Her desperate rush to see him had been nothing more than a cruel joke.
Elara watched Sebastian toy with his phone, his expression distant and distracted.
The next second, his phone vibrated, and a gentle smile curved his lips.
Elara let out a bitter laugh and counted down silently in her head.
Three seconds later, Sebastian glanced up absentmindedly and met Elara's clear, piercing gaze.
He stiffened, his face turning cold. "I can't stand clingy people. Do yourself a favor and don't push me. Understand?"
With that, Sebastian left as quickly as he could, striding away without a second glance.
Elara turned her head slightly and watched in silence.
Watched as he walked to the door.
Watched as he answered the call without hesitation.
Watched as his face softened into an indulgent smile.
"Sleepyhead, if you sleep any longer, you'll miss the premiere."
"Yeah, I'm on my way back now."
"Why worry about her? She wouldn't appreciate it anyway."
His voice faded into the distance.
And along with it, the feelings he had stirred in her disappeared as well.
Elara began counting the days in silence.
Her superiors had told her to wait patiently for extraction and assured her it would take no more than fifteen days.
Since then, every waking moment, she had been calculating how much time she had left before she could leave.
How ironic.
She had been frantic to see him.
Now, after seeing him, she wished she could disappear to the ends of the earth.
But with her injuries, her only hope was the government.
Yet after seven long days of waiting, all she received was an unexpected text.
[Vivienne Hale is suspected of having close ties to N.V. Remain undercover as long as possible and gather evidence.]
Elara's pupils contracted sharply, and her heart skipped a beat.
N.V. was the man who had abducted her all those years ago.
A psychopath and a drug trafficker obsessed with manufacturing narcotics.
During her years trapped on that island, she had witnessed his cruelty firsthand.
If not for Elara's genius in biochemistry and N.V.'s need for her skills, she would have ended up like the other poor girls, dismembered and discarded.
The only friend she had made on the island, the one who had tried to protect her, had also died at N.V.'s hands.
That was why, even when rescue had been within reach in her second year of captivity, she had chosen to stay behind as an undercover agent.
If there was one regret Elara still carried, it was that N.V. was still out there.
Now, the opportunity had been placed right in front of her.
There was no way Elara could refuse.
She decided at once.
No matter how disgusted or unwilling she felt, she would return to Blackwood Estate and keep that so-called family of three under constant watch.
Elara took out her phone, pulled up the photo of their marriage certificate from her cloud storage, and sent it to the number burned into her memory.
Elara: [If you don't want everyone to find out how the supposedly devoted CEO, Sebastian Blackwood, replaced his wife while she was still alive, then bring Lucas and Vivienne to the hospital with you.]
The phone rang almost instantly.
Elara declined the call.
A while later, Sebastian replied with a single period.
She let out a cold laugh and tossed her phone aside.
Back then, the two of them had never run out of things to say.
Now, all that remained between them was a single, stark period.
Just like their once-passionate love, the kind they had sworn would last forever.
Little by little, it had scattered like dust in the wind.
This time, Sebastian arrived surprisingly quickly, with Lucas and Vivienne in tow.
Though their expressions were anything but pleasant.
The fact that they were still dressed in formal clothes suggested she had probably ruined their date.
"What the hell do you want?!"
- Writer
