Chapter 132
Chapter 132:
Jarred shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, well aware of where the line was. After a moment of reluctance, he answered, “Miss Marsh, it’s work related. I can’t say much. As for the rest — I honestly don’t know. You’ll have to ask Mr. Owen p>
Annoyance flickered across Olivia’s face, but there was nothing she could do. She released Jarred and gave him a light push. “You’re far too loyal p>
Jarred let out an awkward laugh. “I don’t really have a choice. Mr. Owen signs my paycheck p>
Olivia huffed and chose not to respond. Even without clear answers, a nagging feeling settled in her chest. Ryan’s abrupt change of plans didn’t feel simple at all, and somehow, she couldn’t shake the sense that another woman was involved.
Leaving the company behind, Ryan headed straight home. With Kailey gone, he had avoided the house for days and chosen to sleep at the office instead. The moment he entered the living room, an unsettling emptiness closed in around him, and a chill crept up his back. A strange sense of unease settled deep in his chest, as though something precious had slipped out of his grasp. Whenever he tried to pin down that feeling, it dissolved before he could understand it.
Only then did Ryan realize his breathing had become uneven.
Driven by urgency, he rushed up the stairs. Nothing in Kailey’s room had changed. The closet still stood open the way she had left it, and the curtains remained parted, letting icy wind rush inside. Red crept into his eyes as he looked around, yet the room was painfully empty. Even the coffee table wore a thin layer of dust.
𝗠𝗼ѕ𝘁 𝘳e𝖺𝖽 t𝘩is 𝗐eek on.сo𝗆
Frozen in place, Ryan felt disoriented. He took two unsteady steps back, struggling to accept what he was seeing. A sudden thought struck him, and he lunged toward the vanity, pulling the drawers open one after another. Every document was missing. There was nothing left. The space felt deserted, as though no one had lived there for a long time.
Winter light spilled through the window, but it carried no warmth, leaving the room cold all the same. Ryan stood at the center of it all, motionless and hollow, as realization slowly settled over him.
He had not treated Kailey well for a long time.
When had it begun? Maybe it started when she turned eighteen and confessed her feelings to him. Her words back then had caught him completely off guard, and what followed was an explosion of anger he could never fully explain, even to himself. He had lashed out at Kailey with cruel words before storming away, driven by a frustration he refused to examine.
He had believed that incident would put an end to everything, yet Kailey proved far more persistent than he had expected. She was sincere, unwavering, and stubborn in her feelings — openly admitting her affection, staying close to him at every opportunity, even attempting to win over the people around him. That intensity weighed heavily on him and became a pressure he did not know how to face. As a result, his attitude toward her hardened, and each time she mentioned her feelings, he responded with sharper reprimands.