Chapter 659
The river flowed silently in the dark, heavy fog rolling over the banks.
Jarred eventually retreated to his Riverside Loft.
The apartment was pitch black; he didn’t even bother hitting the light switch.
The only illumination in the endless dark came from the city glow filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting pale shadows on the freezing hardwood.
It was the one property he had intentionally kept, simply because it was right across the river from Solstice Hill.
From this exact window, he had a perfectly clear view of the villa where Sienna lived.
He was like a pathetic voyeur, trapped in his own prison with nowhere left to run.
Every single day, he stood by the glass, gazing at her from across the dark water.
Stripped of all his strength, Jarred slid down the glass wall until he hit the floor.
The area around his feet was a total disaster.
An uncapped bottle of sleeping pills lay tipped over, a handful of white tablets scattered across the rug.
Several empty liquor bottles were strewn haphazardly nearby, alongside one that was still a third full.
The sharp scent of expensive whiskey wafted from the opening, mingling heavily with the dead, stagnant air.
He had been taking those pills for months.
In the beginning, they had worked, granting him three or four hours of fitful sleep a night.
Now, even if he swallowed a handful at once, his mind remained agonizingly awake.
His doctor had warned him long ago that he was maxed out on the dosage and couldn’t take anymore.
But he simply couldn’t sleep.
He spent every single night staring into the darkness until sunrise.
Sitting in the gloom, Jarred massaged his throbbing temples, his eyes severely bloodshot.
The relentless mental exhaustion was completely hollowing him out.
Yet, the physical fatigue paled in comparison to the unbearable agony tearing at his chest.
He lifted his head, staring through the freezing glass at the opposite bank.
The lights in that familiar bedroom window had already gone out.
He was the only one left awake, doomed to suffer through the endless night alone.
An overwhelming sense of despair chewed at his soul, the emotional pain radiating into his very bones.
He could feel it with devastating clarity—Sienna was slipping further and further away from him.
He had an ocean of unspoken grief. and impossible choices trapped inside him, but he didn’t know how to explain them to her.
She had resorted to the most ruthless methods to force his hand, demanding he face the consequences and learn to let her go.
Everyone else thought he was untouchable, sitting on a throne of limitless power.
But only he knew how incredibly fragile his life actually was, walking a tightrope over a sheer drop.
The massive apartment was terrifyingly empty.
The king-sized bed remained eternally pristine, devoid of any warmth.
Jarred preferred to suffer on the cold floor rather than lay down on that painfully vacant mattress.
Physical torture he could handle.
It was the bone-deep loneliness and shattering loss that threatened to break him completely.
He stayed slumped against the glass, his eyes locked onto her silent house across the river.
It wasn’t until dawn began to break that he finally managed to close his eyes.
But before he could even fall into a deep sleep, frantic knocking echoed from the front door.
Declan Ward’s voice rang out. “Mr. Sterling! We have a situation p>
Jarred’s eyes snapped open, the exhaustion immediately replaced by his signature icy sharpness.
He pulled on a fresh shirt as he wrenched the door open.
Declan walked in, his voice tight with unprecedented panic. “Someone leaked the full details of Helena’s criminal charges online, along with her private medical records p>
The press has already mobbed Sterling Manor and the corporate headquarters.
Your address and Ms. Sloan’s address were doxed. Reporters are swarming Solstice Hill right now p>
Jarred’s grip on his phone tightened violently.
“Did you send extra men to protect her p>
Declan nodded frantically. “Yes. I’ve also deployed the entire tech team, but they can’t scrub it fast enough.
The moment an article gets deleted, ten more pop up. Whoever did this was fully prepared p>
Jarred’s expression turned murderous. “Get the car p>
Without another word, he turned and headed for the bathroom.