Chapter 49
“Zoe called me over last night because someone was following her. Charlie went back to the main estate with my parents after dinner, and she was terrified of being alone. I stayed there to keep her company p>
Maeve yanked her hand back. She tried to hold her tongue, but the bitter sarcasm spilled out anyway.
“If I recall correctly, Zoe has three live-in maids and over a dozen bodyguards. All those people couldn’t protect her, so she just had to have you stay the night p>
Frederick’s eyes darkened. “Since you’re so fully aware of how many people were there, you know damn well nothing could have happened between us. Why are you being so dramatic p>
“Oh, then I apologize. My mistake.” Maeve pressed her lips into a thin line, offered a cold apology, and walked upstairs with her bag of essential oils.
Frederick stood frozen in place, watching Maeve’s figure disappear down the hall. A sudden, suffocating tightness gripped his chest. He hooked a finger under his collar, tugging it loose, before collapsing heavily onto the sofa.
Buzz—
His phone vibrated. He picked it up and saw a text from Samuel Vance.
[Boss, the security team conducted a full sweep of the widowed Mrs. Fairchild’s residence last night. No suspicious activity found p>
Frederick texted back: [Pull the security footage from the complex and send it to me p>
Samuel: [Understood p>
Just as Frederick exited the chat, Sebastian Cole forwarded him two screenshots.
The first was a screenshot of Yvette’s social media feed.
The caption read: A grand opening gift from my best friend. This is absolutely the best present I got today.
Below it was a picture.
It featured the flowers, the cake, and finally, a selfie of Yvette holding the perfume bottle, standing next to Maeve.
In the photo, Maeve’s long hair cascaded over her shoulders. She had her head tilted slightly, flashing a beautifully radiant, gentle smile.
Frederick zoomed in on the photo, cropped Maeve’s smiling face, and saved it to his phone.
Only after saving it did he remember Sebastian had sent a second image.
He tapped on it. It was from Jonathan, who normally only posted dry legal updates. Shockingly, he had posted a highly unusual photo on his feed.
It was a picture of a single bottle of custom perfume resting on a desk, bathed in golden sunset lighting.
The caption read simply: Cedarwood.
It was just a simple photo, yet it disturbingly conveyed an overwhelming sense of joy.
Frederick carefully compared the perfume bottle in Yvette’s photo with the one in Jonathan’s.
Though the color of the liquid was different, the intricate forget-me-not pattern etched along the rim of the glass was completely identical.
It was painfully obvious who had made both of these perfumes.
Frederick stared furiously at the picture of Jonathan’s perfume. His mind flashed back to the day Maeve had first learned to make custom fragrances.
He had been working in his study when Maeve walked in, her eyes shining with excitement, and placed a beautiful bottle on his desk.
“I just learned how to do this today. Tell me what you think p>
Frederick had picked it up, inhaling deeply. “It smells incredible p>
Maeve looked as though she had been given the greatest compliment in the world. Her gorgeous almond eyes sparkled like a galaxy of stars.
“From now on, the first bottle of whatever scent I make will always go to you p>
He had laughed and teased her. “You’re that good to me? I’ll have someone build a display cabinet tomorrow just for the perfumes my wife makes me p>
To this day, there were dozens of Maeve’s custom perfumes carefully preserved in the display case in his office.
But what about now? Not only was Maeve making custom perfumes for another man.
She hadn’t breathed a single word about it when she came home p>
Frederick’s knuckles turned white around his phone. He practically shot up from the sofa and stormed straight toward the master bedroom.
When he shoved the door open, the room was shockingly empty.
The furniture was all there, but every single trace of Maeve was gone.
It was as if she had never lived in this room at all.
Frederick’s heart violently plummeted.
Click—
The quiet sound of a door opening down the hall struck his raw nerves.
He spun around and saw Maeve standing in the hallway opposite him. Acting on pure instinct, he stormed over and clamped his hands down hard on her shoulders.
“Where is all your stuff from the bedroom p>