21. Masaccio
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Masaccio
I stretch my legs out and feel the pull of sleepy muscles. I slept really well.
A deep sleep with pleasant dreams.
Rolling over towards Leora’s side of the bed I run my hand over the sheet, searching for her. But she’s not there and the blankets are cold where she would have been lying.
I guess she got up early.
I wonder if she slept well. I know I was very pushy moving her things in here, but I just want her near me, and she keeps blocking me. This was the only way I could think for her to be close to be without being able to run away.
I toss the blankets aside and sit up, stretching my arms and back, yawning. Then I climb out of bed and head downstairs where I can hopefully have a coffee with my wife and maybe talk to her a little about the changes I made.
But she’s not in the kitchen.
I make a cup coffee for each of us anyway, then carry hers through to the living room - the outside patio - the pool area.
Finally, I spot Nathan walking around the garden.
“Nathan, have you seen Leora this morning?”
“No, sir. Not yet. I thought she was still sleeping.”
I shake my head. “No, she wasn’t in bed when I woke up this morning.”
“Her car is still out front.” He says, referring to the pinkest car on the planet.
“Ok, well she has to be around here somewhere.” I shrug, heading back inside.
But my search through the house turns up nothing and soon I start to feel a nauseous tension building in the pit of my stomach.
Where the hell is she?
I dial her phone, but it goes straight to voicemail.
Shit.
Well, she’s definitely not here. There is only one way in and out of this property and the camera would have seen her.
I head to the security room, telling Nathan to meet me there.
We got through the footage from the night before and my heart shatters when I see it.
She is carrying a suitcase out of the main gate and getting into a waiting car outside of the property.
Nathan remains quiet as we watch it - then I tell him to rewind and play it again - and again.
I can’t believe it.
She left.
She left me.
She didn’t ask for a divorce, but I imagine the request will be coming soon. It’s unheard of to divorce from an arranged marriage after such a short time - but she left.
Was I really that terrible?
So terrible that she couldn’t even bear the thought of living with me anymore?
Maybe I need to get a team together to look for her. Just bring her back home and work this out.
I pull my phone out of my pocket again, ignoring all the notifications at the top because I am focused on only one thing - finding out where my wife went.
While I am busy figuring out what to do next an idea sparks.
She still has my card.
Even the Uber would have been booked on it. I can then find out where she went.
I pull all the notifications down, searching for anything that mentions an amount spent on the card I gave her.
My head spins when I see it.
She bought a ticket to Hawaii.
She’s not even in the same city as me anymore. She’s out of my time zone - on a different part of the planet.
Did she go there with someone else?
Is that what she has been doing these past few weeks - meeting with someone new - cheating on me? And now she is meeting them in Hawaii for a romantic getaway?
Would she really be that cold?
Was I that much of an asshole that I pushed her that far?
Was I?
I slump down onto the chair near to me in front of the rows of monitors that are used to survey my property. My entire body feels limp and useless. My heart is pulling so tight in my chest I wonder if this is what a heart attack feels like. But I know it’s just pain. Emotional pain.
Because I can’t lie and tell myself I wasn’t that cruel.
I was.
I was a complete dickhead.
I was nasty and cold, and I pushed her away so effectively that it worked.
I achieved what I was planning on achieving - except by the time it worked I wanted something different. I want her. I want my wife.
“Sir? Masaccio?” Nathan sounds worried as he leans closer to me. He reaches out and grabs my shoulder, squeezing hard. “Masaccio. Are you ok?”
“Um - yeah. I’m - she went to Hawaii. She flew there last night.” I say, void of emotion.
“Oh.” Nathan says, looking unsure of what it all means.
I shake my head. “I need to be alone.” I say, standing up and leaving the security room.
I head into our bedroom. Stripping my sweatpants and T-shirt off I get into the shower. I need to think clearly, and a cold shower will help me do that.
Is there any chance of winning her back at this point?
I doubt it. If she has already met someone else - I really fucked up.
She was so into me when we first got together and for some reason that I don’t even understand I couldn’t even try to love her back.
I couldn’t even try to let her close to me.
I am a terrible person.
A monster of sorts.
My father was right about me - I have one purpose in life and that is to run the family business. I am not good for anything else.
I was not made to be loved - or to feel love.
The cold-water stings over my skin and creates a wave of goosebumps. I force myself to stand there, feeling the bite of the cold.
The best thing I can do for her at this point, and for myself, is to just let her do whatever she wants to.
I’ve already done enough damage. And I know I hurt her. That’s why she became so distant and off towards me.
I have hurt her enough to drive her into the arms of another man and now I am the one who is suffering.
It is the consequences of my own actions.
And I have to live with them.
There is nothing I can do at this point. I have ruined my chances with her, and she is the only woman I have ever felt anything for in this way.
When I climb out of the shower I am shivering.
The ache in my body helps distract me from the ache in my heart.
I hear Dalila’s voice from downstairs, chatting to Nathan.
I get dressed and head down towards the noise.
“Mas, oh wow, you look like you didn’t sleep at all. What’s wrong?”
“I slept just fine.”
Nathan takes his cue and leaves the kitchen.
“Ok, then what’s going on? You look like shit.” She says, sliding onto the counter as I turn the coffee machine on for my second coffee of the day.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I answer.
“Ugh. Why do you have to be so annoying? You know you being this closed off is the reason your wife is struggling to get closed to you.” She rolls her eyes. “Where is Leora? I came to see if she wants to go shopping with me today.”
“My wife left me, Dalila. Because I am cold and distant and cruel. She left.”
Dalila is staring at me with her mouth dropped open and her eyes as wide as I have ever seen them. “No way.” She mutters. “Leora was so into you. There is no way she left. We can go fetch her right now. I am sure this is just a misunderstanding.”
“There is no misunderstanding. She is in Hawaii. She snuck out last night. Caught a taxi to the airport and left.” I shrug, trying to be calm about it despite the ache in my heart.
“So, go fucking get her.”
I shake my head.
“I can’t. I have destroyed all my chances with her. She won’t take me back.”