13. Not the Truth
Not the Truth
It’s over.
Ruel stood at the window of his suite, the best of which the club had to offer. Only this wasn’t where he truly was. Physically, he was there, but his soul was trapped. In those two words that had caught him like a vise since the moment Sadie sent him a photo of his wife with that boy.
The one he had seen her laughing with the first time he came to the club, the way he used to think she could only do with him.
But worse than that?
Ruel suspected that boy was also why Karyna had gone swimming at two in the morning…which she had never done in the eighteen months they were together.
That boy had his wife acting completely out of character, and so when Sadie had sent that photo of Karyna in the boy’s arms by the pool…
Ruel didn’t have to ask how or why that happened.
Everything he had seen was explanation enough.
It’s over.
And yet the moment he closed his eyes, all he kept seeing was the stricken look on Karyna’s face…when he rejected her touch.
Over an hour had already passed since he had given her the divorce papers with his signature, but he still couldn’t get her out of his mind. He didn’t even know if that was possible. Because this early on, he already knew—
Why must You take her away from me, too?
Why let me love her if You know she’s going to leave me?
What is it that You really want from me?
The sound of someone knocking on his door cut into his thoughts, and Ruel had his gun out in the next moment.
“Who is it?”
“M-Mr. Ruel? It’s Gwen.”
His gaze narrowed. This was the girl who was friends with Karyna. But that didn’t explain what she had to do with him.
“I’m sorry if I’m overstepping, but may I…may I speak to you, sir?”
The urgency in her voice was unmistakable, and Ruel opened the door. “What is it?”
“I heard Ms. Amparo talking to her friends—”
Ruel’s lip curled. Her mentioning the other woman’s name meant this was a clear waste of his time.
“And I think—”
He raised his hand, and she stopped speaking. “Sadie’s business has nothing to do with me.”
She paled. “B-But—”
“So if that’s all—”
He was about to close the door when she suddenly blurted out, “I heard her planning something bad against Karyna!”
Gwen nearly expired in relief when the billionaire stiffened.
Phew! The moment she had seen her friend walk into the conference room, everything had just clicked for her.
The reason why Karyna had never been interested in their male coworkers, not even Patrick, whom Gwen was secretly crushing on. This man right here was the reason—
“What did you hear?”
Oh, right!
The sharpness of the man’s tone had her speaking in a rush. “It all started when Ms. Amparo and her friends went to the pool, where Karyna’s working.”
The moment people heard Sadie Amparo refer to him as ‘Ruel’, that name had been enough of a clue for the ones most curious about him.
It had everyone, members and club employees alike, working for a common “cause”, and in no time at all, everyone had been able to piece together a few basic facts, such as Ruel Caristia being his full name, and that he was a billionaire like their boss, and had a “dark” past… also like their boss.
How dark that past was, Gwen didn’t have enough time to research about. All she knew was that it was dark enough to give her confidence that this man was more than capable of saving her friend.
If he chose to, that was.
Ruel listened, at first with disbelief, when Gwen told him about the confrontation between Sadie and Karyna.
“Does Keiran know about this?” His friend would never stand for such mistreatment of any of his employees, whether it was Karyna or not.
Gwen shook her head. “Patrick told me he had urged her to file a complaint, but she didn’t want to for some reason. That she kept talking about not wanting to be a burden.”
That last word had him turning gray.
Burden.
He had heard Karyna describe herself in this manner at least once, and he started feeling sick as Gwen went on to tell him about Sadie’s plans.
“She got her friend to open Patrick’s locker. But it wasn’t him they were after. They just wanted to use him to get to Kar.”
Had he really fallen in love with such a woman? Had he really ever known her at all?
“They were going to tell Kar about it—” His wife’s friend was now deathly pale as she looked at him with fear, and for some reason, it reminded Ruel of the first thing Karyna had said when he went to her room.
Thank goodness you’re here.
Gwen was scared for Karyna right now, just like Karyna had been scared that time…only he had been too blind with jealousy to see it.
“They wanted Kar to either confess to stealing it herself…or let Patrick be charged for theft.”
No. God. No.
It was like being in darkness for so long, and then in one blink, everything suddenly became clear, and the first thing he realized was how he had gotten everything wrong.
Karyna hadn’t ever liked to talk about her past, but the time he had spent observing her with her stepfather had taught him plenty.
It had all been too easy to see that she had been trained to not say a word, and that she had been made to believe not causing trouble was the only way to please the people around her.
And yet it was that same girl—
Thank goodness you’re here.
The same girl whose own stepfather had tried to sell her to one of the world’s most wanted criminals—
Y-You’re the only one I trust.
She had found it in her to trust him.
I actually need…
She had even found it in her to ask him for help.
But instead of being there for her—
Is it because of someone else?
Ruel felt sick when he realized all too late what those words meant. He had thought she was talking about that boy…but now, it was possible she might have been thinking about Sadie.
“Sir? Sir?”
Gwen was looking at him anxiously.
“You can help her, right?”
The part of him that went on missions took over after that. He instructed Gwen to keep an eye on her phone in case Karyna called. He gave Keiran a call, and even though his friend was out of town, it didn’t mean he wasn’t in control.
“I was just about to contact you,” Keiran said. “I received a call from my security team. They forwarded footage of your ex trespassing in the staff locker room—”
“I’m aware of all that,” Ruel said. “What I need to know is whether you have anything to help me find my wife.”
“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll call you as soon as I have something.”
The line went dead, and it was the most painful and unbearable thing, having to wait all the while knowing that with every second that passed…
He had seen too much evil in his life to make light of his former fiancée as a threat.
Sometimes, all it took was the most random of triggers, and then…
And then…
And then…
That was how Ruel found himself on his knees.
Save her, God.
Keep her safe.
I don’t need to have her back if she’s not for me.
But please.
I know You’re the only one who can make a difference.
So please.
Help me believe You exist.
Save her.