Elijah sat in his office, his gaze piercing through Thomas as the investigator delivered the latest report on Ash’s whereabouts.
"He’s keeping it low," Thomas said, shifting uncomfortably under Elijah’s cold, intense stare. "We’ve scoured the many countries, but Ash isn’t there. Our best guess is that he’s sowhere in the countryside. A small town, perhaps. He’s doing a good job staying off the radar."
Elijah’s jaw clenched. He wasn’t surprised. Ash had always been good at slipping away when he needed to. Still, the confirmation that Ash was hiding in so quiet corner of the country only fueled the growing ache inside him.
"I don’t care where he is, I want him found. There’s nowhere too remote, no place too hidden. You understand?"
Thomas nodded quickly, sensing the edge in Elijah’s voice. "Of course. We’ll continue the search. It’s just a matter of ti."
Elijah waved him off, his mind already elsewhere. Thomas quietly left, leaving Elijah alone in the room. The mont the door closed, Daniel walked in, holding a thick stack of papers. There was a hesitancy in his step, a look of concern etched onto his face as he approached the desk.
"Sir, the papers you asked for...they’re ready." Daniel placed the docunts in front of him. "But...are you sure about this?"
Without hesitation, Elijah picked up the pen and began flipping through the pages. His expression didn’t falter. "Yes. I’m sure."
Daniel swallowed nervously, watching as Elijah signed his na with quick, decisive strokes. "You’re giving away everything. Your wealth, your property, your businesses...You’ve worked your whole life for this, and now you’re just..."
Elijah didn’t look up as he signed the final page. "I’ve made more money than I could ever spend in ten lifetis," he said calmly. "All those years...chasing success, building an empire. What good has it done ? I have power, influence, more wealth than anyone could imagine. But none of it ans anything anymore without Ash."
Daniel’s brows furrowed in concern but he could understand Elijah. Daniel also wants Ash to co back quickly, he can’t see his boss like this.
"But Sir, you’re...You’re one of the richest n in the world. You’ve built sothing incredible."
Elijah leaned back in his chair, his gaze drifting toward the window. "I’ve made billions. I’ve owned companies, properties, and investnts. But all of it...it’s empty. I’ve spent my entire life chasing after more. More money, more power, more success. And in the end, it left with nothing but a void."
Daniel remained silent, listening as Elijah continued. "I don’t care about wealth anymore. I don’t care about the empire I built. The only thing that matters to now is Ash. I’m tired of living for money, for business. I want to dedicate the rest of my life to him. Everything I have...it’s aningless if he’s not in my life."
Elijah paused, looking at the papers he had just signed. "Most of it is going to charity, to the NGOs and funds that can actually make a difference. But I’ll keep enough to give Ash the life he deserves. But the rest? I’m done with it."
There was a deep, quiet resolve in Elijah’s voice as he spoke. He had beco soone entirely different than the ruthless businessman who once dominated boardrooms and acquisitions. Love had changed him, had softened him in ways he hadn’t thought possible.
The old Elijah would have scoffed at the idea of giving away his fortune, but the man sitting here now understood that wealth without love was nothing more than a burden. Love had changed him, reshaped his entire world. Elijah wasn’t the man he used to be. He was soone new now—soone willing to sacrifice everything he had built for the chance to find Ash, to rebuild the life they could have had together.
"I used to think that money was everything," Elijah said quietly, his gaze far away. "But now I realise the only thing that ever truly mattered was love. And I’ve lost it. I’ve lost him."
Daniel swallowed the lump in his throat. "Sir...are you really ready to give it all up?"
Elijah smiled faintly, but it was a smile filled with sorrow and longing. "I already have," he said softly. "I’m just making it official."
***********
Elijah was in the middle of an important eting when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He glanced down, seeing Ryder’s na on the screen, and casually answered it.
But when Ryder’s voice ca through, low and slurred, saying, "I’ve found Ash’s address."
Elijah abruptly stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. "What?" he yelled, causing the heads of his team to snap up in shock. The room fell into an eerie silence as Elijah’s heart began to pound fiercely in his chest.
Without another word, he stord out of the conference room, ignoring the voices calling after him. "Where is Ash?" he demanded over the phone, his pulse racing.
Ryder’s response was maddeningly calm in comparison. "I’ll tell you when we et," Ryder said, his words slurring slightly again. "Co to the bar. I booked a private room."
Elijah’s desperation made him want to argue, to force the information out of Ryder right there on the spot, but he swallowed it down, his need to thank Ryder in person overriding his impatience.
"Fine. I’ll be there," Elijah said before hanging up and heading straight to the bar.
When he arrived at the private room, he wasn’t prepared for what he saw. Ryder sat alone at the sofa, nursing a drink with a slouched posture. Usually, Ryder would have beautiful hosts at either side of him, giggling and flirting, but tonight he sat in lone silence, his eyes red-rimd and glossy. A half-empty bottle of whiskey stood on the table next to him, and several empty glasses scattered around as evidence of his heavy drinking.
Elijah’s eyes narrowed in confusion as he sat down across from Ryder. "Why are you drinking so much?" Elijah asked, eyeing the untouched glass across the table from him.
He was used to seeing Ryder as the lively one, always full of charm and wit, always in control, but tonight sothing was different—eerily so.
Ryder didn’t respond imdiately, his gaze unfocused as he stared down at his drink. His normally immaculate suit was wrinkled, and his tie hung loosely around his neck. Elijah noticed the way his friend’s hand trembled as he lifted the glass to his lips and took another long, slow drink. Before Elijah could press him further, Ryder reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper.
"This," Ryder muttered, sliding the paper across the table toward Elijah, "this is Ash’s address."
Elijah didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the paper, his hands shaking slightly as he unfolded it. His eyes scanned the address, relief flooding him, but just as he was about to ask Ryder how he managed to get Noah to reveal it, sothing stopped him. Ryder’s face was pale, his eyes dark with sothing Elijah couldn’t quite place.
"How did you get Noah to tell you?" Elijah asked, the question heavy with suspicion.
Ryder lifted his gaze, his expression guarded. "Don’t ask that, Elijah," he said flatly, his voice suddenly cold.
Elijah frowned, studying Ryder closely. That’s when he noticed the faint red marks along Ryder’s neck. At first, he thought it was a trick of the dim lighting, but upon closer inspection, he could see them clearly—small, red bruises in the shape of hickeys, just visible above Ryder’s collar.
Elijah’s eyes widened in shock. "Did you..." he started to say, his voice trailing off. "Did you sleep with Noah?"
Ryder’s eyes flickered with sothing—guilt, regret, maybe even sha—but he quickly looked away, his jaw clenched tightly. "Don’t ask anything," Ryder said firmly, his voice cutting through the tension in the room.
He reached for his drink again, downing it in one long gulp as if he could erase whatever had happened with the alcohol.
Elijah stared at him for a mont longer. He wanted to press Ryder for more, wanted to understand what exactly had happened between him and Noah, but the desperation to find Ash overpowered everything else. Elijah stood up, tucking the address into his pocket, his mind already racing ahead.
He would go to Ash.
Finally.
So, he doesn’t mind being selfish and a bad friend right now.
"Thank you, Ryder," Elijah said quietly, but his mind was already elsewhere. He paused for a mont, looking at his friend who seed to be drowning in sothing Elijah couldn’t understand. "Co, stop drinking. I’ll take you ho," he added, but Ryder didn’t respond.
He just sat there, staring into the empty glass, as Elijah tried to get him up but Ryder stopped him.
"No need, I want to drink more. You go and find Ash," Ryder said.
Elijah sighed and nodded. "Okay, but you take care of yourself. I’ll send Daniel to pick you up."
Once Elijah left the room, Ryder closed his eyes, his mind spinning with regret and the weight of his decisions. The bruises on his neck were a reminder of the price he had paid, and no amount of alcohol could drown out the feelings he was trying to bury.
He couldn’t shake the image of Noah from his mind. For the first ti in years, he had found soone who stirred sothing real inside him—soone who wasn’t just another fleeting distraction.
Noah was different. He felt different.
He was soone Ryder actually found worthy of adoring, soone who made him feel vulnerable, exposed in a way that both terrified and excited him.
But Ryder had hurt him.
His chest tightened as he thought about the desperation that had led him to Noah’s door, the way he had manipulated the situation just to get Ash’s location. He’d told himself it was for Elijah’s sake—that helping his friend was more important than anything else. But deep down, Ryder knew that wasn’t the whole truth. He had used his feelings for Noah, twisted them into sothing ugly, sothing selfish.
Now, Ryder didn’t know how to make it right. He didn’t even know if it could be made right. The connection he had felt with Noah was fragile, sothing new and unfamiliar, and now it was tainted by the guilt of what he had done.
He wanted to fix it, wanted to be the person Noah deserved, but every ti he thought about it, he was overwheld by the weight of his actions. Ryder didn’t know how to go back, didn’t know if Noah would even want to see him again after everything. How could he ask for forgiveness when he wasn’t sure he deserved it?
As he sat there, staring blankly into his glass, he realised that for the first ti in his life, he wasn’t sure what to do. He had always been the one who could sche and manipulate his way through any situation. But this...this was sothing completely different. And it hurt more than he had ever imagined.
All he knew was that the pain he had caused Noah was now reflected in the pain he felt inside.
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