Jim was already waiting at the airport when we arrived.
He imdiately stepped forward, greeted , and took my luggage to the car while Jane and Henry got into another vehicle sent by Aurelius Technology.
I sat quietly in the back seat, watching the city through the window.
It had only been a week.
Yet sohow, Velaridge City felt unfamiliar.
The familiar sense of warmth I used to feel whenever I returned from a business trip was gone.
Back then, I would always look forward to coming ho.
No matter how exhausting the trip had been, the mont I returned, a sense of calm would settle over .
Especially whenever I stepped into the villa.
But today, even after arriving, I felt nothing.
Only emptiness.
The car eventually pulled into the driveway.
I stepped out and walked into the villa.
The living room was silent.
Too silent.
I stood there for a long mont, staring at the familiar space.
Then a bitter smile tugged at my lips.
The realization hit harder than I expected.
It was never the city.
It was never the villa.
Those things had never been the reason I was always eager to return.
It was the person I expected to find waiting for .
The person who made this place feel like ho.
The person who made feel complete.
Alicia.
It was almost laughable.
After all this ti, I was only realizing it now.
Perhaps Aiden was right.
I had simply been too blind to see it.
"You’re back, sir."
Maria’s surprised voice pulled out of my thoughts.
I turned around and saw her standing near the dining area.
"Maria."
Her expression softened.
"Welco back, sir."
"Thank you."
She glanced toward the entrance behind before looking back at .
"Why didn’t you inform that you would be returning today?"
"It was unplanned."
I paused briefly.
"Sothing ca up."
"Oh."
She nodded before hesitating.
Then she asked quietly,
"Did you return alone?"
The question struck a nerve.
For a mont, I couldn’t bring myself to answer.
My gaze lowered slightly.
Maria seed to understand imdiately.
The hope in her eyes faded, replaced by concern.
"I’m sorry, sir."
I shook my head.
"There is nothing to apologize for."
An awkward silence settled between us.
Eventually, Maria forced a small smile.
"You should go freshen up."
"I’ll prepare sothing for you to eat."
I wasn’t hungry.
In fact, I hadn’t had much of an appetite for days.
But I knew Maria well enough to know she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
So I simply nodded.
"Alright."
With that, I turned and headed upstairs.
The villa remained as quiet as ever.
And for the first ti since returning ho, I truly understood what was missing.
I walked into the walk-in closet and, almost unconsciously, reached for the box I had found hidden among Alicia’s things.
Carrying it to the island in the center of the closet, I slowly opened it.
One by one, I took out the items and examined them again.
My gaze fell on the report card with the little note attached to it.
A mory resurfaced.
Back in high school, I used to top my class almost every sester.
My grades were always among the best, and eventually it beca sothing everyone in school talked about.
Alicia had transferred to the sa school after her father’s death.
At the ti, I never paid much attention to it.
But now...
After everything Aiden and Uncle Steve had said, I finally understood sothing.
I was the person she was talking about.
The person she wanted to asure herself against.
The person she had looked up to all those years.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
The realization left a bitter taste in my mouth.
While she had been quietly admiring from afar, I had spent years overlooking her.
I rembered the bracelet.
The bakery bag.
The ultrasound picture.
All the little things she had carefully preserved.
Things that seed insignificant to everyone else.
Yet she had treasured them for years.
Suddenly, everything beca clearer.
Not completely.
But clearer than before.
I had always thought Alicia cared about because of Nana.
Because Nana asked her to look after .
Because she was simply kind by nature.
Now, for the first ti, I began to wonder if there had been sothing more.
If there had always been sothing more.
Then why did she hide it?
And what about that night?
The night we argued.
The night she said she wanted to be with Aiden after the divorce.
My brows furrowed.
Could she have only said that out of anger?
Could she have been trying to push away?
Or perhaps she simply didn’t want to know how she felt.
The more I thought about it, the more confused I beca.
All this ti, I had convinced myself that Alicia loved soone else.
Yet now every clue seed to point back to .
I lowered my gaze and gently placed everything back into the box.
For a long mont, I sat there staring at it.
Then I finally closed the lid.
No matter how much I thought about it, Alicia was the only person who could answer those questions.
And she was nowhere to be found.
A heavy sigh escaped my lips.
Eventually, I stood up and headed into the bathroom.
After showering and changing into fresh clothes, I made my way downstairs.
Maria had already prepared dinner.
The mont she saw , she quickly began serving food onto my plate.
"Thank you," I said after she finished serving the large portion she clearly expected to eat.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
At least she seed relieved that I was finally eating properly again.
When I finished, I carried my dishes into the kitchen.
Maria was washing vegetables by the sink.
The mont she saw holding the plate, she looked surprised.
"Oh, sir, you should have just left it there for ."
"It’s alright."
I placed the dishes beside the sink and turned to leave.
But Maria suddenly called out.
"Sir."
I stopped and looked back.
"There is sothing I forgot to tell you."
My brows furrowed slightly.
"What is it?"
"Mr. Tristin ca by a few days ago."
I paused.
"Tristin?"
Maria nodded.
"Yes."
"He wanted to see you."
"When I told him you weren’t ho, he left."
She wiped her hands with a towel before continuing.
"He asked to let you know he stopped by once you returned."
I stared at her for a mont.
A faint crease appeared between my brows.
Why would Tristin co looking for ?
Almost imdiately, I already knew the answer.
The company.
The thought made release a quiet sigh.
It seed I could no longer avoid facing reality.
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