ESTELLE
“Gabriel?” But I met different eyes. I wiped my tears away. “Qamar.” I threw myself into him and hugged him. I badly needed someone to tell or lie to me that everything would be okay.
“It’s okay.” He patted my back and said it was okay, but I didn’t feel okay. It still didn’t make things feel all right.
“I’ll be fine.” I pulled away and went back to lying in the same position.
Qamar pulled the blanket to cover me. “Do you need anything?”
“No. He’s leaving me. I don’t know what happened, but something went terribly wrong. He’s not the man I know. He’s not my Gabriel. The man with me earlier is not my husband. He’s a different person.”
“He’s hurting.”
“Well, shit. He just broke my heart.” Tears kept pouring as I remembered what he just said. That was the worst thing he ever did to me. I didn’t even know if I could forgive him.
***
I woke up feeling empty. His side of the bed was empty. My eyes were puffy. My chest hurt, but I was not giving up because I just lost a husband, the man I ever loved.
Determined, I got up from bed. I showered and put on jeans and a shirt. Then I went down to the kitchen only to find pairs of eyes landing on me. They probably noticed my puffy eyes as they suddenly dropped their gazes.
“Well, good morning, guys. What do we have for breakfast?”
Nobody answered, just looked down and went uncomfortably silent.
“If you don’t wanna talk, leave this house. I know this is not mine, and the owner kicked me out last night. My things will be out of this house by the end of the day.” I went to open the fridge and grabbed the jar of OJ.
“He’s gone.” Kye swallowed.
I almost dropped the jar. I swiftly turned to face everyone. “What do you mean he’s gone? Gabriel is gone? Where? How?” Despite how he broke my heart, I still loved him. That was the whole truth. I couldn’t just undo it and forget he ever existed.
“He’s a special force. He can hide in plain sight, and we don’t even know,” Sax replied.
“Don’t you have a million-dollar advanced tech to find him? A billion-dollar company at your disposal? Not to mention Osmium partners.”
“Contra to what people believe, even the Hover security can’t cover around the world. Not all places are covered with CCTV and officers.”
“I agree with Kye, missus.” Lynx took a huge bite of his sandwich.
I took the plate Sax pushed before me and tipped my chin at Lynx. “Aren’t you like SEAL? Don’t you have contacts or something or special skills?” Then, at Sax and Kye. “You two idiots have nothing? You have known Gabriel for years. Did you try contacting Beck, Cenric, Rome, or Striker? How about Moses? Where is he?”
“I don’t know how to enter his office, but he must have used his laptop to purchase tickets.”
“Or he may use his credit card. Make a call to someone, or you can call aviation and check if his passport came through immigration.”
“She’s right. She’s good, mate.” Lynx tipped his chin to Sax.
“If he doesn’t want to be found, you can’t find him. I know my brother.”
I glared at Sax. “So you’re just going to stand here and eat my food and do nothing while the chairman and CEO of Osmium are missing? What kind of brother are you? What kind of COO are you? You must be happy to run Osmium because Gabriel is gone.”
“Do you think I’m not worried? Do you think I don’t wanna find him?” Sax was offended. His tone deepened. That was what I was trying to make him feel. “Wake up, woman. I care about him. I love him because he’s the only family I have left. He took me under his wing when nobody wanted me, nobody trusted me. I owed him my life. But this, whatever happened, has something to do with your father, that piece of shit.”
“We’re here to find out what you two talk about. Qamar filled us in on what happened last night. That’s why I didn’t bother asking,” Calmed Kye said.
I swallowed. “After we talked in his office, I left.”
“What did you two talk about?”
“I told him not to pursue the case against my father. I don’t want Dad to pay for the damages he made. Gabriel wanted to confront my father. I said no. He still did. If I’ve known that man, my father doesn’t hold back. He might have said something that triggered and terribly hurt Gabriel. He succeeded in breaking him. I didn’t know what, but he wanted to get us divorced last night.”
“Shit.” Sax let go of a shaky breath. “Not this shit again.”
“What do you mean by not this shit again? He said he doesn’t want my baby anymore,” I added, forcing the OJ down my throat.
“Linden? Gabe Linden, my brother, and best friend, said that?” Kye asked incredulously. Everyone looked at me in shock. “As far as I know, he’s on his last straw. If there’s anything he would never give up, it is you and his unborn kid. Trust me. I know him through and through. You and the baby are his life.”
“That’s not the man I know.” Sax’s nose flared. “What the fuck happened to him? I swear to God, if I see your father, I don’t care if I will go to jail. I will break his face.”
“Well, I might let you break my father’s face because that was what Gabriel said before he left, and he also said to me, consider that his divorce notice.
“Wow, man. I don’t know what to say.” Kye shook his head in disbelief.
“How did you know he’s gone?” I asked back.
“He didn’t report to the office. He didn’t pick up the call. He left his phone and watch on his desk.”
“What’s so important with that watch?”
“His panic button, his tracker. Now I have no idea where the hell he is.”