Chapter 5
WILLIAM The next day, At the hospital He hated the fact that Grace looked so scared. He had never seen so much fear in her eyes as she asked if their baby was okay. “Yes,” he assured her. “The doctor said that the baby wasn’t affected at all by your fall yesterday.” Her face lit up instantly. “That’s good. I was just so worried because you’ve been awfully quiet. I thought you’d received some bad news.” He was trying to stay focused, but all he kept seeing were Nicole’s stone cold eyes as she’d stared at him from beneath the rack yesterday. He opened my inbox again, but she still hadn’t responded to the text he’d sent asking her to meet them at the hospital. It made him so angry, he wanted to punch something. How could she overreact like this? Grace was pregnant. Surely, Nicole didn’t expect him to neglect a pregnant woman in that kind of situation. Worse things than this had happened before, but Nicole always came back whenever he called. She could never stay away from him. But now, she had completely cut him off. He scoffed in annoyance. He silently escorted Grace out of the hospital and took her to have lunch, and then when she was safely tucked in bed at home, he made his way to the office. “Mr Goldberg, Your grandfather is in the country and he has called for an emergency meeting upstairs. It should be starting any second now.” His assistant informed him as soon as he walked in. Sighing silently, he started walking to the elevators, instructing her as he walked. “Call the florist. I’d like a bouquet of red roses. And call the stylist too, have her prepare a few designer pieces.” “Of course, Mr Goldberg, I’ll have them sent to your villa immediately.” “No, send them over to the Carrington house.” He was sure that Nicole had gone back to her parents home. It wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go anyway. __ One week later She was back. She was finally back! His lips curled into a smile as he watched the slender silhouette in the dark. She looked so pure and graceful in that nightwear. “Nicole, I knew you’d come to your senses. But you know what I always say, you don’t have to wait up late for—” his voice trailed off as he realized the woman in the living room wasn’t Nicole after all. It was Grace. She looked up at him with unshed tears in her eyes. “William, Nicole is gone, remember? She hasn’t come home since she left.” “She hasn’t responded to any of my messages. Something must be wrong. This is so unlike her.” Grace sniffled. “Maybe I should leave. It seems like Nicole is what you want anyways.” “Hey…” he frowned and pulled her into my arms, kissing the top of her head. “This is your home. Don’t ever forget that. No matter what anyone says, this is yours and our baby’s home.” An hour later, he angrily sent another text message to Nicole. [ Tomorrow’s the annual company gala. You know that you’re expected to be there. Grandfather expects you too. Be there, and do not cause any trouble and embarrass me.] He cocked his head back and downed all the whiskey in his glass. Nicole was stressing him out way too much, and she would definitely pay. __ The next day, he walked into the venue of the party with Grace on his arm. She looked beautiful as ever, and he felt very proud. Despite all the eyes on them, he held on to her until his grandfather arrived at the party and he had to help him welcome more guests. “I don’t see Nicole anywhere.” Grandpa Goldberg said before even greeting William. “She’ll be here. She had a little wardrobe malfunction.” He lied through my teeth. He knew better than to tell his grandfather that he didn’t know where Nicole was. He just wouldn’t have that. A couple hours passed and there was still no sign of Nicole, he tried to call, but he was only met with the automated voice message telling him that the number was out of bounds. It took everything in him not to punch the wall. It was time for the presentation— one that he and Nicole both gave every year. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it alone, but everyone would definitely notice her absence now. As he prepared to go back to the hall, one of the tech guys walked up to him. “Mrs Goldberg has asked that we inform you that she added her contribution to the slides sir. She asked that you go on without her.” Was she being serious right now? He tried to call again and again but he only got the same error message. Swearing under his breath, he walked back into the hall and headed for the front of the room where the large projector was set up. He did the usual thing they always did. Thanked the guests for all their donations and explained what charities their money was going to, showing them slideshow after slideshow. “And now, I’ll have to apologize on behalf of my wife for her absence, but she also has a few words to say.” He pressed the remote one more time to show Nicole’s slide, but instead of the quiet claps of appreciation he expected, the entire hall gasped. He frowned, confused as whispers started flitting around the room and cameras started flashing. Wondering what was causing such a scene, he looked back at the screen, and what he saw made his blood run cold.