Chapter 13
1/2
Chapter 13
Damien called for Nancy, and his voice didn’t quite hold steady. “Where’s Avery?”
“She went out a few hours ago and hasn’t come back,” Nancy said.
Damien’s pulse began to hammer. “What about her things? Did she take everything?”
“No.” Nancy shook her head, then pointed toward the yard. “She burned everything this afternoon. You were right there when she burned them…”
Damien went still as stone. His heart dropped like a rock in a well.
Yesterday, when he returned from the hospital, Avery had stood over a fire in the yard.
He had asked what she was burning, and she had told him it was trash. Yet, she had treated every one of
those pieces like treasure. Why did she call them trash and then torch them?
His heartbeat thudded like a drumroll. He couldn’t make sense of it, and he didn’t dare trace the thought
to its end.
He pulled out his phone and called Avery again and again, but the call never went through. He even tried
the landline and ran into the same recorded voice.
“Nancy,” he said, his hands shaking a little, “let me use your phone.”
She looked uncomfortable. “Before you came home, I tried calling Mrs. Whitlow myself, but she had
blocked me…”
Damien stared, stunned into silence.
If Avery were only throwing a tantrum, she wouldn’t have blocked Nancy, and she certainly wouldn’t have burned every trace of their life together.
A cold thought shot through him and set his nerves on edge,
Had Avery found out the truth? No, it was impossible!
Damien quickly dismissed the thought. If Avery had known everything, she would already have blown up
at him.
Avery might have looked gentle and obedient, but she was far tougher than she seemed. He had seen it in the way she dealt with Thomas.
So, she was just angry and jealous that he’d been spending too much time with Serena.
He had to admit that he’d been reckless lately. He disappeared for days and even forced her to donate blood to Serena. He had crossed Avery’s limits repeatedly.
He couldn’t explain to himself why he was acting so out of character.
Chapter 13
2/2
Before he could think further, the doorbell rang. Instinct told him it was Avery, and he reached the door
before Nancy did.
“Avery, where have you been? I’ve been waiting-” He broke off with a frown. “What are you doing here?”
Serena’s chest tightened, but she managed a smile. “I knew you’d be worried about Avery, so I came to
check. She’s not home?”
“She’s gone,” Damien said coldly. “She burned everything that was hers.”
Serena stood speechless for a beat. “Why would she do that?”
“How would I know?” Damien snapped.
His mood had hit rock bottom, and he had no patience left for Serena. He left her standing in the entry
and walked out to the yard for a smoke.
Shut out cold, Serena turned to Nancy. “Where is Avery?”
Nancy had no respect for a mistress. She played dumb, shook her head, and walked away.
Fury flashed in Serena’s eyes. She dug her nails into her palms, pulled out her phone, and typed a
message to Avery.
“Where are you? Get back here. Playing hard to get won’t work on Damien!”
Avery glanced at the text and let a thin smile curve her mouth.
Serena had no patience to speak of. She lost it far too easily.
Avery didn’t care how Damien took her disappearance. She wasn’t playing hard to get. She was done with him for good.
