Free Web NovelChapter 35: Chapter 34 What Have You Done to Me?
I didn’t sleep a single wink.
All through the night, my brain kept replaying Giulia’s voice on a loop. "Just stay there. Stay with him." It didn’t sound like Giulia’s normal, chaotic advice anymore. It sounded like fear. And that was what terrified me the most.
But this morning, I had a mission. I had insisted on doing the school run myself to drop Anestelle off at the academy. Surprisingly, Laziel hadn’t even argued. Even though I was technically his personal assistant and he had an entire fleet of private drivers who could do it, he just calmly nodded and let me go. I was shocked, but I wasn’t about to question my luck.
What I didn’t know was that the devil was already ten steps ahead of me.
The second the school gates closed behind Anestelle, I got back into the sedan. But instead of directing the driver toward the Monroe headquarters, I cleared my throat. I was going to find Giulia myself, starting at her aunt’s house.
"Drop me off at the next intersection," I said, trying to sound authoritative.
The driver didn’t even look back at me through the rearview mirror. "I’m sorry, Miss Brenna. I only take instructions from Mr. Monroe."
Oof.
I wasn’t even free to choose where I stepped out of a car. But luck sided with me when the morning traffic hit, grinding the line of cars to a complete halt.
Before the driver could even realize what I was doing, I popped the door lock, threw it open, and stepped out into the bustling street.
"Miss Brenna! Wait!" the driver shouted, trying to put the car in park, but I didn’t stop. I ducked between the cars and vanished into the crowd, my heart hammering against my ribs. I was going to get my answers, even if it fucking killed me.
.....
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Monroe headquarters.
Laziel Monroe sat behind his desk, completely fighting with himself. He couldn’t fucking work.
Ever since Mireya and her little girl had disrupted his mansion, his entire life had been thrown out of balance. There were rumors flying everywhere through the corporate ranks, people whispering about who the little girl was, wondering if she was his secret daughter. Normally, Laziel didn’t give a single shit about rumors. He was a man who spent his entire life in absolute, ruthless control. But right now, he couldn’t explain the chaos happening inside his own head.
He picked up a contract, signed it, and threw it aside. He opened a financial report, read through it, and suddenly realized he hadn’t processed a single fucking word.
Across from him, the HR manager was presenting the quarterly restructuring reports for the Milan branch. The poor woman was sweating bullets. She had been talking for five minutes, but the room was ridiculously quiet because the desk directly opposite Laziel’s was completely empty.
Mireya hadn’t come to work with him today. He had approved her request to take her daughter to school, knowing damn well that a school run wasn’t the only thing she was planning. He knew she was going to run straight to Giulia. He had let her go anyway.
Five minutes into the presentation, Laziel’s eyes drifted to Mireya’s empty desk. He frowned. Why the fuck was he looking over there? The room was usually a mess of her talking back, arguing, and pushing his buttons. The silence was annoying. He was annoyed that he even noticed.
He forced his eyes back to his papers, signed another document, and realized his hand had slipped. He had signed it completely wrong. This had literally never happened in his entire career.
The HR manager noticed. She stopped talking entirely.
Silence stretched across the office. One beat. Two beats. Laziel didn’t even notice the silence. He was just staring blankly at the ruined signature.
"Sir?" the manager finally whispered, terrified.
Nothing.
"Mr. Monroe?"
Laziel slowly looked up, his dark eyes freezing her in place.
"...Continue."
The manager blinked, swallowing hard. "I... I already finished the Milan report, sir."
Laziel’s jaw clenched. He hadn’t heard a single word. He cleared his throat, his irritation with himself spiking into fury. "Leave the file on the desk. You’re dismissed."
The manager didn’t need to be told twice. She scurried out of the office like the building was on fire, privately wondering if her boss was completely losing his mind from stress.
The doors had barely shut before his
security chief walked into the room, his expression deadpan.
"Sir, we’ve confirmed Miss Brenna left the academy twenty-three minutes ago," the chief reported quietly. "Instead of returning to the office, she slipped away from the driver in traffic. She’s heading toward the old neighborhood. She’s looking for her friend."
Laziel didn’t even blink. He already knew. Letting her go was the only way to calm her mind.
The chief hesitated, shifting his weight. "Should we bring her back, sir?"
"No," Laziel said calmly. "She’ll come back."
"You’re certain?"
"She has nowhere else to go," Laziel interrupted, his gaze fixing on the empty chair across the room.
The words were an absolute statement of fact. But deep down, beneath the layers of his iron control, he knew he was also convincing himself.
The chief bowed his head and walked out, leaving Laziel alone in the office.
Laziel forced himself to open the next file. He managed to read exactly one paragraph before his eyes traitorously drifted right back to her empty desk.
"Fuck! What have you done to me, Mireya Brenner."
Authors note💕
Well...
Looks like somebody is losing the battle with himself. 🌚
Question of the day:
At what point does obsession become love?
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