THE TEMPTRESS

||Longing||

~1 Year Later~

•KADEN•

I hurried into the kitchen, my heart pounding with anxiety. Ben looked up from his breakfast, startled by my abrupt entrance.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, shooting me a glare as I occupied the seat in front of him.

"So, anything?" I asked urgently.

Ben wiped his mouth with a napkin, his expression somber.

"Nope. No trace of her anywhere. I've been tracking her for weeks, tracing satellites, but I can't find anything."

Disappointment washed over me as I slumped back against the chair, sighing.

Ben's sympathetic look immediately met mine.

"I'm sorry, man. It's been a year, and it seems like she doesn't want to be found. You have to let her go."

A dark expression masked my face as I angrily stood, hovering over him.

"No. We will keep trying till we find her. I'm not gonna let her go." My resolve wavered.

"She promised me." I added with a small voice.

Leaving the room with a heavy heart, I clung to a thread of hope that was starting to thin out, uncertainty etched across my face.

OoO

The music throbbed in my ears as I downed the last shot, the table littered with evidence of a night gone wild.

Laughter and the rhythmic beat of the music surrounded me, yet the VIP booth on the top floor felt more like an isolated island in the sea of revelry.

Ben, AJ, and the others were lost in the ecstasy of the moment, but I couldn't shake off the fog of discontent.

Drunk, I stumbled to my feet, the staircase a glass cascade leading me down into the pulsating heart of the club.

The loud music and echoing voices intensified my pounding headache. Amid the swirling lights and dancing bodies, I felt detached, adrift in a sea of chaos.

I squinted towards the dancefloor, and amidst the vibrant crowd, a woman in a red dress caught my eye.

Stephanie?

My heart quickened with hope as I focused on her, making my way through the throng of people. She danced in the middle, the sea of bodies parting for her.

Excitement surged through me as I pushed forward, but when I reached the spot, the woman in red was gone.

Desperation set in as I scanned the dancefloor for Stephanie. The disappointment hit hard, the elation replaced by a sinking sadness.

Reality crashed over me like a wave, and I reluctantly accepted that I might be seeing things, a hallucination induced by the numerous drinks.

I stood there, lost in the pulsating lights and distant music, grappling with the hollowness that settled in.

Stephanie's gaze lingered in my mind, haunting and elusive, a phantom in the night.

Stumbling into my bedroom, the alcohol weighed me down like an anchor. I crashed onto the bed, my gaze fixated on the ceiling as the room spun around me.

The void in my chest deepened - a year had passed since I last saw Stephanie. A silent promise echoed in my mind, insisting she would return.

Turning to lay on my side, I noticed Stephanie's rosary necklace on the nightstand. I lazily reached out, grasping it in my hand.

Memories flooded my foggy brain - Stephanie, wearing this very necklace. I lay on my back, holding it before me, hot tears stinging at the corners of my eyes as I clutched it tightly.

The necklace pressed to my heart, a desperate attempt to feel her presence. Exhaustion claimed me, and as I drifted into sleep, the last image in my mind was Stephanie's beautiful face, hauntingly vivid in my dreams.