Belongs To Him

41 | I Was Alone

Alina Romano

The hole was there when I woke up. It was healed or sowed up. It wasn't buried. It sat right in the center of my chest. A feeling worse than actually being shot. When that happened, I was in shock; I couldn't quite feel it. But this was raw, and for some reason, I feel it.

My mascara smudged on my eyelids and bled into the sheets of my pillows. I wanted to see him desperately, even though now I almost couldn't stomach it. A new type of cruel filled him. He was becoming someone else for no good reason. He was acting like his father; that's what it seemed like. I wanted an explanation. I wanted something to help me understand.

My body ached as I stood from the bed. Something felt off about the room. Something was missing. He'd been missing, but that wasn't it. As I glanced at his nightstand, his grandfather's watch was missing. It had always remained there. He never wore it; he said he'd only wear it if he needed to. However, the case and the watch were gone.

Now, I was on my feet and looking around the room. Kingston's slippers under the bed were gone. When I reached his closet, my stomach dived. A chunk of his clothing was gone, and his favorite suit was not in its place. But when I looked to see his luggage was missing, I felt it. I felt the bullet once more piercing my heart this time.

He wouldn't do it. He couldn't do it.

I raced to the door, and as I opened it, Antony stood as he always did. I stumbled down the hall, hoping I'd catch him leaving. He couldn't have left yet. He promised me it wouldn't come to this, that we wouldn't end up like this.

"Mrs.Romano, you shouldn't be running!" a voice calls out, one I don't recognize. I turn to face the voice and Finn, Kingston's bodyguard. Relief fills me at the sight of him, and I let my feet rest. I was crazy. I'd gone absolutely crazy to think.

"I'm sorry, Finn. I just—I thought." I shake my head at it. It was almost embarrassing. "I need to find Kingston before he leaves. I need to talk to him." I asked for space; I got that. His leaving without a goodbye seemed wrong, though. It was too cold for me.

I turn my heels back down the steps, and as I reach the ground floor, I look for the luggage. It's not here, and neither is he, so I head for his study quickly.

As I knock, there is no response. I push the doors open to the empty space. Files are drawn out, and the place looks ransacked. "Kingston?!"

"Kingston?! Come on!" My heart raced as I exited the study. He could've been down in the car waiting. So I headed towards the door, and as I reached it, security stopped me. "Excuse me, I need to get my husband."

They stood silently, staring forward as if I didn't exist in front of them. "As your boss, I'd hope you'd move when asked. " They glanced at me, a worry in their eyes.

"Mrs.Romano," Antony's small voice trails behind me. His hands are placed on my shoulder, and I turn to look at him. It's almost like a part of me has died. It says what I don't want to know.

That look of self-pity, the solemnity held within his expression, and behind him, Finn. He can't look at me; he stares at the ground in guilt. My chest hurts as I begin to breathe, and my body feels weightless.

"No, no," my words come out in a hushed whisper. Not like the painful scream I let out in my head. It can't be; he couldn't have. It doesn't feel right; it feels like a trick of some sort.