Chapter 121 Three days
“Damien…” My breath stilled.
Richelle. Her voice sounded… fragile. Careful. “I haven’t heard from you in so long,” she continued softly, like she was walking on eggshells. “Come back… please.”
My gaze hardened, drifting toward the large window overlooking the city. “I can’t,” I said quietly.
There was a pause. “Damien—”
“I said I can’t,” I repeated, sharper this time. My grip tightened around the phone. “I’m not stepping foot into that house.”
I physically couldn’t step into that house.
Because it wasn’t just a house—it was her. Everything in that place breathed Jasmine.
The walls still held her laughter, faint echoes that would probably drive me insane if I stood still long enough to listen.
The sheets… God, the sheets still carried her scent. That soft floral fragrance mixed with vanilla—warm, delicate, intoxicating. I could almost feel her curled into me again, her small body fitting so perfectly against mine like she was made for me.
The air itself felt heavy with her presence.
Alive, lingering, mocking me. Because she wasn’t there and I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t stand in a place where she had existed so vividly, only to be reminded that I had failed to keep her there… with me… where she belonged.
So I stayed away, like a coward, like a man too broken to face the ghost of the only woman he had ever loved.
Silence stretched between us.
Then, softer this time, almost understanding “…Because of her?”
My throat tightened, i didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. “I can’t breathe in that place without her,” I finally admitted, my voice low, rough. “Every corner… every wall… it’s all her. Her scent, her presence—everything.”
I exhaled shakily. “It feels like she’s there… but she’s not.”
Richelle didn’t speak.
“Say what you called for,” I muttered, forcing my voice back into something controlled.
“There’s someone here,” she said.
“I don’t care—”
“It’s Alisha.”That stopped me.
My brows furrowed. “…Alisha?” I repeated, confusion lacing my tone.
“She says she knows where Jasmine is,” Richelle added quickly. “And Damien… she says we don’t have much time"
Everything inside me froze. Hope, sharp, sudden, violent. “S-she knows where my tesoro is?” I asked, my voice betraying me as it cracked slightly. “Is she sure?”
“Yes.” That was all I needed.
“Stay where you are,” I ordered immediately. “Don’t let her leave.”
“Damien—”
“I’m sending men to pick both of you up,” I cut in. “You’ll come to me. My office.”
I ended the call before she could respond.
Turning sharply, I faced the guards stationed outside. “You,” I pointed. “Take a team. Bring Richelle and Alisha here. Now.”
“Yes, boss.”
“And make sure she doesn’t run.”
~
The wait was unbearable, every second stretched too long. Every thought too loud. Until finally—
The door opened. Richelle stepped in first and behind her… Alisha. She looked nothing like I remembered. Gone was the confidence, the calculated charm. What stood before me now was a trembling shadow of that woman—eyes darting, hands shaking, fear etched deep into her bones.
Good.
I stayed seated at first, watching her.
Studying her, letting the silence suffocate her.
She shifted uncomfortably under my gaze.
“Where is she?” I asked..
No greeting, no patience. Straight to the point.
Alisha swallowed hard, her fingers twisting together. “I—”
“Do not waste my time,” I snapped.
She flinched. “I… I’ll tell you,” she said quickly. “But you have to promise you won’t just rush in there blindly.”
A dark chuckle escaped me. “I don’t make promises.”
Her breathing picked up. "You don’t understand what you’re dealing with—”
“I understand enough,” I cut in, rising slowly to my feet. The shift in height alone made her shrink.
“I understand that someone took what’s mine,” I said, my voice dropping dangerously low. “And I’m going to take her back.”
Her lips trembled. “I will make them suffer,” I continued, stepping closer. “I will break them—piece by piece—until they beg me to end it.”
She looked like she might faint. “Damien…” she whispered.
“What did you do?” I asked suddenly.
The question hit her like a physical blow.
“I—”
“What did you do?” I repeated, sharper.
Her composure shattered.“I helped him!” she cried, tears spilling over. “I helped him watch you… I gave him information… I was there that night…”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“I saw her,” she sobbed. “I saw Jasmine… I helped him get her into that car…”
Silence.
Deadly silence.
“You…” I took a step forward.
She stumbled back. “You did this.”
“I’m sorry!” she cried.
Before she could say another word— My hand wrapped around her throat. I slammed her against the wall. Her feet left the ground.
“Because of you,” I growled, my voice filled with raw fury, “she’s gone.”
“S-she isn’t!” she choked.
My grip tightened.“I saw her!” she gasped desperately.
I froze. Then slowly released her. She collapsed, coughing violently, clutching her throat.
“Talk,” I commanded.
“She's not dead but she is badly wounded. Shas been sold already,” she said between broken breaths. “She’s at the factory now… but she’ll be taken by her owner in three days.”
My blood ran cold. “Her owner isn’t from this country,” she continued. “He’ll move her through the borders… undetected.”
Three days.
Three.
Fucking.
Days. “She’s being kept in a cellar beneath the factory,” she added. “There are guards everywhere… armed… watching everything…”
I crouched down in front of her making her shrink back instinctively. “Do you understand what you’ve done?” I asked quietly.
She nodded frantically, tears streaming. “I’m sorry… I regret it… I didn’t think he would—”
“You will never be her,” I cut in coldly.
She froze. “You will never be what Jasmine is to me,” I continued, my gaze burning into hers. “She is mine.”
My jaw clenched. “And I am hers.”
Her lips trembled uncontrollably. “If I find her dead,” I said, rising slowly, “you won’t live long enough to regret it.”
I turned away from her, my mind already racing.
My blood already boiling. War. That’s what this was. And I was going to burn everything down to get her back. “I’m coming, tesoro,” I whispered under my breath.
And this time—
I wasn’t letting her slip through my hands again.