Chapter 11

Crema's reactions left Giovan more confused than ever. He hadn't expected her to react that way. He thought she would at least refute or disagree for a little while, but she didn't. It seemed normal to her, and she didn't show any painful reactions. It hurt Giovan to realize that Crema didn't have any feelings for him. She didn't recognize the bond between them and was willing to share him with other women. It was too much for Giovan to bear. Instead of feeling bad for being chatty, he was challenged to be tougher in front of his wife. "If you have no disagreement, then the wedding will take place tonight," he said before leaving for his home office.

Crema walked towards their bedroom as if everything was normal, leaving Janine completely lost.

"What the heck?" Janine exclaimed as she walked towards her own room. Despite her confusion, she felt excited to be Giovan's second wife. She couldn't wait for the wedding to take place. Although she would be a second wife, it didn't matter to her because she would have equal rights over Giovan and his power. She had already prepared herself for the disapproval of her aunt Mercy and uncle Villamore, but she didn't care.

In his office, Giovan couldn't get over the conversation he had with Janine and Crema. How could Crema act so normally, as if everything was fine? Was she really foolish, or was there something behind her reactions?

"What did you just announce?" Dior entered the office without knocking, angry that Giovan had made a decision without involving him. He had never involved Giovan in his planning, assuming that Giovan didn't know any of his plans.

Giovan smirked. He was tired of his father's schemes and was not stupid enough to not understand what was going on around him.

"Stop pretending, father. I know your plans already, and that is why I am materializing them. Aren't you proud of me?"

"Will you allow me to understand what you mean?" Shocked, Dior exclaimed. Instead of giving him the answer he needed, Giovan smiled again and casually answered, "If you want to be careful about your plans, let us not discuss them here."

Understanding what his son meant, Dior left without a word. He would wait for the right time to speak with his son.

****

Crema’s POV

I packed all my important things into my small backpack and headed to the kitchen to start my morning coffee routine. I planned to wait for everyone to leave before I made my own exit. As for Janine, I knew she would be busy preparing for her highly anticipated wedding.

"How are you?" I heard Janine's voice from behind me, but I ignored it. I had to remain calm, which was my number one rule while inside the mansion. "I'm fine. What about you? You must be very excited. Congratulations," I said with a forced smile. I was sure she got my message.

She glared at me before speaking. "I don't know if you're stupid, foolish, or whatever to behave this way, but I don't see it as normal."

She stared at me. I sipped my coffee and responded calmly. "Normal? How can you talk about normal when you're not acting normally yourself? You know Alpha Giovan is already my husband, yet you went out of your way to ruin the marriage. You even stooped so low as to become the second wife. Look at you, proud of your achievement. I had to be stupid and foolish to deal with you, because if I didn't, I'd diagnose you with a mental illness. Do you want that?" My long speech had clearly embarrassed my cousin, as her face turned red and she seemed ready to hit me at any moment.

"Bitch!" she said firmly, trying to control her emotions. Perhaps she was trying to avoid disappointing everyone in the house.

"That's you," I said again, smirking. Deep down, I felt a sense of satisfaction, knowing I had gotten through to her. She may think it's easy for me, but it's not. There are no words to describe the pain I'm feeling.

"Have you searched everywhere for her?" Giovan asked, confused and unable to concentrate as he wondered where Chari was. "No, boss," one of his men replied. "Find her!" he ordered, unable to calm himself. "Sir, she might have run away," his man suggested.

"Impossible! Maybe she just went to see someone," he said, trying to calm himself down.

It was already dark, but there was no sign of Crema. The wedding ceremony between Janine and Giovan was postponed due to Crema's disappearance. Janine was furious, as it seemed Crema had intentionally vanished on her wedding night, which had not yet taken place.

As everyone waited in the living room for news from the man searching for Crema, their leader rushed in.

"Sir, we went to your wife's parents' house as you ordered, and we found this nearby," he said, presenting a scarf and a pair of Crema’s shoes, both covered in blood.

Giovan quickly snatched the scarf and shoes from his man and examined them until he confirmed they were indeed his wife's belongings. He held them tightly, unable to breathe. For him, it was a sign that something terrible had happened to Crema.

"Are you sure this is all you found?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir. And some of the pack members said they smelled something near that place."

"What did they smell?!"