Chapter 30: Sullen Nerves

One week. Seven long, crawling days.

That was how long it had been since I last saw Kevin — or even heard from him.

It was like he’d vanished. No calls, no texts, no messages through anyone at the company. Nothing. He was just… gone. Like he’d slipped out of my life the same way he slipped out of that elevator — quiet, final, leaving the echo of his absence behind to eat at me.

Every morning I woke up hoping today would be the day. That maybe I’d see his car parked outside, or he’d show up in a meeting pretending nothing had happened between us. Every night I went to bed trying not to think about where he was or who he might be with. The silence was unbearable.

I was a wreck — an absolute mess of a person.

I’d lost count of how many times I stared at my phone, refreshing my call log like an idiot, waiting for something that wasn’t coming. Even the mirror had started to turn on me — every reflection a cruel reminder of how far I’d fallen apart. The dark circles under my eyes, the dullness in my face, the hollowness that wouldn’t go away no matter how many layers of makeup I brushed on.

At one point, I’d gone as far as the club where the memories of us hung shamelessly.

I don’t know what I was expecting — maybe to find him there, leaning at the bar with that same quiet, brooding expression, maybe even angry at me for something trivial. Anything but the emptiness I found instead.

The place was alive — lights, laughter, music that made the walls pulse — but for me, it was all noise. I wandered through that crowd like a ghost, looking for someone who clearly didn’t want to be found.

“Where on earth could he be?” I’d muttered under my breath that night, my voice barely audible over the bass thundering through the floor.

When I finally gave up and drove home, the city lights blurred through my tears until they all looked the same — like every mistake I’d ever made.

I’d managed to avoid my father and Nina since the dinner disaster. I couldn’t bear to face either of them — not my father, who looked at me like I’d disappointed him, and certainly not Nina, whose smile always seemed to hide a thousand knives.

Even Stephen had gone quiet. Maybe he sensed I didn’t have the strength to talk, or maybe he was giving me space. Either way, the silence between us felt like another layer of loss.

That night, after another long day at the office, I came home exhausted — the kind of tired that settled deep in your bones. The hallway lights were dim, the whole house unnervingly quiet. My heels echoed softly on the marble as I made my way upstairs. I just wanted to collapse, take a shower, maybe cry myself to sleep if I could manage the energy for it.

But then I heard her.

Nina’s voice — soft but sharp, the kind of tone that always made me pause. Her room door was slightly ajar, and she was on the phone, pacing from what I could tell. Something about her tone made the hairs on my neck rise.

“…I’m only getting married to him for the merge,” she was saying. “Once it’s done, everything he owns will be ours. Then I’ll take care of the rest.”

My feet froze mid-step. For a second, I thought I’d misheard her. But then she kept talking — calm, calculated, confident.

“I’ll get rid of him after. Don’t worry. Kevin has promised to handle certain things underground. He’s willing to kill for me.”

My heart stopped. Literally stopped.

That one word — kill — punched the air right out of my lungs.

I stumbled backward instinctively, a hand flying to my mouth. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it would tear out of my chest. My mind was a blur of disbelief, confusion, and the sharp sting of betrayal.

Kevin.

The same Kevin I’d been losing sleep over. The same man who’d made me believe — for one stupid, fleeting second — that what we shared meant something.

He was working with her?

I pressed my hand against the wall to steady myself. My vision swam, my throat tightening with the effort to keep quiet.

Nina giggled softly. The sound made my stomach twist. “Don’t forget, he’d be willing to kill for me,” she repeated, her tone dripping with arrogance.

Tears stung my eyes before I could stop them. My knees felt weak. I wanted to burst in there, scream, demand to know what she meant — but instinct told me not to. Something cold and primal took over. I backed away, my body moving on its own.

But just as I turned to leave, I heard the floor creak — her steps coming closer.

Panic shot through me. I ducked into the small alcove near the hallway corner, pressing my back flat against the wall. My breathing came out shaky and uneven, so I clamped my hand over my mouth, terrified she’d hear the sound.

The door to her room creaked open.

“Hello?” Her voice was closer now. Careful. Searching.

Every nerve in my body went rigid. I could hear her heels tapping softly against the floor as she looked around. My heart was so loud I was sure she could hear it through the walls.

Seconds stretched into forever.

Then she spoke again — lower this time, back into the phone. “Abby? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her soon.”

It took everything in me not to scream.

Her words sliced through the air, cold and deliberate. Take care of her soon.

My name.

She’d said my name.

She didn’t even bother lowering her voice anymore as she stepped back into her room and shut the door.

I stood there frozen, my hand still over my mouth, my body trembling. My mind was a storm of questions I couldn’t form answers to.

Was Kevin really helping her? Was it possible? Was he even the man I thought I knew?

Tears finally spilled down my cheeks as I sank against the wall, trying to breathe through the panic clawing at my throat. I’d always known Nina was manipulative, maybe even cruel — but this… this was darker than anything I could’ve imagined.

And if she was telling the truth — if Kevin was involved — then I was no longer just heartbroken.

I was in danger.