Chapter 170 His place

Chapter 170 His place

Desmond stood outside her house, watching as she drove his car around the small fountain and out of the vast compound. He raised his hand to wave just as the horn blared.

When she was out of sight, he turned and made his way back into the house. Since she wasn't at home, there was no need to spend the rest of the day alone, and so he decided to go to the office.

In five minutes, he was already dressed out picking out a key from the bowl. He stopped, deciding whether to have Klaus pick him up.

He shook his head deciding against that idea. He should drive her car since she drove his, they were a real couple after all.

And so Desmond picked one of her cars.

He drove to the office in silence; a calm song blared from the radio. He reached out to change the channel.

“Breaking news—”

Desmond stopped to listen for a few seconds. When he realised that it was about an accident on a highway he stopped.

“Definitely not the kind of news to listen to on such find morning,” he muttered to himself, switching to another cheerful radio station.

In ten minutes, he was at the office. He got out of the car and approached the security guard. The security guard recognised the car, just when he was contemplating how to break the news to Kalyssa, it wasn't her that stepped down but Desmond.

The security guard paled. He opened and closed his mouth but no words came out.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Desmond asked him.

That was all it took. The security guard suddenly felt lightweight. His eyes rolled to the back and he collapsed on the ground.

Desmond frowned. He made a mental note to call for help as he made his way inside the office.

He stepped through the door and noticed that something was off.

It started with the receptionist. She dabbed her eyes and forced a smile on her face. But when she saw him, she screamed, and just like the security guard, she also fainted.

He turned to the other one. “Check on her, also send someone to check on the guard outside,” he said, but the woman looked like she had seen a ghost.

She stood frozen, her face pale. She pointed a shaky finger at him, muttering words he could understand.

Desmond frowned and quickened his pace. The more he went the deeper the space between his brows became.

People stood in small groups, whispering. Some had their hands over their mouths. Others looked pale, shaken.

A few were crying.

Desmond frowned slightly as he walked forward.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice cutting through the tension.

His loud voice made a lot of them jump. They turned one after the other. When their eyes net his figures they all froze.

Desmond looked from one to another.

“Speak up!” he snapped. And that woke them up.

“GHOST!!!” someone yelled and they all ran for their lives.

Desmond stopped.

Confusion flickered across his face. “Ghost? Was this a prank?” He walked faster now, his steps purposeful as he headed toward his office.

“Something was very wrong.” He mused, pushing the door open.

Inside, Sandra sat near the desk, her shoulders shaking as she cried openly. Klaus stood nearby, turned slightly away, his hand brushing quickly against his face as he had just wiped dust off his face.

But they were tears.

Desmond’s brows pulled together. “What’s going on?”

Klaus turned sharply at the sound of his voice.

“Boss?” he called out, like he was seeing something impossible.

He took a step, his foot slipped slightly as he stepped too fast, almost lost his balance. He caught himself immediately before rushing towards Desmond.

When he was close, he hugged him tightly without any hesitation. Without any concern about his status.

Desmond stiffened in surprise.

“Klaus—?”

“Boss is this really you? I thought you were dead. I was just about to go collect your body.” Klaus said, his voice breaking slightly.

Sandra let out a soft sob and rushed forward too, wrapping her arms around both of them. She also couldn't believe that her boss was right in front of her.

Desmond stood there, completely lost.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, pulling back slightly to look at both of them.

Klaus stepped back, still holding onto his arm like he needed to confirm he was real. He studies his face. There was no scratch or tear. That only meant that they had mistaken the person inside the car for Desmond.

“The news, we saw it—there was an accident—your car—”

“My car?” Desmond repeated. His heart skipped when he heard this.

Klaus grabbed his phone and pulled up the footage, his hands still a little unsteady as he showed it to him.

Desmond looked.

The screen flickered with images of wreckage. He was sure whoever was in the black car would definitely not survive.

Seeing Kluas' reaction, he suddenly had a very bad feeling.

“That car… We thought it was you in it.” Klaus said. Then he let out a breath. “Thank God it wasn’t.”

Desmond didn’t respond because his mind was somewhere else. He snatched the phone from Klaus and zoomed in on the plate number.

His hands began to shake. His vision blurred. His chest tightened, almost suffocating.

No. No, that wasn’t—

He took a step back.

Then another.

“Kalyssa…” he whispered.

Klaus frowned. “What?”

But Desmond was already moving.,He turned and stumbled out of the office, his breathing uneven now, his thoughts crashing into each other.

“Kalyssa!” he screamed.

“Sir—!” Klaus called after him in confusion. He was about to reach out to Desmond when everything clicked.

“Fuck.” he snarled before running to grab his keys.

Desmond didn't stop, he didn't care about his image as he ran out of the office building, pushing people out of the way.

All he thought of was that the accident was meant for him but Kalyssa had taken his place.