Chapter 105 WHERE ARE YOU, IXORA?
\[EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER, COSTA RICA\]
"When will she come around?" a girl asked.
"Soon," Nikita replied.
Nikita raised her glass in the air. "Cheers to a successful plan."
"Cheers." They clicked their glass and laughed softly.
Nikita stood and turned on the light.
The girl's face came into view.
Same hair color. Same eyes. Same body stature. Ixora's body.
"You look so much like her," Nikita complimented.
"It was hard getting her look."
"We'll be going back to New York. It's time to get back what was taken away from us," Nikita said.
"And we will do that while I'll be pretending to be the real Ixora. Drexton would not have seen it coming. He thought I was dead, but I'm alive. Hazel is back and this time... It's for revenge." Hazel muttered between gnashed teeth.
Nikita placed her hand on Hazel's shoulder. "Not Hazel, Ixora. You are going back to New York, not as Hazel Bretford but as Ixora Castellan. Don't forget that."
"I won't," Hazel smirked. "Ruin Drexton with my new identity. Ixora Castellan is my new identity. Noted"
\[NEW YORK, OUTHOUSE\]
"Open the door," Jaxon said, placing a gentle knock on the door.
A tray of food was in his hand.
He rested his ear on the door, his ear studs slightly coming in contact with the door.
He exhaled softly when he didn't hear a sound.
"Drexton," he called. "Open the damn door, or I'm breaking it down."
Still, nobody replied.
He took two steps back and kicked the door open.
The door broke.
His eyes filled with the darkness in the room.
No single flicker of light.
He took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.
"Turn off the light."
A voice said. Cold. Distant. Almost mechanical.
"I need light to give you your food," Jaxon said, and went to him.
"I'm not hungry," Drexton muttered, eyes closed.
His palm was closed tight, something between them.
Jaxon knew that's what he'd say. Regardless, he kept the food before him.
"Eat up. You haven't eaten for the past two days."
"Eating is for those who want to live."
"You are one of them, Drexton." Jaxon sighed. "At least, take a bite, for Ixora."
Drexton's shoulder stiffened. Slowly, his lids lifted to welcome the bright torchlight.
Just like his voice, his face had the same expression.
He fixed his gaze on the light, despite the reflection it was giving him.
Two days of locking yourself up in a room. No light, and eyes closed. It's meant to happen.
Jaxon swept his blue hair backward. He changed his hair color to blue.
"Eat. I'll leave now." Jaxon walked out of the room.
He gave Drexton a reassuring nod before pushing the closed door shut.
The darkness immediately swallowed Drexton, and the cold air hit his skin.
His eyes were dark, almost invincible, as he slowly opened his left palm.
The three gifts Ixora had given him were there. His childhood gift and his birthday gift.
He rubbed them, imagining the smiles she carried on her face the day she gave them to him.
Eighteen months have passed. Eighteen months of not seeing Ixora. Her smile always lit up his world in a way he had denied. Her tears, he called his possession only because of his twisted way of saying... he hated seeing her cry. Her hazel eyes were always able to see right through him. His hate and his love. Her soft voice became the end of him. That changed his hatred into love. Everything about her affected him in ways he'd deemed positive.
He took his gaze to his right palm and slowly lifted his fingers. And there was the single word that ruined him. The one that has haunted him day and night. The one that broke him physically, emotionally and mentally. A single cold word from her to him. Goodbye.
He did so many things to break her. He sabotaged her events, made her go to prison, played mind games with her, and even went as far as pretending to love her, all for one reason, and that was to see her shed blood. To break her.
But her, just a single word from her, ruined him. It broke him more than he ever expected. It shattered him to the point of no return.
Each time he closes his eyes, all he sees is her writing the word. Was she crying while writing it, or was her face cold? Her note has haunted him, and for the very first time, he fell into his own trap.
He scooped up two spoons of the food and ate it. Without touching the water, he stood and left the room.
As he walked into the outhouse, his eyes fell on every single thing in the room.
The outhouse holds so many memories of them together.
When they played chess together. The confidence on her face that she was going to win. He should have let her win and have her smile on him, but what did he do? He took away that moment, and even scared her with his wolf.
The day he cuffed her to the wall and stripped her of every worth with a ribbon.
The window where he marked her his after teaching her how to make use of her other senses.
And then his birthday, the day she gave him everything. Her body, soul and heart. What did he do? He called her his pet afterward.
He's so cruel. He should have confessed his love that day. She told him she loved him, and he still went ahead with his plan.
He should have known every form of affection was his love. If he didn't love her, he wouldn't have stopped the wedding with James. He got jealous when she talked to other men in Sicily.
The silent night pierced his skin, and he realized he had gotten outside.
He got into his car and drove off.
From a car behind him, Alexa sighed and dropped the binoculars.
"I wish Ixora would just come back. He's suffered enough," she muttered.
She completed her jail term a year ago, and since then, she's been close to the guys. Jaxon especially.
She learned everything that happened between Drexton and Ixora. She even saw a picture of Ixora and loved her at first sight.
She almost killed Drexton for what he did to Ixora, but later understood, since she's also out for revenge. She has been secretly looking for Ixora despite Drexton telling them not to. She understands, he feels guilty.
"You think she will ever forgive him?" Jaxon asked and brought the car to life.
Alexa fell into silence, thinking.
\[DREXTON'S HOUSE\]
Immediately, he stepped in; her velvet scent filled his nostrils. It might have been eighteen months since he last saw her, but she left everything behind her, and they have all been tormenting him.
His steps echoed softly as he made his way to a room. The room that has all his revenge, and the only room that doesn't have her scent.
The door creaked open, and he went in. He stared down at the ashes on the floor.
The fire that has been burning for ten years has been quenched. He has always been fueling the fire, and he vowed the fire would burn until he says 'no more'.
But two weeks behind bars was all it took for the fire to quench.
Yes, the police let them go after doing their investigations. Evidence was brought in, and they were proven innocent. They even got praised for doing things the police couldn't do. That was then. The Hell Devils have lain low. No more on the news.
The fire was a symbol of his hate, and Ixora's mysterious disappearance took his hate away.
He had the power to do everything he wanted, but now he's realizing that money and power aren't everything. They can't change the time, nor can they make up for his wrongdoing.
His hate destroyed him, and his love weakened him. Both in his health and in his career.
Blackthorn automobile has left the lips of everyone. A new company came up. Ronald's Enterprise. Just six months in New York, and they have stolen the spotlight despite the owner being anonymous.
He doesn't care about those things. He can't even look for Ixora. He doesn't know where she is. And even if he does, he can't look her in the eyes. But he should at least know if she's okay. He wants to know, but each time he remembers her goodbye note, it breaks him.
He's nothing but a beast, and he deserves every failure of his life.
He's a monster.
His back met the wall, and he closed his eyes. He folded his palm against the bracelet and paper.
"Where are you, Ixora?"