Chapter 6
Alaric’s smile froze on his face the second he heard those words. He stood there, stunned like his brain had just stopped working.
Then suddenly, as if someone had cracked a dumb joke, he barked back instinctively.
“What the hell are you talking about?
“Nicole’s in her room, asleep. How could she be gone?”
He was the one who brought her that glass of milk. He’d watched her drink it himself. There was no way she should’ve woken up. No.
chance.
Alaric’s expression darkened. He snapped coldly at his men, “Get him out of here. Don’t let him mess up my wedding.”
The underling dropped to his knees in a panic, slamming his head into the floor over and over.
“Boss, I swear I’m not lying! Ms. Blake is really gone! We searched the whole island and still…”
Before he could finish, another guy stepped in and kicked him flat to the floor, then planted his boot right on his face.
“Shut the hell up! Can’t you see today’s a big deal for Alaric? Use your damn brain!”
Alaric’s face was cold as ice. “Lock him up. I’ll deal with him when I get back.”
| Chapter 6
His men obeyed, dragging the poor guy out of the ballroom.
The wedding picked back up like nothing had happened.
The priest’s voice still echoed in the background. “Mr. Wynn, do you take Ms. Wren to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in wealth or in…”
Alaric didn’t hear a single word of the rest. His mind kept looping the same sentence over and over again.
“Ms. Blake is gone.”
He remembered how Nicole looked at him last night, full of hope, sadness, and quiet desperation. The unease in his chest started to claw
its way up.
Even while standing next to the woman he’d claimed to love for years. the one he swore he’d marry, all he could see was Nicole’s stunning face flashing in his mind.
Last night was the first time he’d ever seen her that soft, that womanly. And now she was gone.
Was it true? Or just some twisted joke?
His chest tightened like someone was wringing it out. A wave of guilt and dread slammed into him all at once.
“Alaric? Alaric?” Amara’s voice snapped him back to reality. “Huh? What?” he asked, dazed.
“The priest’s talking to you.” Amara looked up at him, confused and a little embarrassed.
The guests around them were just as puzzled. They whispered to each
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Chapter 6
other, unsure what was going on.
Alaric rubbed the bridge of his nose, signaling for the priest to
continue.
The priest asked again, “Mr. Wynn, do you take Ms. Wren as your wife?”
Alaric squeezed Amara’s hand tightly and declared with forced conviction, “I do…”
But he never got to finish the word. Another shout rang out.
“Alaric! Nicole’s gone!” This time, one of the dock guys was out of breath and sweating bullets.
He looked like he’d just sprinted laps around the entire island. Alaric finally started to panic.
He let go of Amara’s hand and barked, “What the hell is going on? Speak clearly!”
The guy bent over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
“This morning, Nicole borrowed a speedboat from me. She said she’d already talked to you, so I didn’t think twice and just gave it to her.
“But then one of our guys came running to say he spotted Damian’s ship nearby. And it looked like Nicole was heading straight toward it.
“I freaked out. I went to check her room and didn’t find her ID or any of her stuff. Everything’s gone! Alaric, is Nicoledefecting?”
Alaric’s face just kept getting darker and darker with every word.
He never imagined that Nicole would betray him.
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Chapter 6
She’d loved him for ten years. Given up everything for him. Never once complained.
She stood by him through the worst, the bloodiest, the most hopeless times. And now, just as he was about to reach the top. Did she leave him behind?
No. Impossible.
He’d already promised her that, once this was all over, he’d divorce Amara, marry her properly, and give her the biggest, most extravagant wedding anyone had ever seen.
He’d told her everything. Swore she’d have his name. Swore he’d make them public.
Why couldn’t she just wait a little longer?
What the hell was she thinking?
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