Chapter 8 · When She Stopped Looking Back

Chapter 8

"Mr. Hale is out right now. If you need anything, just let me know and I'll pass the message," Dorian said.When Lavinia suddenly showed up in front of him, Dorian started sweating bullets."Oh, no need, really..." Dorian stammered.'No way I'm saying anything about that,' Dorian thought. 'If things go south, I'll be the one getting burned.'Lavinia just shrugged, not bothered at all. She was only here to pick up something she'd forgotten, but when she saw Dorian looking all flustered, she thought she might as well help out.Since he didn't need her help, she didn't push it.Still, she couldn't help but feel a little curious.Rumor had it Evander had a lover he'd been with for years, but there was no sign of her at the engagement party.Seeing Dorian so on edge, Lavinia figured it probably had something to do with that lover.Lavinia let out a little 'tsk', amused.The thought of catching some juicy drama made her pick up the pace.Evander was lounging in the VIP suite, surrounded by a crowd all buttering him up."Evander, tonight we're not leaving till we're totally smashed!" someone called out."Come on, nights like this are worth their weight in gold. You think Evander's just here to party like the rest of you?" another guy joked.Evander hadn't even wanted to show up, but every time Samara crossed his mind, he just couldn't shake off that restless feeling.Especially the way she looked yesterday, completely shattered.He'd never seen her like that before.Even when he put her through hell, she'd always just gritted her teeth and taken it.But last night, he saw it in her eyes that she'd lost all will to live...Thinking about it, he picked up his glass and knocked back several drinks in a row, trying to drown out the thoughts.'I shouldn't be thinking about her,' he told himself.By the time Lavinia arrived, Evander had already polished off all the drinks in front of him.After a few rounds, everyone around was already feeling the buzz."Can you believe Samara didn't even show up to Evander's engagement party? Usually, she's like a leech, always hanging around," one guy said."Speaking of Samara, I still wish I could've seen her strip. Evander's way too soft on her. He let her walk away before she even finished taking her clothes off!" another guy chimed in.Everyone started gossiping about what happened that day, totally oblivious to the fact that Evander's face had turned stormy."You guys have no idea. Samara's all over the place now. She's famous!" someone gossiped."Enough!" Evander barked.Evander smashed his bottle on the floor, glass scattering everywhere. That's when everyone finally realized Lavinia was sitting right next to him."Lavinia, don't get the wrong idea! There's really nothing between Samara and Evander, I swear..." one of the guys blurted out.He rushed over, desperate to clear things up.Lavinia just narrowed her eyes, saying nothing, her silence colder than ice.Evander's face was getting darker by the second."Shut up!" he snapped.His icy glare swept across the room, and everyone instantly clammed up.After a long pause, Evander finally made a move.He pulled out his phone and called Dorian."Get Samara over here. Now!" he demanded.Dorian froze on the other end, realizing there was no escaping this."Mr. Hale, Miss Thorne... she's disappeared," Dorian replied.Evander needed a second to wrap his head around what Dorian just said."What do you mean, she's disappeared?" Evander demanded.Evander hung up before Dorian could even think of an excuse.Seeing Evander lose his temper, someone quickly and nervously handed him a cigarette."Mr. Hale, do you want us to send someone to look for her?" he asked, hoping to please him.He was just trying to score some points with Evander, but got hit with a vicious death glare instead.He instantly clammed up and kept his head down, staying out of the way."Look for what?" Evander said coldly.Evander regained his composure almost instantly."Yeah, yeah, she's just a leech. If she's gone, who cares? She's not even worth Mr. Hale's time to go chasing after!" someone quickly agreed."Samara's obviously playing hard to get. She's just putting on a show to make Evander care about her!" another guy added.Evander lit his cigarette and calmly blew out a smoke ring."Three days, max. She'll come running back to apologize," he said, full of confidence.He was so sure of himself that everyone quickly nodded in agreement."She's been scheming all this time, just to stay close to Evander," someone added.Another guy immediately picked up the thread."Samara would go all out for our Evander. She'd never just up and leave like that!" one of the guys insisted."Back when Evander got set up by his enemies, she..." another started.Realizing he'd crossed the line, the guy quickly gave himself two slaps and knocked back his drink in one gulp."I'll punish myself with three glasses..." he said, trying to make up for it.Back then, Samara had been with him for two, maybe three years.They'd been together so long, he couldn't even remember how much time had passed.All he remembered was that year, when the Hale family got screwed over by their enemies and the money ran out.People were crowding outside the company, demanding their wages, and some even climbed up to the roof, threatening to throw themselves off.Evander was about to fly abroad to secure some emergency funds.But on his way, a group of workers blocked his path."Mr. Hale, either pay us what you owe for the project, or you're not leaving here alive!" one of them shouted.

Chapter 8