---- Chapter 10 Arthur POV: The city lights blurred into streaks of color as the driver sped through the streets. Every red light was an agony, every second a fresh torment. Beside me, Claudia sat in silence, but | could feel her resentment radiating off her in waves. She had wanted to be the center of my world tonight, and Jody had stolen the spotlight even in her absence. | didn' t care. "Arthur, you' re scaring me," she finally whispered, her voice trembling. "Shut up, Claudia," | snapped, the words raw and jagged. | turned to face her, the control | usually maintained completely gone. "Just... shut up." She flinched as if I' d struck her. Her eyes widened, and then filled with tears. | had never spoken to her like that. Not once in our entire lives. In all her tantrums and manipulations, | had never raised my voice to her. "How could you say that to me?" she sobbed, her voice thick with genuine hurt. A pang of guilt cut through my panic. But it was fleeting. | ---- turned away from her, staring out the window, my jaw clenched. "I'm sorry," | muttered, the apology empty and automatic. "I'm just not in the mood." The rest of the ride passed in a tense, suffocating silence, broken only by her quiet sobs. The car hadn't even come to a complete stop in the driveway before | threw the door open and sprinted towards the house. | fumbled with my keys, my hands shaking too much to fit the key in the lock. Finally, the door swung open. "Jody!" | yelled, my voice echoing in the cavernous, silent foyer. "Jody!" There was no answer. The butler, Mr. Henderson, appeared from the dining room, his face etched with concern. "Sir? Is everything alright?" "Where is she?" | demanded, grabbing the front of his perfectly tailored jacket. "Where is Jody?" "Ms. Campbell left, sir," he said, his voice quiet. "About an hour ago. She had a suitcase with her." The words hit me like a physical blow. A suitcase. This wasn't just a dramatic exit. This was planned. Final. "Where did she go? Did she say anything?" "No, sir. She said nothing at all." ---- | let go of him, a terrible, roaring emptiness opening up inside me. | turned and ran, taking the grand staircase two steps at a time, my heart pounding in my ears. | burst into her room- the guest room It was empty. The bed was neatly made. The closet door was ajar, revealing a few forgotten hangers. | pulled open the drawers. Empty. | ran to the bathroom. Her toothbrush was gone. Her favorite lotions, her shampoo, all gone. She was really gone. She had been planning this. While | was screaming at her, punishing her, torturing her... she had been calmly planning her escape. The realization was a punch to the gut. | had been so blind, so wrapped up in my own manufactured drama with Claudia that | hadn't seen the woman | loved slipping through my fingers. | had taken her for granted. | had assumed her love was unconditional, her forgiveness infinite. | thought she would always be there, waiting for me to come back to her after | was done placating Claudia. | had treated her love like a safety net, never realizing that even the strongest nets can break. | sank to the floor, my legs unable to support the sudden, crushing weight of my regret. | buried my head in my hands, a strangled, guttural sob escaping my lips. ---- | had to get her back. | had to find her and beg her, on my hands and knees if | had to, to forgive me. | pulled out my phone and called my assistant. "Find her," | choked out, my voice breaking. "| don' t care what it takes, what it costs. Find Jody Campbell. Now." | hung up and let the phone drop to the floor. | leaned my head back against the wall, the silence of the room amplifying the frantic, terrified beating of my own heart. An image of her smile flashed in my mind, so clear and vivid it was like she was standing right in front of me. The memory of her laughter, of her warmth, of the way she looked at me with such unconditional love... it was all a gallery of my own failures. Every broken promise, every cancelled date, every time | chose Claudia over her-they weren't just small betrayals. They were cuts. A thousand tiny cuts that had finally bled her love for me dry. And | had been the one holding the knife.