Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Kristopher’s sharp eyes flew open. “Can’t reach her?”’ The chill that radiated from him could have frozen the entire office. Marc nodded. “Ever since she changed her contact info last time, I’ve been unable to get the new number.”’ Kristopher frowned as he checked the time. “Did you check the villa?”’ It had been three days since his last visit to her in the hospital. She was meant to have returned there by now. Marc hesitated. “She still hasn’t come back.”’ A sense of dread welled up in Kristopher as he raised an eyebrow. “Did you check with the hospital? Is she still there?”’ Marc shook his head. “They discharged her yesterday, but no one knows where she went”¦”’ Kristopher’s eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened around the armrest of his chair. “Is this becoming a pattern? Running away?”’ He had already given her one chance too many. “Maybe”¦”’ As Kristopher’s expression darkened, Marc treaded lightly. “Maybe”¦ could you reach out to her parents? Even though she isn’t close to them”¦”’ Kristopher shot him a frosty look. After a moment, he flipped through his phone contacts and called Belinda’s father, Donovan Nelson. “Belinda? She hasn’t returned home.”’ Confusion laced Donovan’s voice. “We haven’t heard from her in over six months. Mr. Cox, are you having issues with her? I’ve always told you, coming from the countryside, Belinda’s got a rough temper. Not nearly as easygoing as Gillian”¦”’ Fresh updates available at É¢@lnÏνe’s”¤com With a scowl, Kristopher ended the call abruptly. He slammed the phone down on the desk and closed his eyes, his annoyance palpable. “Check if she’s left the city recently! Pull up the road surveillance! I want her found, even if I have to dig her out myself!”’ He had given her a chance during his last hospital visit. Was she still not ready to drop this? Why had Belinda become so unreasonably stubborn? Kristopher’s phone rang yet again. This time, it was a call from his friend, Elliott Russo. “Kristopher, get yourself over to Nightfall, now!”’ Nightfall was the local bar. Slumping back in his chair, Kristopher sighed deeply. “I’m really not in the mood, Elliott.”’ From the other end, Elliott’s laughter boomed through the phone. “Not in the mood? Let me send you a picture of someone stunning. You might change your tune after you see her. I’ll be waiting!”’ With a brisk click, Elliott ended the call. Almost immediately, a message notification flashed on Kristopher’s phone. He tapped it open, a scowl forming on his face. The photo revealed a bustling bar scene. Onstage, a man flaunted his eight-pack abs in a rousing dance, gradually shedding his clothing. Nearby, a woman clad in a daring red dress, cheered on by her friends, reached out tentatively towards the dancer’s abs. Shockingly, the woman was Belinda! Kristopher’s breathing turned ragged as he stared at the photo. He had had Marc searching for her all night, and here she was, in a bar, boldly touching another man’s abs. “Marc, get the car ready. I need to get to Nightfall immediately,”’ he ordered. Marc’s response quivered. “Understood!”’ As they drove from Cox Group to the Nightfall Bar, Kristopher’s eyes were glued to his phone screen, his gaze intense enough to burn a hole through it. One week after her miscarriage, she had danced intimately with a stranger in Rozand. Ten days later, here she was, in another bar in Nawrin, touching a stranger’s abs. “Belinda, you truly are something else,”’ Kristopher muttered to himself. The Maserati zipped through the streets. Inside the Nightfall”¦ Onstage, the show continued with a young man energetically performing a striptease. Originally beside the stage, Belinda now stood on it, her presence shifting the mood. She danced beside the young man, her movements syncing flawlessly with his as he shed his clothing piece by piece. Belinda, stunning even without makeup, now wore enough to conceal her paleness, enhancing her allure and captivating charm. This was the first time the young man had performed a striptease with such a breathtaking woman. Overwhelmed, he couldn’t resist approaching Belinda right there on the stage. Keeping in time with the music, he boldly took her hands and pressed them against his chiseled abs. As Belinda’s hands grazed the sculpted muscles of the man’s lower abdomen, the crowd below erupted into cheers and screams. Just then, Kristopher burst through the bar’s doors and caught sight of Belinda on stage, her hands on the young man’s abs. Madisyn’s voice rang in his ears, loud and clear. “Belinda! That’s the real you! Life’s short! Let’s live it up! Kristopher can go to hell!”’ His expression darkening, Kristopher walked up and tapped Madisyn on the shoulder. “And who’s supposed to go to hell?”’…