Chapter 3 THE THREATS

The alarm rang loudly on a morning already brightened by the sun. Brent, who was sound asleep, had to wake up. He quickly sat up with his back against the headboard.

"Shhh."

He hissed softly as he felt a headache coming on. It was definitely the effect of last night's heavy drinking. Alcohol always leaves a bad effect on the body, no matter what.

While massaging his forehead, Brent surveyed the quiet room. It seemed like not only his room but the entire house was silent. However, for now, he didn't want to worry about the strange silence. He had to get up and clean himself up because he needed to go to the office to finish his work.

It didn't take long for him to finish cleaning up. He came out of the bathroom and was stunned. Suddenly, he felt an emptiness. Usually, after his shower, Alyssa would have his clothes ready. But this morning, she hadn't done it.

Brent took a deep breath, aware that they were still caught up in a misunderstanding. So, it was understandable that Alyssa didn't want to prepare his clothes.

Brent quickly went to the wardrobe not far from him. But once again, he was bewildered by the sight of the empty dressing table. There were no makeup items or the usual skincare products Alyssa used.

"Where did she go?" Brent asked, though no one was there to answer.

He then opened the wardrobe and found another oddity. The contents of the wardrobe looked reduced. Alyssa's clothes were gone. Brent also realized that her suitcase was missing. As a result, he began rummaging through the wardrobe to confirm what he saw. But it was true, Alyssa's suitcase and clothes were gone.

Still in his bathrobe, Brent moved to Alyssa's former room. He checked the wardrobe there, but none of Alyssa's belongings were present. The room was very neat. The study table and dressing table were empty. The room felt cold, like it had never been occupied.

"Where did you go, Grace?" Brent panicked, then went to find his phone.

He wanted to contact Alyssa. But when he opened his phone, Brent found a message from the girl with the big eyes.

Grace:

My departure schedule was moved up. Sorry I didn't say goodbye, you looked tired. I couldn't bear to wake you. See you in three months.

After reading the message from his wife, Brent immediately tried to call Alyssa. But her number was not active. He tried several times, but it was the same. Alyssa's number couldn't be reached.

Brent sat on the edge of the bed. His gaze was empty as his mind cleared and he realized that Alyssa had left before their misunderstanding was resolved.

"It's my fault, Grace," Brent muttered, closing his eyes in despair.

If only that day Brent hadn't acted rashly and had listened to Alyssa's explanation, none of this would have happened. He and Alyssa wouldn't have reached this point.

All the way to the meeting room, Brent was accompanied only by unending regret. Regret for acting rashly and following his excessive jealousy. So excessive that it blinded him to many things, including the fact that she could never betray him.

"Good morning, Mr. Brent!"

Brent was almost at his office but happened to run into Hiro. Yes, his wife's ex-boyfriend also worked under his company. Initially, Brent intended to ignore Hiro, but Alyssa's past greeted him and stopped him.

"Morning," Brent replied flatly.

Nevertheless, Brent was still upset remembering Hiro had once hugged Alyssa. Even though he knew that hug meant nothing,

"Mr. Brent, do you have a moment? I need to talk to you. Just for a moment," Hiro asked politely.

"Five minutes," Brent said.

"Ten minutes," Hiro bargained.

"I'm busy, Hiro," Brent retorted.

"But this is about Alyssa, sir," Hiro persuaded.

Since Hiro mentioned Alyssa, Brent had no reason not to give in and give Hiro ten minutes to talk. They finally decided to talk in Brent's office.

"So, what about my wife?" Brent asked, deliberately calling Alyssa "my wife" to remind Hiro of Alyssa's current status.

"Alyssa told me everything. About the photo of the two of us," Hiro revealed.

"And? I know the photo doesn't mean anything," Brent said, as if he had not been affected by the photo before.

"Are you sure, sir? Then why did Alyssa say you had a misunderstanding a few days ago? When Alyssa told me, I intended to come and explain everything to you, but Alyssa stopped me. She said you needed time to calm down and that you would listen to her explanation once you were calm. But... it seems Alyssa was wrong," Hiro explained at length.

"Yesterday... Alyssa also told me that the person who sent the photo was Janice," Hiro continued.

Brent remained silent, listening to Hiro's entire explanation.

"I don't know if Alyssa has told you or not, but I'll tell you everything."

"Tell me what?" Brent asked seriously.

Hiro smiled slightly. Brent didn't care about the meaning behind the smile; he only wanted to hear the story Hiro mentioned.

"I know Janice, she's been my friend since childhood. I know what she's like. She'll do anything to separate people she doesn't like, sir," Hiro asserted.

Hiro's expression changed instantly as he recalled Janice's deceitfulness. "What do you mean?" Brent asked impatiently.

"Cheryl also sent a photo of me and Alyssa. We were hugging at that time, but I had no other intention. I just wanted to comfort Alyssa, who was shaken after hearing her father was hospitalized. But Cheryl made up a story, and you believed it," Hiro explained.

Damn. Brent cursed inwardly as he recalled his foolishness.

"I bet yesterday you also believed Janice," Hiro hissed, unable to hide his frustration.

"I was wrong about that," Brent said, clenching his fists secretly.

Brent was deeply disappointed in himself. His jealousy had blinded him to everything. He hadn't even thought to investigate and had immediately accused Alyssa, hurting her by not acknowledging their marriage in front of Janice.

"That's between you and Alyssa," Hiro said flatly.

Then, he pushed his phone towards Brent.

"This is why I hugged your wife that afternoon." Hiro showed a photo of a kebaya with bloodstains that Alyssa received that afternoon.

Brent grabbed Hiro's phone and closely examined the photo of the kebaya.

"Alyssa has been receiving threats for a long time, sir. She's always been threatened with death if she didn't leave you," Hiro explained.

"Grace never told me," Brent said in disbelief. "Don't blame Alyssa, sir. She tried to tell you, but the timing was always off. She always said you were already exhausted from work. Alyssa didn't want to add to your burden."

In silence, Brent squeezed Hiro's phone, not out of anger at Hiro but out of anger at himself for being so unaware and unable to read the situation.

"Ten minutes," Hiro said, taking his phone back.

"Thank you for your time, sir," Hiro said, leaving Brent speechless.

Brent's hands were now clenched on the concrete desk. His jaw tightened, a sign that he was struggling to control his anger.

Only now did Brent realize his shortcomings. How foolish he had been. He didn't know anything about what Alyssa was going through. Instead, he accused and hurt her. He should have been the first to comfort Alyssa, the first person she turned to when those threats haunted her.

"Threats?" Brent muttered as if recalling something.

"Janice," he said sharply.

To be continued...