Chapter 45

While she lingered at the roadside, waiting for Gavin,Verena felt a dampness on her cheek.

She reached up to touch her face, only to feel water sliding down the back of her neck.

What began as a light mist quickly swelled into fat drops that smacked the ground in sharp bursts.

With nothing but open space around her, there was no protection from the storm.

The scene struck her as almost laughable, like a plot pulled straight from a soap opera.

Looking up at the dark sky, she let out a small laugh at her own thoughts and murmured, "I'm really not shattered over this. Ever since Kaia came into the world, I've known I wasn't the one who mattered most,so I've been bracing for moments like this. Don't try to twist it into something dramatic, understood? The rain's coming down so hard my clothes are already drenched."

A set of headlights finally cut through the downpour,and Gavin's car rolled to a stop. He stepped out holding an umbrella and made his way toward her.

His face showed regret the instant he saw how soaked she was. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

She smiled faintly and gave her head a quick shake."No. You got here just when I needed you."

Once she climbed into the car, Gavin circled around to the driver's side.

With a half-hearted smile, she said quietly, "I'm afraid I'm about to ruin your seat."

Noticing how forced her expression seemed, Gavin chose his words with care. "You look... sad.Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

Her lips curved at his careful tone, and she answered with a shake of her head, "It's not worth worrying about. I saw it coming, and they aren't worth my tears."

The steady way she spoke made Gavin think that whatever loneliness he thought he had sensed earlier was only his imagination.

He could sense deep down that the situation carried more weight than it appeared.

Rather than press her, he shifted the topic and asked, "Did you book a hotel room?"

Verena's head moved in a slow shake. "Take me to the one you're staying at."

Gavin's lips pressed together in a small nod. "Okay."

Turning the wheel, he guided the car forward, and the tires cut through the rain-soaked night.

The storm eased off quickly, and by the time they arrived at the hotel, the rain had stopped.

At the front desk, Gavin secured a suite, and then placed the key in Verena's hand as he walked her to the door.

After thinking for a moment, he suggested, "How about I buy you a drink?"

With her chest feeling tight, Verena gave him a soft smile. "Alright."

He called the front desk and placed the order for drinks,and soon they were delivered.

Even though the idea had been his, Verena was the one who drank far more than he did.

From the moment they settled in, she kept quiet,lifting glass after glass without a word. Before long, she abandoned the glass entirely and drank straight from the bottle.

As Gavin watched her drown herself so recklessly, he wanted to intervene but held back.

Once the final bottle ran empty, he sprang up and pulled it from her grasp. "That's enough. Go shower and get some rest."

He then called room service to clear away the bottles and glasses before making his way out.

The soft click of the door closing left the room in silence.

On the floor, Verena leaned against the sofa with her cheeks burning red.

There was no mistaking it-she was drunk.

Her mind,before the alcohol dulled it, kept circling back to Luka's hateful stare, Kaia's endless schemes both open and hidden, Laura's cutting voice, and Alec's shallow imitation of a father's love.

Why did the people who should have been her greatest support care the least?

She yearned, just like anyone else, for the tenderness of parents and the steady comfort of family.

Sadly, the only person who had given her true love had already passed away.

And the one who once held her close had since let her fade from memory.

Once the liquor began to cloud her head,Shawna and that man became the only figures she could think of.

Isaac...

Out of nowhere, the ache of missing lsaac pressed heavily on her.

She felt an urgent need to see him right away.

Acting decisively and quickly had always been her way,and even drunk, she clung to that instinct.

Her fingers stumbled across the table until they reached her phone, where she scrolled to lsaac's name and pressed to call.

The line rang again and again with no answer, but she stayed on the call, unwilling to give up.

Over at the Bennett Group offices, the building had emptied out, except for the light still glowing in the CEO's office.

At his desk,Isaac continued working, his hands flying over the keyboard as he dealt with company affairs. Just outside, his assistant waited at the doorway,fully aware that lsaac often lost all sense of time when buried in work.

Isaac didn't like being interrupted when he was working, and the assistant was well aware of that. Still,the phone kept ringing without a break, and eventually,the assistant couldn't ignore it any longer.

He paused at the entrance, eyes fixed on the name flashing across the phone screen, fingers curling tight at his side. After a moment's silence, he knocked twice and stepped inside.

Isaac didn't look up right away. When he did, his expression was hard, his eyes sharp. "What is it?" he asked.

The assistant stepped forward holding the phone. "Mr.Bennett, Miss Verena Willis has been calling repeatedly,so..."

As soon as the name "Miss Verena Willis" reached his ears, Isaac stretched out his hand to take the phone."Why didn't you hand it over sooner?"

There was a brief pause before the assistant answered,"You once told me you dislike interruptions while you're working."

That was true; Isaac had made that clear before. Without another word, he accepted the call from Verena.

Before he could speak, a gentle female voice drifted through. "Isaac, I miss you."

Soft and slightly nasal, the voice clung to him like a kitten in need of affection. The sound stopped him cold, and color rose along his cheeks.

A slight tremor passed through his hand, and for a second the phone nearly slipped before he caught it again.

With the office wrapped in silence, the assistant at his desk heard Verena's voice clearly.

The words startled him, for the Verena he recalled had always carried hersef with cool elegance.

That she could sound so tender in private was something he had never imagined.

Seeing his assistant's distracted expression, Isaac pressed his lips into a line, covered the receiver, and said,"Leave now."

Realizing he had overstepped, the assistant hurried out and closed the door behind him.

When the door clicked shut, Isaac uncovered the receiver again.

Verena's faint murmur continued, repeating the same phrase over and over.

For a moment, Isaac's thoughts stalled; this was not the woman he was used to.

Normally,she would never act in such a way.

Quietly,he asked, "Verena, what's happening with you?"

Her reply came with a girlish giggle. "Isaac, I really miss you... I'm sitting alone in a hotel room; will you come and be with me?"

Her words dragged slightly, slurred with drink, yet laced with playful sweetness.

A tight swallow moved through Isaac's throat twice.

Never before had he witnessed her with so little guard around her.

Oddly enough, the sensation of being needed by her brought a quiet sense of satisfaction.

Lowering his eyes, Isaac's lashes quivered faintly as he replied,"Fine."

Once the call ended, he gave orders to his assistant to have a car made ready Meanwhile, Verena forwarded the hotel's address and,for the first timne that evening, thought to freshen herself up.

She slipped out of the damp clothes clinging to her body and stepped beneath the shower spray.

When she finished drying off, she pulled on the bathrobe provided by the hotel.

Her head swam with dizziness, the alcohol heavy in her body, though her mind stayed sober.

And like many who drank too much, a reckless boldness stirred within her.

Verena had barely settled onto the bed when the sound of the doorbell reached her ears.