Edward woke up later in the morning, finding his neck stiff from sleeping on one side for teh whole night on the couch. He stood, stretching his body, and looked around.
Estella still wasn't home.
He was worried now as he couldn't find her or hear from her. It had been days.
He made another visit to her room, checking the bathroom as well to see for one last time but it was just as empty as last night. The half-opened door of her window was rattling as the heavy drops of rain hit it. He saw little streams of water rallying inside, beginning to ruin the carpet.
Pulling the curtain aside, he glanced outside the far house in the neighborhood for a quick glance before shutting it completely. The downpour made it impossible to figure out much.
He sighed in worry.
Back to the kitchen and with the proper daylight, he was now caught upon how out of place everything was. The undid dishes in the sink, spoiled food in the microwave, and hanging towels from the cabinets made him bite his nails. The kitchen was a mess. Estella wasn't any sort of attention–payer anyway but she likes things tidy.
By the afternoon he had cleaned every corner—did the dishes, wiped clean counters, as well as organized cabinets and boxes. The power was out so he stayed away from the fridge and put away the dirty laundry in the bathroom. It was then he noticed his phone was nowhere to be seen. His frustration grew.
When the rain began to settle down to a slow pace, he was exhausted from his search for his phone. Edward clearly remembered keeping it on the desk before falling asleep.
Finally giving up on searching he decided to leave and find Estella by the end of the night. He couldn't wait any longer to hold her. He couldn't imagine living without her any second longer. His life was now at its lowest point and all he could think of was ways to escape it.
…
There was no trace of Estella at the Penthouse either. The lines on his forehead deepened as he thought of the places she could be. Presently all she had was her mother and Tanya and Edward never had the care to exchange numbers with her friend. He never thought he'd be needing it the most now.
Frustrated and hungry, he decided to buy a new phone and a meal. The rain had stopped but it felt like the storm was coming. Everything has started annoying him. He couldn't rhyme with his heart or mind and Estella being not around was making it only worse.
As soon as he reached the end of the building, he saw the familiar face of Asher, his assistant with his car, abundantly waiting for his boss.
"Sir, we need to leave." He told Edward.
Puzzled, he glanced at him carefully. Asher was looking like he was standing on the edge of the cliff. Edward grew worried.
Something was wrong.
They went inside the car in hurry and before he had any time to spare, they were back at his house. Asher had kept quiet all the way and was unwilling to answer any of his questions. It didn't take Edward to realize who was pulling his string.
Mr. Blake had claimed his usual spot on the couch back in the living room. Edward saw him chatting with a man he thought he knew.
The man who he recognized as the deputy chief, shook hands with his father and walked past him, murmuring Edward something like 'lookout, Mr. Blake,' and went out.
He shot another glare at his assistant but Asher had his head down. Looking past the couch, her stepmother, Vanessa was standing near the kitchen, overlooking them, her forehead covered in lines.
"What is going—" Air was knocked out of him before Edward could finish. The slap stung his cheek, hot with anger as he stared back at his father.
Mr. Blake was in mayhem.
"I swear I regret even calling you my son. Or giving you my fucking name." Mr. Blake yelled. "I told you to take care of it and this is what you do?"
Gritting and trying to suppress the pent-up complaints he had inside him, he asked. "Maybe if one of you could speak then I just might say what and why I did it."
"This is it, Edward. I've had enough of you. This is the last thing you do." He spat before turning to Asher. "Have you located that poor guy?"
"Yes sir but he is unwilling to drop the lawsuit," Asher answered. "I've tried offering him everything but he refuses to oblige."
Frustrated, Mr. Blake said, "I guess now it is just him and I."
"Can anybody tell me what the fuck is going on?" Edward shouted only to be ignored by both of them. Elvis was nowhere to be seen.
Mr. Blake left the house and Edward guessed from the look he wore on his face, someone's fate would be doomed by the end of the day.
Without waiting anymore he was at Asher like a hungry cheetah, his eyes scathing him. By that time, Vanessa had come to them. "Edward, are you okay?"
Mustering all the manners he could, he calmly ordered her to leave. Helplessly, she had gone, leaving them alone. If something disastrous had happened, he needed his head to be clear and Vanessa couldn't help her.
Asher was now facing him. "It's the clip. And it is everywhere."
"What?" It was the worst. How could it happen? The clip of his deed out like this in the world only meant the end of his career. There was no way he had any stairs left to climb as he saw himself tumbling down. "But we made sure it was gone."
"Yes, sir. " Asher looked like he would die of guilt. "I made sure it was gone. The guy who filmed it, everything. We seized all his devices, and cross-checked."
"He had a copy somewhere,"
"It was hard to believe 'cause he didn't know you or your background well," Asher said. "But now it seems like it. We are trying to get it to work and find out from where it has been released. "
Edward collapsed on the couch, his head and heart aching. "What is Mr. Blake doing?"
"He is trying to get you not arrested," Asher said. "So he left to meet the man you beat."
"He is suing me?"
Asher nodded. "Yes. He returned the money we had offered him. It seems like someone made him change his mind."
"Who could have possibly known?" Edward said. "And why am I getting to know this now?"
"We called you but couldn't reach you. That is why I left to find you before there is an arrest."
Edward shot up, running his fingers over his forehead. "My phone. It's gone."
"What do you mean it's gone?" Asher was pale. "Sir, I don't know if you remember but I sent you the clip when you asked me."
Edward's mind was running like a computer system. The coincidences were way to be specific. He couldn't pin his thoughts that the way to his demise was through his phone. It must be at Estella's. He had left it there somewhere.
Estella.
How could he forget her? Did she see the video? Was his truth out to her too? Was that the reason she didn't return?
She was the last straw to the human self of him he had grown to like. What would happen if she came to know of his other life? The darkest of all. The cruelest of all.
His thoughts came to halt as Asher's phone rang. He chatted over, quickly ending the call and passing Edward the scariest look ever. "We found out where the video came from?"
"It's not my phone, right?"
He hesitated before answering. "It is!"
"I had my phone this morning."
"The video came out early in the morning," Asher said when his phone gave another ring. He lifted his phone, the look on his face scrunched with complications. His eyes searched for the answer as he came closer to Edward handing him his phone. "You are calling me!"
His name was indeed on the screen.
He picked up.
"Hey, Edward!"
His stomach was in knots. "No, this can't be!"
"Except for the fact where it is."
Edward moved away from his assistant, keeping a watchful distance. "Estella, what the hell did you do?"
"You should ask yourself." She shouted. "How could you?"
"This is a misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding, my ass you fucking liar." She said. "Two years it had been and even after we came this far, how could you keep me in the dark."
"Where are you?" He paid close attention to the other side of the line but it was only her voice. He grew impatient and asked Asher to leave him alone. "Let's meet and I can explain."
"So you can manipulate me even more? We are over." She shouted.
"We will never be over." Edward deadpanned. "We are now one. I'll never let you go."
"You wish!" She sneered. "You've used enough of your sad little pathetic stories. I believed you like the stupidest person ever and let you in my house so you could play a kind fucking saver while you beat people to death behind everyone's back."
"Estella," his fingers lingered tightly around the phone. "Did you put out the video for the world to see?"
She chuckled. "Oh, this is nothing compared to what you did. I hope I took something from you just the way you took my trust and walked all over it."
"You have no idea what you've done."
"I know what I'm doing."
"No, you don't." He said. "You really don't. You've put a target on your back."
"Are you telling me I'm your next victim?" She said. "Go ahead, do your best, Edward but I won't lie down and let you walk on me like that again."
"You should have come to me," Edward said. "At least once. I have never felt the need to be loved by someone like that. "
"I'll be the death of you only." She said. "You crossed and blurred every sane line. Why? What did you get out of it? Did I look like a target to you? Or you being psycho isn't just enough?"
Edward's blood boiled. "Say what you can say now, Estella but if you think this is all it takes to take me down... then you've started from nowhere."
"Bark all you want." She said. "You know I learned the thing you cherish the most—The company, right. Good luck with the public and media. Your true face is out in the world."
"I cherish you the most but you have stepped on the wrong foot." He said in an eerily calm tone. "And there is no escaping now that you've entered my world."
"There is no space in your world where I can breathe."
"Well then prepare yourself, Estella." He argued. "I'm coming back for you!"