Chapter 4

Missy kept a close eye on Ronald's face.

He looked like a storm was brewing inside him, his lips pressed into a tight line, and a cold vibe radiating off him.

"Hey Ronald, what's going on? You okay?" Missy asked softly, reaching out to smooth the crease on his forehead.

Ronald jerked away from her touch, his voice icy. "I'm fine."

Missy's hand hung in the air, a flicker of hurt in her eyes, but she quickly hid it.

She sighed. "Elsie is not in the least bit considerate. All she cares about is her performances. Fame and fortune are all she sees; she doesn't care about you at all."

Missy hesitated, like she was scared of pissing Ronald, or maybe she wanted to bring it up on purpose. "If your grandma hadn't forced you to marry Elsie, you wouldn't be stuck with such a cold wife now."

Ronald's visage grew even grimmer..

Four years ago, the York family hit rock bottom. It was about to go under. His dad got locked up and eventually died in jail.Just when he found himself at an impasse, the Borgia family and the Forbes family stepped in, willing to help him out. But the catch was he had to marry Elsie.

Back then, he had no choice but to give in to Elsie's manipulative ways, breaking his promise to Missy and marrying her.

That was the darkest time in Ronald's life.

Now, because of Elsie's jealousy and spite, Missy was hurt again.

"Don't bring her up again," Ronald's voice was low, full of suppressed anger.

He pulled out his phone, seeing Elsie's message about the divorce. After he replied, "I have time tomorrow," she just responded with "Fine," which made him even angrier.

Missy, with her sharp eyes, saw the message on Ronald's phone, a tiny hint of joy flashing in her eyes.

Pretending to be concerned, she said, "Elsie must be throwing a fit. She relies on the Borgia family's support, so she thinks she can act however she wants. Ronald, don't take it seriously. She just wants you to sweet-talk her."

"Does she think I won't divorce her?" Ronald sneered.

He had already hurt Missy too much for Elsie. Now Elsie dared to push her luck even further. He wanted to see how far she would go.

"Tomorrow, I'll set things straight with her. She can't keep playing these cheap tricks." Ronald rubbed his temples, his tone softening a bit. "I've been really busy lately, so I might not have much time to spend with you. Take care of yourself."

Missy nodded obediently. "I'll do as you say."

Ronald's expression softened a bit, deciding to give Elsie the cold shoulder as a lesson.

The next day, he didn't go to City Hall.

Meanwhile, Elsie waited at City Hall for an hour before calmly heading back to the villa.

She started packing her things, including clothes, books, music scores, and some handmade items.

There weren't many things, yet they had accompanied her for four years.

Ronald didn't like bright colors. His room, like him, was cold and lifeless.

Since Elsie moved in, she had filled the room with her stuff, boldly changing its style.

Maybe it was the only bold thing she had done. Ronald merely furrowed his brow upon seeing it at the time, saying nothing and letting her do as she wished.

The irises she adored were placed by her bedside, while piano models in various colors adorned the shelves. Her handmade trinkets, endearing and delicate, were also displayed there, as well as her medals and photographs from competitions, each taking a prominent place.

Before leaving the room, Elsie took one last look, feeling a strange mix of calm and relief.Removing all items that belonged to her, the room once more became desolate and cold. It was like Elsie had been erased from Ronald's world.

Downstairs, Dina, the old housekeeper who had always looked after Elsie, waited anxiously.

Seeing Elsie busy packing, she couldn't help but ask, "Mrs. York, are you moving out? Did you and Mr. York have a fight?"

Elsie stopped, turned, and gave Dina a reassuring smile, using sign language to say, "I'm fine. I just want to live somewhere else."

Dina didn't buy it. She had seen how much Elsie loved Ronald over the years.

Elsie had risked her life to save Ronald, and their relationship had slowly gotten better. How could it come to this?

She secretly called Ronald. "Mr. York, Mrs. York seems to be moving out. You should come back and see."

Ronald's tone was cold. "Let her move. Don't worry about her."

After hanging up, Ronald irritably tossed his phone aside and got back to work.

Ronald thought Elsie was just throwing a tantrum and would come back in a few days.

It wasn't until two days had passed that he suddenly realized he hadn't received a message from Elsie in a long time, which inexplicably filled him with displeasure.

When he got home, the villa was empty.

Ronald habitually took off his coat, draping it over the sofa, but Elsie didn't come over to take it and hand him his slippers like she usually did.

He sat at the dining table, but there was no warm cup of water waiting for him.

The whole villa was eerily quiet, with only his own breathing echoing in the space.

Ronald then remembered that since he married Elsie, Dina only occasionally came to clean. Elsie had taken care of everything in the villa herself.

She always said she liked the quiet world of just the two of them and didn't want too many people around.

She would prepare his breakfast every day, match different dishes to his liking, iron his clothes, massage him when he was tired, and stay by his side silently when he had insomnia...

He had always taken these things for granted.

He even thought Elsie had no career of her own and only revolved around him, making her seem worthless.

Ronald told himself he just wasn't used to it yet.

In a few days, Elsie would realize her mistake and come back.

But he felt a growing sense of unease.

Ronald walked to the balcony and looked down. Even the garden seemed empty.

Elsie loved flowers and had filled the garden with all kinds. Each day, she devoted considerable time to tending to them, watering, fertilizing, and pruning the foliage.

She said seeing the flowers made her happy. Now, the garden was just bare branches, looking particularly desolate.

Ronald lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag.

The nicotine didn't calm him down; it made him more restless.

Returning to the bedroom, he found that Elsie had indeed moved out completely.

All of Elsie's belongings were gone, leaving the room empty.

Even her favorite piano models and medals were gone, leaving only a pot of irises by the bed, maybe too difficult to take.

The closet was half empty, with only Ronald's suits and shirts hanging there, still showing signs of being freshly ironed.

Suddenly, Ronald felt a pang in his heart, a strange sense of panic.

It seemed like something important was slipping away.