Three days after their big fight, Ronan had gone abroad with his daughter and Mia for a short vacation.
Now, he was back.
He called one of the housemaids, Hanosa.
"Where is Sarah?" he asked flatly while taking off his coat.
"Is she in her room? Ask her when I can come in."
Hanosa lowered her head politely before answering carefully.
"I'm sorry, Sir. Madam Sarah hasn't returned yet. She left this morning. Maybe she'll be home soon."
Ronan only nodded.
After the maid left, Ronan walked toward Sarah's room.
After sleeping with Mia at her apartment, he planned to do the same with Sarah tonight. But now, he lay on Sarah's bed, watching an adult video he had filmed with Mia. His reason was simple-he could never get aroused by his wife anymore.
So he started to foreplay himself while waiting for her.
But an hour passed. The clock on the wall showed eleven at night, and Ronan was still sitting on the edge of Sarah's bed with a dark expression.
He frowned and stared at the window covered by curtains.
Sarah had never stayed out this late before. Her routine was always the same-come home on time, eat dinner quietly, then spend time with Shenina before going to sleep.
But tonight was different.
The silence in the house made his chest feel tight with a feeling he could not describe-a mix of anxiety and irritation.
He finally reached for his phone, intending to call her.
But as soon as he opened his contact list, his fingers froze. The list was long, filled with names of business partners, his secretary, even a few women who shouldn't still be there.
But there wasn't a single name that belonged to Sarah.
He frowned, staring at the screen that had no trace of his wife's number.
Only tonight did he realize something so simple that after six years of marriage, he had never even saved his wife's phone number.
Ronan exhaled deeply, holding back a frustration he couldn't explain. He walked out of the room and went downstairs with heavy steps.
Hanosa, the loyal maid who had served since his parents' time, looked uneasy when Ronan stopped in front of the kitchen.
"Hanosa," Ronan said softly but sharply. "Give me Sarah's phone number."
Hanosa hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes, Sir." She took a small notebook from the table and wrote down a few digits on a piece of paper.
"This is the number Madam often uses," she said cautiously.
Ronan snatched the paper without a word of thanks and went back upstairs. His footsteps were quick and heavy, showing how tense his mind was that night.
As soon as he returned to Sarah's room, he dialed the number.
The call tone rang... once, twice, five times.
No answer.
Ronan clenched his jaw. He tried again, but still no response.
His mind began to fill with a mix of anger and something he hated to admit-worry.
"Where did that woman go at this hour?" he muttered under his breath.
He threw the phone onto the bed, then grabbed it again roughly.
This time, he typed a message in all capital letters.
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
"COME HOME. NOW."
The message was sent, and the screen showed that it was delivered.
But an hour passed, and there was still no sign of it being read.
Ronan stared at his phone, his face tense. Every second that passed made his blood boil even more. He gripped the phone so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
There was nothing Ronan Vexler hated more than being ignored. And tonight, the wife he always thought was obedient had dared to ignore him.
"How dare you ignore me, Sarah..." he whispered coldly, his voice filled with barely restrained fury.
He cursed under his breath and threw the phone back onto the bed.
"When you get home, I swear you'll regret this," he growled. "I'll make sure of it."
He began pacing back and forth in the room, his mind full of suspicion. Where could she have gone this late?
To her family's house?
No. Sarah would never dare return to the Langford residence. He knew that she hated the scornful looks from her family.
Then where?
Ronan frowned, his thoughts turning to a darker possibility. Did Sarah have another man?
Was she dating someone tonight?
His jaw tightened, and his eyes gleamed dangerously. But a moment later, he brushed the thought away with a bitter laugh.
"Impossible," he muttered with a scoff. "Sarah isn't that brave."
He sat back on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the silent phone.
"You're too stupid and weak to cheat," he said quietly, half mocking.
"Besides, what kind of man would even want a woman like you?"
A crooked smile formed on his lips. "A pathetic drama queen. Fragile and pitiful."
Ronan leaned back against the headboard, staring at the ceiling as his eyelids grew heavy.
But before he drifted to sleep, one thought crossed his mind-a faint, uneasy feeling he couldn't shake off.
And that night, Sarah did not come home. It was the first time in six years of their marriage that she stayed out all night.
