Chapter 5
"How?! How did she go missing?!"
Remy stormed into the living room.
His mother was sitting on a chair, distraught and flabbergasted, Kale was next to her, watching her closely, he had rushed in shortly before Remy did.
Kale silently pointed to her.
"She raised the alarm."
"Mother? What happened?"
He pressed as he crouched next to her.
"Tell me."
His mother sighed.
"She asked me for a tour. We were out in the gardens and she said she wanted to stay out for a bit. I told I she couldn't... but she looked so sad and then she asked for some privacy in the garden. I gave her some and went to stand by the door...."
"...Antonio called me over and I was distracted a bit, then I heard someone saying the gate had been opened. I went to check her in the gardens and found out she was gone."
"There was no one at the gate. No one on guard since you sent them all to the annex."
Kale explained and Remy groaned. He clenched and unclenched his fist. This couldn't possibly be happening.
"What do I do?! Do I send men after her?!"
Kale asked and Remy shook his head.
"No need. She's my mate. I'll deal with her myself."
He muttered as he stormed out of the living room.
Outside the house, he took a more relaxed pace as he walked.
He wondered if Valentina had lost her senses alongside her memory, because if she thought she was getting out of the woods easily and finding a stranger to take her to god knows where then she must have hit her head really hard.
When the startling realisation hits her that there was no other mansion outside for miles she would come back to her senses.
In the meantime he enjoyed the walk, while slowly and steadily following her scent.
Valentina ran through the woods. She kept running, for a solid three minutes before her lungs gave out and she collapsed on the ground. Nobody was running after her, so she could take a breather.
She had not planned her escape as well as she wanted to, but when the opportunity had presented herself, she wasn't about to lose it.
If she did, that would mean going back to being locked in a room by her abusive husband.
And no, she wasn't about to stay in a locked room. Not anymore.
But gods where the hell was she?
There were no other houses, no lights, she had kept off the main road to avoid being seen, but it seemed as if the woods was a more dangerous option, she was surprised that she could even see so well in the dark.
She sat on the floor, her knees under dirt and grass and rocks and she tried to listen for cars or anything.
Nothing.
Nothing but the sound of the forest all around her. Which was beginning to sound increasingly scary.
It was probably a bad idea to leave in the dead of the night.
She might be in the middle of nowhere for all she could tell.
She slowly tried to stand up, her knees wobbly in the process.
She couldn't run anymore, she had exhausted all her stamina. She would have to walk, but maybe this time she should go back to the main road.
There was something frightening about the forest and the darkness.
She headed back to the direction that led to the road.
As expected the road was empty. It didn't even look like it was normally used.
Maybe she was stupid to have left.
Would she ever find someone who would help her? And if the person she found tried to hurt her, what would she do?
She thought as she paused.
Remy followed her scent, into the woods and out of the woods, till he saw a figure on the lone road.
He paused a bit, she looked confused and from afar she looked thin and frail. He started walking after her, slowly, hoping she wouldn't pick up the pace so he wouldnt have to run after her.
Actually, he could use a little run, he thought as he rubbed his chin.
After was seemed like forever, she finally turned her head and saw him straight ahead.
She paused for a second, as if trying to see if he could help or not, he drew closer to her, then he gave a slight wave.
She must have recognized him, because she slowly took off her shoes and broke out into a run.
"My god. You're relentless."
He breathed as he watched her tiny legs run, barely covering a mile.
Remy followed her, he started off with a light jog and then he increased his speed. He closed the gap between them in seconds and he got close enough to call out her name.
"Valentina stop this!"
He called out.
She started screaming.
Like a maniac. Her voice was shrill and loud, Remy was distracted by the noise. He didn't think he had heard her scream before. And he wondered why the hell she was screaming.
In one swoop, he lifted her off her feet and threw her over his shoulder. All the weight she must have lost made her feel light as a feather.
She started hitting his back.
"Put me down!! Goddamn it! Put me down now!!"
"You should be grateful I came to get you. This isn't safe."
He retorted. She growled at him.
"I don't care! I just want to be as far away from you as humanely possible."
Remy paused. Her words stung a bit.
"Really?! And where would you go? You have nobody else but me."
"I don't believe you! You're lying!"
She attacked.
"Now why would I lie to you?"
"I'm your husband!!!"
He answered. It was the second time he was telling her, second or third but nevertheless she didn't believe believe him. For whatever reason, she didn't believe him.
Valentina huffed and got silent. She stopped hitting him too.
"There's nobody here. You'd have to wander for hours before finding even a car."
She didn't reply.
"Next time you want to escape, think very deeply about it before you put yourself in a situaution where I will have to save you. Again."
"I dont need saving!"
She scoffed.
Remy paused, then he recklessly dropped her like a hot potato.
She glared at him, panting slightly as she struggled on her feet.
"Fine! You can walk back home yourself!!!"
He still held on to her hand, just to make sure she wouldn't break out in a run.
They were both silent, the two of them not saying anything as they wordlessly walked beside each other. After a short while, Remy noticed that Valentina was struggling to keep up with his pace, even though he was walking as slow as he could. He glanced at her and saw that she was tired.
So tired that she could pass out any minute.
Wordlessly, he pulled her to him and carried her in his arms.
"Hey!!!"
She weakly protested, but did nothing else.
She was too tired to refuse his help. She let him carry her all the way home.
"Dr Calloway. There are some men here to see you. They are asking about that woman."
Calloway looked up from his laptop. It was a nurse.
"What woman?"
"The woman that was here yesterday, the one who came back from the dead."
Calloway rolled his eyes, he was about to reprimand the nurse before he decdied to let it go.
"Who did they say they were?"
"They didn't say much and they looked suspicious so I didn't tell them anything either."
"Okay. That's good."
He murmured as he stood up from his desk.
For some reason, he also couldn't stop thinking about the woman and the husband who had taken her away. He wondered how she was doing and the circumstances that had led to her death.
The men outside did looking menacing, tall imposing, dressed in all black coats. They also had dark sunshades on.
"Gentlemen. May I help you?"
He asked as he stretched out a hand. They didn't take it. None of them.
He wordlessly withdrew his hand.
"We heard there was a body deposited at your morgue. We're here to claim the body."
Calloway raised his eyebrow.
"What body?"
He asked.
"A woman. Her name is Valentina. We're here to pick up her body."
"I see."
He murmured as he rubbed his chin.
"And who might you be to this woman?"
The man in the middle who had been talking glanced at the other men in turn before he turned back to the Doctor.
"A very close friend."
He answered.
Calloway grimaced.
"Sorry but the woman you're asking for left the hospital yesterday."
"Left the hospital?!"
He repeated and Calloway nodded his head.
"She wasn't dead. Just some misunderstanding. She went home yesterday."
"That's impossible!"
The man at the far end yelled.
The middle one glared at him.
Calloway suspected something more was happening. Or going to happen.
"You are sure of this?"
One of them asked him and Calloway scoffed.
"I treated her myself. And if you bothered to hear the local news you'd know the whole town has been talking about her all day! People thought she was dead."
After a short uncomfortable silence. One of them cleared his throat.
"Thank you doctor."
He said and they marched out of his sight.
His nurse ran up to him.
"Bizarre isn't it?!"
She asked and Calloway nodded his head.
"Bizarre indeed."