Remorse and regret

Liam's POV

"What are you talking about?" my head buzzed. Forgetting my pain, I sat up, my heart suspended in my throat. "speak!" I thundered.

He looked at me with a sneer, "I'm not your employee, Liam. I owe you nothing."

I gritted my teeth, frustration building inside of me. Lee was the only one who could talk to me like this and go scot free. Our friendship dated back to high school, where he got into our school through a scholarship program. He was serious with his academics, but became the bullied student, however, when I took interest in him, no one dared to bully him after that. Since then, we have become inseparable.

"You're very angry," I mumble, my eyes fixed on him.

"Should I not be? I called you repeatedly, but you never answered nor did you return my calls, you asshole! Jessica also called you too!"

My brows creased. I never received any calls. I took my phone and searched through the call logs; the last time Lee and I spoke was last month. As for Jessica, her call came once, and that was yesterday. "She didn't call me," a rebuttal slipped from my lips.

"I was there. She called you repeatedly, and the last time, I don't know what you told her but she turned pale and passed out."

'Zoey.' She's the only person I could think of. My assistants are allowed to answer my calls, but for the past one week, only Zoey has been around me. Clearly, she had answered Jessica's calls without telling me. I shut my eyes, my mind reeling.

The thought of losing a child I didn't even know was there, was not as painful as knowing my wife went through so much without me by her side. I felt horrible, like I killed my child with my own hands.

I took a deep breath, my eyes shut tight. "How is she? What is she like?" I can't even find the courage to go see her.

"She's your wife, man. If you don't know, how would I?"

A sharp pain stabbed my heart. True, if a husband doesn't know about his wife's well-being, who would?

Slowly opening my eyes, I inquired. "You're her doctor…how was her body?"

He sighed, "Jessica was stressed, both mentally and physically, reason she lost her pregnancy. She lost a lot of weight, I'm sure you didn't notice." he looked at me and snorted with disdain. "How could you treat her like that?!" he suddenly went berserk.

"She was a happy girl who would do anything as long as it made you happy! She didn't care about herself at all, but you were her first and greatest concern! Not only did you bring your ex into her matrimonial home, strip her of her right as your wife, you gave her title to Zoey!" he paused to catch his breath.

"The whole media is calling Zoey, Mrs. Crawford, your wife! And Jessica, aside from your circle of friends and family, who else knows her as your wife? How much more shameless did you intend to be? Liam?!"

That was a wrong accusation but I didn't refute him. Listening to him talk, I finally realized that I'd treated Jessica wrongly. But I had my reasons, ones that no one would understand.

Honestly, I thought Jessica and I were on the same page. She didn't complain when I brought Zoey home at first. She never said anything about not being announced to the world as my wife. Whenever I came home, she was always smiling and waiting for me in the living room, until suddenly, she started to exhibit extreme jealousy towards Zoey, to the extent of asking a maid to poison her.

I had the maid dealt with before she confessed that Jessica had asked her to do it. I didn't know Jessica before our marriage, and three years wasn't enough for a busy person like me to understand her fully.

But Zoey was different. She and I shared a nanny, we literally grew up under the same roof, she was like a sister to me, except that she wasn't. Our mothers were best of friends and from childhood, they already told us we were meant to be. Zoey and I were inseparable, we attended the same school, everyone knew us to be lovers. Our social cycle was the same, except that she and Lee didn't see eye to eye.

How could I not believe her words over anyone else's? But after what she did with the aphrodisiac, the pure image of her in my memory had started to distort. If she could do that to me, just to force me to sleep with her and end my marriage, I can't say what else she could do or had done to drive a wedge between Jessica and I.

I took a deep breath and called Micheal, instructing him to get in touch with the telecommunication company and have my call history, messages, and emails restored. At the same time, I wanted a detailed call report from when Zoey started handling my phone.

Lee stared at me with shock. I knew he was curious but I wasn't going to satiate his curiosity. I got down from bed after my symptoms had been suppressed. It was time to go bring my wife back home. I believed she was at her parents' or friend's house, but when I got to both places, I was petrified to find out she wasn't there.

Where is my wife?

I turned the city upside down, made announcements to the media and even placed a hefty bounty as a reward for whoever could give up her location, but two years flew by without a trace of my wife.

I didn't believe that Jessica left the country. First off, she had no one abroad; she'd never left the country before, meaning, she had no visa. I checked with the airports and my guess was right, she didn't leave. Even the ports, terminals, and bus stations confirmed they didn't see such a person. Jessica was not captured in their CCTV footage and tickets.

Which meant two things; she was still in the country, or had left in a disguise…but no transaction was made from her accounts. In fact, she left her credit cards behind.

…

I've never been this miserable, powerless, and broken in my life. These past two years had not only mocked my existence as the most powerful man in Country A, it also made me realize that Jessica wasn't just the girl I married without love, but had actually managed to steal a part of me, leaving my life in shambles - my decision making skills has been affected.

No deal I tried to make for those two years was successful. It felt like the forces of the world were against me. My brother had rallied the board of directors behind him and they concluded it was time I stepped down.

I also wanted to step down. I've lost my confidence, my health, and my mind. The vote for who would be the next president of the company was already ongoing as we speak, and I was just looking out the window, at the city, a whiskey in hand.

"Boss!" Micheal's excited voice pierced through my thoughts.

I didn't even realize he'd entered the office. "Has the new president been decided?"

"Your wife…"

My head snapped at him, eyes wide with anticipation. "Where is she?" my fists clenched, awaiting the good news. I've never allowed myself to think of the worst; that my wife was dead. I'd always believed she was alive somewhere.

"She was found at the Capital's airport in Country M…YOUR WIFE IS RETURNING TO THE COUNTRY!" he screamed in excitement.

My hand quivered as my glass slipped from my hold. My heart beat rapidly in my chest, it felt like a dream. Or was I dreaming?

"Slap me," I mumbled but the next second, Micheal struck, a fierce, powerful punch that knocked me off my feet.

My eyes widened as I glared at him. "Do you have a death wish!"

He quickly lowered his head and apologized but I felt he was unapologetic. Was he holding a grudge?

Well, that was the least of my problems. I straightened up and ordered, "Go disrupt that vote. I'm not stepping down anymore…"

Before I completed my order, Micheal's head had shot up like a snake's. "Yes, boss!" he thundered, bowed and dashed out.

Speechlessness washed over me. I knew my people weren't happy about my state in those two years but I never thought it was this serious. Moreover, I planned to pay them off with a reasonable amount to help them build-start their lives.

A soft chuckle escaped my bruised lip, I couldn't remember the last time I'd smiled, let alone laughed for two years.

I walked into my office's executive room to freshen up and go wait for my wife at the airport. I can't quit my position as the president of the company anymore, because my wife has to be doted on, spoiled, respected, and protected…all the things I failed to give her in the past, she shall have them all this time.