Four months later…
The days had grown longer, and the nights colder. For Kimberly, time no longer had meaning. The walls of her room became her prison — her windows, her only view of freedom. Every morning, she woke up hoping it was all a bad dream. Every night, she cried herself to sleep praying Roy would walk through her door.
But he never did.
Four months.Four long, painful months.
Natasha had done everything called every contact, questioned every friend, even hired her detective friend to search for Roy. But he was nowhere to be found. Not a single trace. No phone calls. No sightings. Nothing. It was like he had vanished off the face of the earth.
Each passing day broke Kimberly a little more. The once bright, cheerful heiress who filled every room with laughter had become a ghost of herself. Her skin grew pale, her hair often tangled, and her smile — gone.
She stopped eating regularly. Some days she just stared out the window, whispering his name to the wind.
"Roy… where are you?"
Natasha came to see her every other day, sneaking in through the back entrance. Each time, she found Kimberly sitting by the window, lost in thought.
"Kimb," Natasha whispered one morning as she closed the door quietly behind her. "You need to eat something."
"I'm not hungry," Kimberly said without looking at her.
"You've been saying that for days. You'll make yourself sick."
Kimberly turned slowly, her eyes swollen from crying. "Maybe if I'm sick enough, Father will finally let me go."
Natasha sighed, walking closer. "Don't talk like that."
"Then tell me what to do, Tasha," she said, her voice breaking. "Every night I dream about him. Every time I close my eyes, I see him getting beaten, bleeding… and I couldn't save him."
Natasha swallowed hard, her heart aching for her cousin. "We'll find him, Kimb. We will."
Kimberly shook her head. "No, Tasha. We won't. He's gone. They've done something to him I feel it."
She buried her face in her palms and began to cry quietly.
Natasha knelt beside her, hugging her tightly. "Don't say that, okay? You have to hold on. Don't let them break you."
But Kimberly didn't reply. She just stared blankly at the floor.
Weeks turned into months.
Her father's patience had run thin. He had tried kindness at first, sending her gifts, soft words, promises of freedom if she only agreed to continue with the wedding. But she refused every time.
Now his tone had changed.
He stormed into her room one evening, his face red with anger. "Enough is enough, Kimberly!" he shouted. "You will marry Kelvin Reid, and that's final!"
Kimberly stood up slowly, her eyes dull but her voice firm. "I won't."
Her father's nostrils flared. "You will do as I say, young lady!"
"I'd rather die than marry that man!"
Her father's hand slammed against the table. "Do you know what you're saying? You're throwing away your future, your inheritance, everything your mother and I worked for!"
Kimberly's tears finally spilled over. "You're not doing this for me, Father! You're doing this for your business! You're selling me off like property!"
"Watch your mouth!" he barked.
She stepped closer, trembling. "You've already taken my phone, my freedom, and the only person who ever made me feel alive what else is left to take?"
Her father's eyes turned dark, colder than ever. "Don't test me, Kimberly. If you continue being stubborn, I'll have you locked up in a rehabilitation center. You'll stay there until you come to your senses."
Kimberly gasped. "You can't do that!"
"Oh, I can," he said calmly. "And I will. You've embarrassed me long enough. You're no longer the sweet daughter I raised you're becoming a disgrace."
Her lips trembled. "You turned me into this."
For a moment, silence filled the room just the sound of her shaky breathing. Then her father turned toward the door.
"You have one week, Kimberly," he said coldly. "One week to behave. Or I'll make sure you never see daylight again."
The door slammed shut behind him.
Kimberly collapsed to the floor, sobbing into her hands.
The following days were worse.
Her meals were reduced to twice a day. The guards outside her room no longer allowed her to take walks in the garden. She was watched constantly like a criminal.
But she didn't give up trying to escape.
Her first attempt had been reckless she tried to sneak out through the servant's corridor, but one of the guards caught her. The second time, she tried climbing through the balcony at night using tied bedsheets, but she slipped and bruised her leg.
The third time, she and Natasha planned it together.
It was a rainy night. Natasha had distracted the guards with a fake car crash at the gate while Kimberly sneaked out through the kitchen door. They almost made it to the backyard when the security lights flicked on and the dogs started barking.
"Run, Kimb!" Natasha screamed.
But it was too late. The guards caught them both.
Her father's anger that night was unlike anything she had ever seen.
He threw a glass of wine across the room, shattering it against the wall. "You've gone too far this time, Kimberly!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the mansion.
"Uncle, please," Natasha pleaded, stepping in front of her cousin. "It was my fault. Don't blame her"
"Silence!" he barked.
He turned to Kimberly, his eyes burning with rage. "If you ever try to run again, I will lock you in the dungeon. Do you hear me? The dungeon!"
Kimberly froze. "You wouldn't dare."
"Oh, I would," he said coldly. "And if you keep influencing your cousin," his eyes shifted sharply to Natasha "I'll make sure she's married off to one of those ruthless drug barons who owe me favors."
Natasha's eyes widened in horror. "You wouldn't"
"I would," Mr. Hayes interrupted. "Don't test me."
Kimberly fell to her knees, grabbing her father's legs, tears running down her cheeks. "Please, Father, don't hurt her. She's innocent."
He didn't even look at her. "Then behave like the daughter I raised."
He turned to the guards. "Take her back to her room. No visitors. No food tonight."
"Uncle, please!" Natasha cried, but the guards were already pulling Kimberly away.
As she was dragged down the hall, Kimberly looked back one last time. Natasha's face was streaked with tears, her hands shaking.
That night, Kimberly lay in bed, clutching her pillow, shaking from fear and heartbreak. The rain outside poured heavily, mirroring the storm inside her.
"Roy," she whispered into the darkness, "where are you?"
Her tears fell silently until sleep finally took her.
Far away, in a hidden mansion deep in the countryside, Roy stood before a large mirror. His face was healed now, but his heart wasn't. His reflection was cold the man staring back at him wasn't the same man who once smiled around Kimberly.
He was Lord Christian again the man driven by revenge.
Behind him, Madame Elena entered the room quietly. "You've been silent for days," she said softly. "The board is waiting for your decision."
Roy didn't look at her. "I'm not done yet."
"Are you sure you can still separate business from emotion?"
He turned slowly, his jaw tight. "She's just a piece of the puzzle. Once I finish what I started, I'll disappear for good."
Elena studied him carefully, her eyes narrowing. "You keep saying that, but the way you talk about her tells another story."
Roy's voice dropped to a whisper. "The only thing I feel now… is anger."
Elena sighed, turning to leave. "Then make sure you use it wisely."
As the door closed, Roy looked back at his reflection again.
Somewhere deep down, he still saw her Kimberly smiling like the first day they met.
His heart clenched painfully.
He clenched his fist. "Soon," he muttered under his breath. "I'll come for you, Kimb. But when I do… everything will change."