You Had Me, You Lost Me, You'll Never Find Me novel Chapter 16

Ashton didn't return to his residence until well after ten o'clock. It was a massive three-story luxury penthouse in the heart of the city's most expensive district, seamlessly connected across all three floors, maintained by a dedicated cleaning crew and private chef.

Because Sylvia hadn't taken anything with her when she left, the staff hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Ashton had called Sylvia three times on the drive back, only to get a busy signal each time.

He didn't even consider the possibility that she had blocked his number.

He simply assumed she was on the phone with someone else, chatting away for over an hour.

But he knew Sylvia better than anyone; she didn't have many friends she would talk to for that long.

The woman preferred texting and rarely made actual phone calls.

Because of this, a petty sliver of suspicion gnawed at Ashton, accompanied by a bitter surge of jealousy he refused to acknowledge, prompting him to order his driver to speed up.

When he finally arrived, the penthouse was empty, the bed completely cold.

There was no sign of the woman anywhere.

Checking the time, he saw it was nearly eleven. Usually, she would have been desperately texting him to come home by now, but tonight, there was absolute silence. It was this late, and she was still out running wild.

He tossed the takeout container of spicy BBQ ribs onto the table and fired off two voice messages.

[Where are you?]

[When are you coming back?]

He tapped the screen to replay his own messages, his tone sounding icy and impatient.

A few minutes passed, and there was still no response.

He figured Sylvia was probably just wandering around the shopping district, still fuming over their argument.

He had been excessively harsh with his words earlier that day.

Afraid he had genuinely pissed her off, Ashton softened his tone slightly as he recorded a third message.

He glanced at the clock again. It was well past eleven.

Leaning back on the plush sofa, Ashton pulled a small velvet box from his pocket. Inside sat a pair of matching sapphire rings he had impulsively purchased at a high-end auction that morning.

He dialed over a dozen times, but it remained "busy" every single time.

Ashton furrowed his dark brows, a chilling darkness flashing in his predatory gaze. Ha. She actually blocked his number.

He switched back to the messaging app and sent another voice note. "I brought you BBQ ribs. Are you eating them or not? If you don't answer, I'm throwing them out."

He knew Sylvia loved those ribs, especially the ones from that specific spot on the west side of town. He had intentionally gone out of his way to buy them. Ashton never ate street food, and if it weren't for Sylvia's cravings, he wouldn't have even bothered stepping foot near the place.

The takeout had left a strong, lingering scent in the enclosed car, and the spicy aroma was currently filling the entire living room.

After sending the message, Ashton walked over to crack a window open, then picked up his phone again. He glanced at the screen, and his gaze instantly locked on the display.

A glaring red exclamation mark sat next to his message.

It was the universal sign of being blocked.

Ha.

This woman really was testing her luck.