James' P.O.V

"There's no way that none of you didn't saw her leaving! You. Weren't you on your shift last night?" I pointed my eyes at Benjamin. I panicked when I first discovered that she was not in bed and didn't respond to me calling out her name.

"I was off duty, Sir. I'm sure the CCTV camera caught her, have you checked on them?" He asked. He thought I was that fool not to check them first?

"Yes, I have," I replied with a hard tone. I had checked every corner of this house, but still, there was no sign of her. I was helpless after realizing that she was gone. Half of her clothes were gone and I knew then, she had left the house.

She was acting normal and I found nothing suspicious. I turned to Nicholas and gave him an eyeful.

"You drove her yesterday. Where did she go?" I asked. My heart felt uneasy and I hadn't been resting well. Why did she decide to leave without telling me a thing?

"I drove her to Diane's house and nowhere else. She stayed there for a while," he answered and suddenly, my mind told me to talk with Diane right away. Of course, she should be the key to my wife's whereabouts.

"Did she say anything unusual?" I stared at him with stern eyes. If he dared to cover up for her, I would make sure he got no job after I dumped him.

"No, she was very quiet," he told me.

"Keep me posted about my wife. Call me if you see her," I ordered them. They nodded and get back to their respective posts.

I got into my car and drove to Diane's house in the hope of finding her there. She couldn't be that far gone if she left just this morning. I still didn't get why, why would she leave me. I told her to listen to me first.

I drove restlessly and arrived at her house. Parking my car on the side of the road, I walked up to her house. My head wandered around the area in the hope to see a glimpse of her.

I knocked on the door and while waiting, I looked around her house still looking for her. My chest tightened since I woke up and it was hard for me to breathe freely.

"Mr. Nicoli," Diane's voice greeted me, so I walked back to the door and face her.

"Where is my wife?" I asked to the point. I knew she know where my wife was. She practically raised her like a daughter.

"No, Diane. I don't want to hear anything else, just where my wife is," I told her sternly. I stared at her intensely. She had worked for me since the beginning, she knew I didn't like playing around.

"Come in," she invited me in politely. I followed her in and expected to see Jamee, but it was just an empty house.

"Come and sit down, James. I know you are looking for Jamee, so sit down," Diane instructed me. I had no intention to sit and chat, but her tone told me not to defy her.

Sighing heavily, I took a seat on the couch like a guest was supposed to.

"I see you are looking for Jamee. Why?" Diane started and I frowned. What does that mean why?

"What do you mean why? Because she's my wife, I need to look for her when she's gone missing." I almost gritted my teeth as I see that Diane was protecting Jamee's whereabouts.

"That's not what she said yesterday. She is hurt, James. Can you not see that? You promised me you'd protect her." There was an upsetting tone in her voice. I looked away and looked everywhere but her.

"I didn't know they would come to the house and talk about Jamee being married. I didn't know how they found out, but they didn't say anything else," I told her. The words just came out without thinking twice. It came out as a habit, but I knew I shouldn't have said that. I knew I was wrong, but I didn't know what to do afterward, I felt like a fool. I should have comforted my wife, I should have defended her in front of my parents.

I should have stood up with her.

"I don't know where she is. She only asked for my help and where she goes, I have no idea," Diane told me and at that moment, I felt no more hope. Everything was gone within a blink of an eye and that was my fault.

"Then how do I find her?" I asked helplessly.

"You want to find her? Use your connection, that if you want anyone to find out about you two," Diane said. At this point, I didn't care much about what people would think, I just needed to find her.

I got up from the couch and walked out of the house without a word.

My connection, of course, there was Vincenzio. Did he know about this? Was he the one that told them? Why had I not thought about that earlier? He could be my other key.

Vincenzio still lived with our parents. That way, he could be there as fast as our father whenever he needed him. I felt a little reluctant, but I would always come to them in the end.

Arriving at the mansion, it looked like usual. I got out of the car and walked to the door. Pushing it open, I expected the door to be unlocked and it was.

"Oh, James. You're here," I stared at him in question.

"What are you doing here, Anthony?" I asked my cousin who was very hesitant to come here. But he was here now, which I found weird and a rare moment.

"I'm here to plan your engagement. I was so excited and came here as soon as I heard about the news. Congrats, brother." He patted my shoulder. I furrowed my eyebrows as anger started to bubble up in my chest.

"My what?!" I asked in a hard tone and my eyes darken while I looked at him.

"Your... engagement?"

"My fucking engagement? Who told you such a ridiculous thing?" I raised my voice and looked ready to burst at any time.

"Your brother," he replied. Of course, it had to be him. He was the only one in my family who knew about my marriage with Jamee. He swore to never tell anyone and protect us. But look where he put me now.

"Vincenzio! Come out you little bitch!" I stormed into his room and found him laying on his bed. I throw my fist to his jaw and startled him. He quickly got up from the bed and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What the hell? What do you think you're doing, James?!"

"You! What do you think you're doing, huh?" I asked him back the question he just asked me. My eyes were firing up and my breath coming out of my pants.

"What?" He asked, acted if he was confused and on the innocent side.

"You told our parents about Jamee." I didn't ask, I was telling him and asking for an explanation for all of this and the reason why she left.

"I did, for a reason," he said, looking at me carefully.

"What could be the reason as great as her leaving me?!" I yelled out of frustration.

"She left?" He was now genuinely confused. "What did father say? Did he not say anything about the situation?"

"What do you think? How can a maid marry their employer? My reputation and class are to hold," I ranted out the things our father said to my wife the other day. "You said it was not that serious and you could handle it yourself."

"I couldn't, that's why I told father. I need his help," he defended himself. At this point, I couldn't trust anyone and it showed how disappointed I was in him. He could see that through. "Someone put a price on her head, James. What do you want me to do? I told you I will protect your wife away from this life and I am still holding onto that promise for you."

I shook my head and couldn't believe this situation. My wife was in danger and she was out there all alone.

I made an attempt to leave, but he caught my hand.

"What do you want?" I asked in defense.

"Listen to me, you need to hear about our plan," he said.

"What? About you marrying me to someone else? Are you crazy? I'm not gonna fucking marry someone else," I told him loud and clear.

"You won't. It will be just an engagement. Father chose someone who is influential enough to be our diversion."