James stood silent for a long time, his eyes wide with shock at the news about Zia. His body shook violently, as if rejecting the information he had just heard, and the tremors spread throughout his entire body.

Seeing James' reaction, no one dared to say anything else.

“W—what did you just say? Repeat it..." James whispered. So softly it was almost inaudible.

“Sorry, Sir?” asked the Gardener.

“SAY IT AGAIN!” he shouted, barking at the Gardener who had told him the bad news about Zia.

With a hint of fear, the gardener looked at his friends, who could only nod as if begging him to explain what had happened clearly. No one knew what would happen next.

“Sir, Mrs. Zia... she... was found dead with her body completely burned.”

A blow landed on the face of the gardener. His eyes were red with rage, and he was ready to kill the gardener who had told him bad things about Zia. James felt a strong urge to keep hitting the gardener working at his house.

Since no one dared to stop James, Bella tried to do it by pulling James away and preventing him from beating the gardener.

“Watch your mouth!” James pushed Bella's hand away, causing Bella to fall. But James didn't care and prepared to hit the gardener again.

“JAMES!” Bella managed to stop James, who immediately turned to look at her.

Bella got up, angry at James for acting as if he loved Zia so much, unwilling to let her go, and unable to live without her. It was as if everything James had said all this time was the opposite of what he felt.

“Have you lost your mind, huh?!” Bella scolded. “Zia has authority in this house. She could just be playing with you with lies.” Bella's provocative nature resurfaced.

For a moment, James was silent, trying to control his breathing. He easily believed Bella's words. Zia could use her authority as Mr. Alexander's wife to do things other people couldn't do.

“Miss Bella, you’ve gone too far this time,” a housekeeper commented.

Bella paid no attention. She knew, but there was no way to calm James down except by making him feel that what Zia had done was wrong. With that, Bella was sure that James’s rational mind would return and he would remember what he had always wanted...

It had happened.

Zia left and would never show her face again in front of James if she had truly passed away. Bella felt relieved they were finally free from their respective bonds for some reason.

“You're right, Bella,” said James. Zia is just bluffing.” James forced himself to smile, confident that Zia would never go anywhere, considering that James was the only one Zia had.

James wanted to kick Zia out of his house and his life in the most painful way possible. He wanted that at first. But James couldn't lie; he felt so angry when he heard bad things about Zia. His anger was utterly beyond his control.

“Mr. James Alexander.”

James turned toward the source of the voice calling him. Two police officers in uniform emerged from his house with serious expressions and something they were carrying. James's heartbeat quickened as he realized he knew what the police were holding.

Those were some of Zia's belongings. There were several of Zia's clothes, a comb, and other items.

“We need to take all of this for the investigation.” One of the police officers pointed to the items, which were neatly wrapped in transparent plastic.

“What investigation?” James asked coldly. His gaze didn't leave the items.

The two police officers looked confused when James asked as if he knew nothing about what had happened to Zia. They exchanged glances momentarily before looking at the people working in the house, who all bowed their heads.

“Mr. James, we suspect that the charred body found is your wife.”

“That's impossible!” James said firmly without pausing.

“But some of your wife's belongings were found near the body.”

“What belongings?”

“One of them was a wallet.”

James remained silent momentarily, glaring at the two police officers before him. He desperately wanted to deny it and convince everyone that Zia was not dead. Zia was still alive. But his voice was stuck, as if he no longer had the strength to say anything.

His chest felt tight, but he tried to stand up straight. His mind was in chaos, unable to convince himself that everyone was putting on an act. His heart was uneasy, and he couldn't control his body to remain as calm as possible.

“We understand your anxiety, Mr. James. These items are just for confirmation. Pray that your wife returns home soon and that the body we found is not hers.”

Two police officers bowed and left, followed by two others, and they all departed in their vehicles.

Meanwhile, James remained frozen. The old wound from hearing about Audrey’s death reopened. The world seemed to stop spinning, pulling the gravity from his body, which was beginning to lose its balance. The memory of how tragically Audrey had ended her life by hanging herself spun repeatedly in James’s head.

“James,” Bella called, tapping James' shoulder, who finally snapped out of it.

“Z—Zia must be asleep. I need to check on her,” James said, stumbling inside, nearly tripping over the stairs.

James opened Zia's bedroom door but found no one there. The room felt much emptier than usual. His mind grew increasingly chaotic, and he feared that what the police had said earlier might be true. But his heart continued to fight against his thoughts.

“Ah, maybe she's in the bathroom.” James walked to the bathroom but still couldn't find anyone.

Refusing to give up, James opened every door in the house like someone searching for their most precious lost item. Everyone remained silent, watching as James searched for Zia throughout the home.

“Oh, right! Bella, you remember that Zia was supposed to give me vitamins at eleven o'clock every night? Maybe my vitamins ran out, and she's buying them at the supermarket. I—I have to go after her. There's no public transportation at this hour. Zia must...”

“WAKE UP, JAMES. ZIA IS NOT HERE!”

“I know, Bella. That's why I have to go get her.” James responded, but his expression was still easy to read.

James was so afraid that he wouldn't see Zia again.

“Zia is dead, James. Why won't you accept the truth? Isn't the world granting your wish?” Bella bluntly reminded James how cruel he was.

James stopped at the door, leaning on the doorframe as if to hold himself up. His gaze was fixed on the open gate of his house. James felt Zia's presence in every corner of his home, only her shadow.

Suddenly, James laughed, making everyone feel sorry for him, seeing him behave the same way he did moments after receiving the news that Audrey was found lifeless.

No. It's even worse than that.