Chapter 11

The Emersons claimed Madeleine’s body for cremation, but Sullivan initially refused to return the ashes. The Emersons confronted him, but he retorted, “You’ll have to take the ashes over my dead body!” He moved out of the villa he once shared with Madeleine, but while clearing the house, he realized many belongings related to their relationship were missing. He linked this discovery to her strange behavior in recent weeks and reached a conclusion.

Although the police determined Madeleine had accidentally fallen from the yacht and drowned, Sullivan adamantly believed her death wasn't an accident. It had been planned.

That explained why she rejected sex with him, why she tried to set him up with Isabel, and why she cleared out anything related to their history.

Inside the bedroom, Sullivan hugged the box of ashes to his chest. Liquor bottles cluttered at his feet. His eyes were filled with sorrow, regret, and a good deal of self-mockery. Why hadn’t he noticed anything when Madeleine had made it so obvious?

He chugged another mouthful of liquor. As the burning sensation spread through him, he stroked the box of ashes and closed his eyes. He saw her smiling face appear before him.

“Madeleine.”

As Sullivan was engrossed in his imagination, the bedroom door abruptly opened. The light came on, and he squinted at the sudden harsh light.

Meanwhile, Isabel saw the scene and hurried through the liquor bottles to help Sullivan up and take the ashes, crying, “Sully!”

Her voice made him realize who it was, but he instinctively avoided her grasp, protectively shielding the box. The wary look in his eyes pained her.

Still, seeing his gaunt, stubbly face, she softened. “You can’t carry on like this, Sully. Just put the box down. Let’s go to the hospital, okay?”

Sullivan’s eyes flickered. He looked Isabel in the eye. Though his voice was calm, she detected an interrogative hint as he asked, “You knew about it, right?”

Had Isabel known Madeleine had decided to leave but kept it from him?

At first, Isabel was startled. It took her a while to realize what Sullivan meant. Immediately, she looked hurt, as if she couldn’t believe he would think that of her.

“I didn’t know anything, Sully. Madeleine came to see me and said she wanted to make a deal with me.”

“A deal? What deal?”

Sullivan swiftly grabbed Isabel and eyed her sharply. She’d never seen that look before. Subconsciously, she loosened her grip. Thanks to his menacing gaze, she tearfully told him what happened.

Toward the end, she pleaded, “I only did it because I love you too much, Sully. I stopped framing her, too. She was the one who forced you into a relationship with her, Sully. You never liked her anyway. Now that she’s dead, you’re finally free. Shouldn’t you be happy?”

As soon as Isabel finished, Sullivan grabbed her by the neck and snarled, “Who said I didn’t like her?” Isabel was so terrified her eyes turned red. Tears trickled down her cheeks, dripping onto Sullivan’s hand. When he felt the droplets, he stiffened and quickly released her.

A long while later, he turned to hide the hostility in his eyes and said, “Leave. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

Sullivan didn’t know why his heart hurt to see Isabel cry, but he knew he didn’t love her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten physical with her.

Yet, he always lost his rationality because of her. Time and time again, he ignored Madeleine for her sake. Moreover, even when he didn’t want to argue with Madeleine, his words somehow ended up completely different from what he intended.

Sullivan couldn’t understand what his heart wanted. He couldn’t control his actions.

It wasn’t until Madeleine died that the fog lifted. He finally realized his true feelings, but that only made it even more difficult to explain his past actions.

At that moment, a sense of absurdity washed over him.