Chapter 90
The liquor burned down Colton’s throat, a bitter heat that did nothing to dull the ache in his chest. The once–pristine office now smelled of spilled whiskey and stale air.
Empty bottles littered the desk and floor like fallen soldiers in a war he’d already lost.”
He had been drinking every night since the collapse–since Nadia vanished and his empire crumbled. But tonight, he was already far gone, slouched in his leather chair, staring blankly at the ceiling as the world spun in uneven circles.\
Her name slipped from his lips over and over, a drunken mantra.
“Nadia…”
Sometimes it was a whisper, almost gentle. Other times it was a growl, thick with frustration.}
And every time, it came with a flood of memories–sharp, vivid, unrelenting.
Nadia laughing in the garden as the wind tugged at her hair. Nadia curled up beside him on the couch during winter, her head resting on his shoulder.
Nadia’s eyes lighting up when he’d surprised her with the vase from the auction–her favorite, the one she’d once told him reminded her of her grandmother’s collection.[
ww
Those were the days before Beatrice. Before the lies tangled into every corner of his life. Before he’d traded something pure for something convenient.
He took another swig, his chest tightening with regret.
The office door creaked open.
“Daddy,” a small voice called.\
Th
wide,
curious. “Will
wwད་ཅན་ ོར་ ་་ཚས་ན་ད་ནང་་་ན་དང་ན་
Colton turned his head slightly to see Maureen standing there, clutching her stuffed bunny. Her eyes were you play with me?”
“Not now,” he muttered, waving her off.
But she didn’t leave. Instead, she stepped closer. “Please? Just for a little bit?”
He ignored her, pouring himself another glass.
ཏ་ འ་ནང་རྫོང་
Maureen pouted, then began wandering around the office, picking up pens, tapping on the desk, humming softly. Her restlessness grated on his already frayed nerves.
“Maureen,” he said sharply, “go to your mother.”
But she kept moving, spinning in circles near the shelf. Then her small hand brushed the edge of a pedestal, and time
seemed to slow.
The vase tipped. It wobbled. Then it fell.
The sound of shattering porcelain echoed through the room like a gunshot.
Colton’s heart lurched. His eyes locked on the fragments scattered across the floor–the same vase Nadia had once held with such joy, running her fingers along its painted surface as if it were the most precious thing in the world.”
That joy had been real. And now it was gone, crushed beneath his daughter’s careless fingers.
“Do you know what you’ve done?!” he roared, surging to his feet.”
Maureen froze, her lip trembling. “I–I didn’t mean to-“”
But his anger was too quick, too sharp. His hand lashed out, striking her small arm.
She let out a wail, crumpling to the floor in tears.
The door flew open again, and Beatrice rushed inside. “What happened?!” She scooped Maureen up into her arms, glaring at
him.”
“She broke it,” Colton snapped, pointing to the shards on the carpet. “She broke Nadia’s vase.“}}
Beatrice’s mouth fell open. “You hit her? For a vase?!“\
“It wasn’t just a vase!” His voice was raw. “It was Nadia’s. I bought it for her-“W
Beatrice’s face twisted with disbelief and fury. “You… you hurt my daughter over her? Are you out of your mind?“N
They stood there, breathing hard, the air between them thick with years of unspoken resentment.
“This is exactly why everything’s falling apart!” Beatrice shouted. “You’re obsessed with her! You’ve always been obsessed
with her. Even when you were with me, even when you promised me everything–she’s the one you wanted!“#
“And you think I don’t know you used me too?” he shot back. “You wanted the name, the house, the power-“M
“I wanted you, Colton! But she ruined that! She’s the reason we’re here!“a
His jaw clenched “No I’m the reason Because I should have never let you in.”
Her ever undoned “Come on you elannad ma earlier and new this? For har? Vou’re a fucking traitor
4:03 PM P
Her eyes widened. “Come on… you slapped me earlier, and now this? For her? You’re a fucking traitor.“}
“Maybe I am,” he said coldly.\
Beatrice’s voice dropped to a low, dangerous hiss. “I’m done. I’m so done with you. We’re leaving now. You’ll never see us
again.“}
“So what?” Colton spat. “I don’t want to see you again either. Leave.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Clutching Maureen, still crying against her shoulder, Beatrice stalked out of the room. Within minutes, she was in the bedroom, yanking clothes from the closet, shoving them into suitcases.
Maureen’s sobs softened to quiet sniffles. “Mommy… are you and Daddy breaking up? Will I… will I not have a daddy
anymore?”
Beatrice forced a smile, brushing the girl’s hair back. “Of course not, baby. We just had a fight. That’s all. Just wait–your daddy will want us back. He won’t be able to live without us.”
But inside, her thoughts were colder, sharper.
Colton would realize their worth. He had to. Just like he was realizing Nadia’s now. And Beatrice would not–could not allow Nadia to be the only one who could walk away and leave him desperate.
CPL
As she zipped the last suitcase, she cast one final glance toward the closed office door, her expression unreadable.
This wasn’t over.
Back in the office, Colton poured another drink. He didn’t feel any regre even toward Maureen.
All he could think about was Nadia.
And how much he had already lost.”
for what had just happened–not toward Beatrice, not
ན་ད་ ད་རེད་ དང་ནད་ ང ོ་ག་ནད་ ་ ་དང་ཞི་འབབ་དང་ཚགས་ན་ད་ང་ དཔངན་དབང་དཔས་སངས་ལ་དག་ ཅར་ན་རྒྱུ་ན། ང་རས་ ག་ང་བར་འད་ང་༢ད་རྒྱང་ནང་དད་དངག ད་ང་དད་སྐད་ཡད་ཆར་ཙར། ་ནས་
