Chasing His Rejected Wife
Chapter 62 -

AIDEN

I'd forgotten to bring a jacket. The weather had cooled considerably in the aftermath of the storm, and I was severely underdressed in a Henley shirt and jeans. But I couldn't return to our suite, not when Jess was still...like that. I knew that she needed some space and I hated that I was once more, the cause of her distress. The thought of her locked in that bathroom, all alone, crying and hurting, left me shattered.

In spite of all the warnings and resolutions I had made before climbing into that bed, I still ended up doing the one thing I had promised myself I would not.

And I couldn't even try to excuse my actions with the guise of being asleep. Because I hadn't been sleeping, not after the first few minutes when she had started to wriggle free from my grasp. It had taken every ounce of self-control not to pin her under me and ravish her thoroughly, get reacquainted with every inch of that delicious body, to feel her clenched around my cock, her sweet moans and pants an accompanying song to the climb towards pure pleasure.

And so, to my shame and regret, I'd pretended to still be sleeping, even though I had pretty much woken up when she tried moving my arm. I should have made some sort of noise then, should have let her escape and pretend that nothing happened. But when she'd started wriggling out of my arms, I had lost what little rational sense remained and pulled her back in, needing to feel, touch, taste, and breathe in her scent.

And when she had rolled that plump ass against my cock? An earthquake would not have pulled me away then. I had almost bitten clean through my tongue trying to hold back a groan and I'd been so turned on, it was almost a physical pain. Then it had all gone to shit. The look on Jessica's face as she ran from me will remain imprinted in my memory for a long time. Horror, revulsion,

I groaned aloud now, my head falling back against the park bench seat and I closed my eyes, letting the morning rays of the sun and the cool breeze wash over my face.

I had screwed up. I had broken a vow to myself and by doing so, had hurt Jess once again. I had promised myself that I would not make any sort of moves on Jessica, at least, not until I'd sorted out the mess that Julian had created with his schemes and told Jessica the truth. No holds barred.

I wanted there to be no doubts between us, no second-guessing my intentions to build something new out of the embers of our crumpled relationship. I didn't want Jess wondering if I was only pursuing her to get back the company shares, or to gain back control of Skylark. I needed her to believe and secure in the knowledge that my motives in trying to win her back were borne of genuine feelings for her.

My phone pulled off my thoughts and absently, I answered it. "Did you replace anything?" I asked without preamble, my voice terse.

"Quite a bit," Fletcher answered, sounding exhausted, probably from being up all night carrying out my instructions. "From my investigations, I believe we can rule out Mr. Holt as a suspect."

I nodded and made a sound of agreement. I hadn't really suspected Vincent of being the leak; the man was just too straightforward for such cloak-and-dagger stuff. "Alright, noted. What about the others?"

There was a beat of silence as Fletcher gathered his thoughts. I waited patiently, knowing him well enough that he would talk when he was ready.

"Madam Jodie and Madam Sarah, and your brother, Paul, are also not viable suspects," Fletcher began, his tone stolid and brisk.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose, deep in thought. I couldn't be sure how much Jodie knew about Julian's past before they had gotten married, but I was certain that she had been fed the same drivel of an excuse that Julian had come up with to support his choice of Jessica as a wife for me.

And I knew that Jodie liked Jessica, in fact, she had yelled at me after the incident with Elisa's fall for acting like an asshole towards Jessica. As for grandmother, even if she disliked Jessica on principle I did as well, she also didn't know the full details of the entire affair.

"What about Craig?" I asked. If there was any member of my family who would gladly throw me to the wolves, it would be him. It was no secret that he and his wife resented the fact that they had very little say in the company, or that Julian had clearly played favorites with Jessica when he had promoted her over him.

"I have found a number of activities that indicate he is up to something; he has been contacting someone with a burner phone, and has made several suspicious moves in the past few weeks. I have placed him under surveillance and I believe I will have more to report soon."

"As for Ms. Harding, sir..." Fletcher hesitated and I picked up on a note of worry in his voice.

"What did you replace?" I asked, injecting some encouragement and assurance that it was okay to say what he had discovered.

"Yes...well. I couldn't replace anything to link her or Victoria together. However, it appears she has been having a...clandestine relationship with Jacob Barrett."

I wrinkled my brow, wondering why the name sounded familiar. Elisa had certainly never mentioned him. "Who is he?"

"He's the current CEO of DIG, the parent company of several social media platforms and news outlets. He was...also the father of her baby."

"Ah." Comprehension dawned. No wonder she had been cagey and refused to tell me who had gotten her pregnant. Jacob Barrett was a darling of the media, touted as the benefactor of the poor with a spotless reputation. More importantly, he was also blissfully married to the daughter of the current President of the United States and was currently campaigning for a political office.

If it came out that he had not only cheated on his wife but had gotten his mistress pregnant, his reputation would be in the pits. I sighed, exhausted. "Did she have anything to do with how the news of the affair leaked?" "Can't say for certain, Sir. But it is likely she may have let something slip with Barrett and he ran with it."

He paused again and this time, he spoke cautiously. "As for the other thing you asked me to look into. I checked the hospital records but there was no record of such a procedure. However, I picked up a trail that leads to Dr. Adams, an ob/gyn who's been known to perform such procedures off the books. From what I've gleaned, Sir, it appears Ms. Harding was a patient of his around that period."

I shut my eyes, unsure whether to be relieved or saddened to have my suspicions confirmed. The information settled like lead in my chest and I blew out a soft breath. "Good work, Fletcher. Have one of the other assistants arrange for my flight back this evening. We will meet at the office tomorrow."

"Yes sir,"

He hung up and I spent a few minutes staring into space. I had suspected for some time that Elisa's miscarriage was a cleverly disguised termination and with this new information about her affair with Barrett, it made sense why she had opted for that, probably pressured into it by Barrett himself. But was she the one who had leaked the story? If she was, then why? Why would she allow herself to be cast in a negative light as the 'home wrecker?" What other secrets was she hiding?

An hour later, I went back to the hotel room. It was almost time for our appointment, and I hoped Jess had been able to pull herself together. There was no sign of Jess in the living room, but the bedroom door was wide open and when I walked in, it was empty, the bed still unmade.

My heart fell. Was she still upset and locked in the bathroom? I knocked and softly called out, "Jess?"

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There was no answer, no movement at all. I tried once more, getting worried with every passing second when there was still no response. Fuck! Had she passed out? Fallen asleep? Maybe she had hit her head and lay unconscious on the floor. Shit. shit. Shit. I should have stayed in the suite instead of fucking off outside and leaving her alone. I berated myself as I inspected the lock on the door. It looked flimsy enough that one good kick should have it open.

"Baby? I'm coming in right now, please, step away from the door, okay? I don't want to hurt you." I waited for a beat, then five, but there was only nerve-wracking silence. Taking a deep breath, I braced my hands against the opposite walls and gave the door a good, firm kick. It flew open on impact to slam against the wall.

I hurried inside, my heart in my throat, but there was no one inside. I stood for a moment, trying to get my bearings, then pulled out my phone, hurriedly dialing Jessica's number.

It went straight to voicemail each time. By now, I was frantic, cursing and pacing up and down as I tried her cell phone over and over.

"Where are you, goddammit?" I growled in frustration as yet another attempt failed. I strode back to the bedroom, to pick up the intercom.

"How may I help you, sir?" The voice at the other end inquired.

"Get me the manager, and I need to know if my wife is anywhere in this hotel, or if she stepped out."

I hung up and raked my hands through my hair, torn between worry and anger at myself for leaving her alone.

Was she okay? How could I have been so stupid? Maybe she had gone down to the restaurant or the spa or the million other places women went when they wanted to be alone. The intercom rang and I snatched it up. "Did you replace her?"

"Surveillance cameras showed Mrs. Brown left the hotel about thirty minutes ago, Sir. The porter confirmed helping her with her luggage into a cab."