Chapter 42: Chapter 42

The D-day of my engagement to Mabel arrived. I had never been as nervous as I was feeling right now in my entire life. All the preparations were done well by my men. There was nothing I would let less; I wanted this party to be lively and well remembered by many people, especially for me and Mabel. But since earlier I had not seen any sign of her attending the event. I thought she was late, but I noticed something was off. Mr. Castello and Sarah's wedding continued until it was time to announce my engagement to her, but neither of us found out where she was. Where is she?

I left my seat to order my men to spread out and find Mabel immediately. My breath hitched as I realized she was not coming. This was all planned. I admitted that yesterday I really didn't act like a gentleman, I let her go home in a fit of anger. I thought it was for the best to let her have some alone time, but now I regretted thinking that way. She needed me, and I was preoccupied with stupid thoughts that I shouldn't have really cared about.

"Any news about my daughter?" Mr. Castello came up to me with a pale face. He hadn't been enjoying his wedding since earlier, thinking about Mabel too.

"No news yet," I replied in a low voice. "I'll let you know if I get any news about Mabel. You better stay inside and welcome your guests,"

Mr. Castello just nodded and did as I asked. He went back inside and accompanied Sarah to greet the guests that kept coming. I was silent for a moment, my hands clenched. I felt like I was useless. I swore that whoever had taken Mabel away from me would be punished straight from my hands. Taking a breath, I couldn't just stay still waiting for news about her. So I was getting ready to go looking as well when someone called me.

"Yo, Adrian!"

I turned and saw Daniel walking towards me. A smirk appeared on my face.

"Is there a reason why the groom-to-be is here and not welcoming his guests inside?" Daniel raised an eyebrow at me. I smiled to find him in a tuxedo. If the timing was right, I might have laughed out loud.

"It's Mabel. You'd better come with me and I'll tell you on the way,"

Daniel smirked and thoughtlessly nodded.

"So?" asked Daniel right when my car drove away. I then gave him a brief explanation of what was going on. "You think Mabel was kidnapped? Is there anyone you suspect?"

I didn't know if Mabel was kidnapped or she decided not to come, but could she have? She was so excited for our engagement.

"Could it be Ashton? I didn't see him during the wedding. But Dan, I didn't see Rainy either. It's Sarah's important day, she should have come."

I found through the rear-view mirror that Daniel thought while humming. "This is tough. There's a chance Ashton did it, but Rainy? Why would she kidnap Mabel?"

"Rainy tried to hurt Mabel once, Dan." I replied while grinding my teeth. My gut told me that Rainy was behind Mabel's absence. So I immediately contacted my men and ordered them to find out where Rainy, Ashton, and the last person I suspected, Anthonio.

"This is going to be fun," Daniel commented to himself.

While my men were looking for their whereabouts, I went straight to the cemetery. Somehow I got the feeling Mabel didn't come on purpose. The thought made my heart hurt so bad. I couldn't imagine if we didn't end up together.

"Are you sure Mabel will be here?" asked Daniel after getting out of the car. "Here we have two possible options, the possibility that she was kidnapped and the possibility that she did not come on purpose. But are you sure about the second option? Maybe it's just your mind. You two are in love, so there's no way she would do that."

"I'll go to Selena's grave myself. Thanks for accompanying me all the way here, Dan."

Daniel gave me both thumbs up and encouraged me to get going. "I'll catch up with you if I get any news about Mabel,"

Heading to Selena's grave, my mind wandered. I was afraid if it was true that Mabel didn't want our engagement to happen. It was suffocating. Every step that I took, I kept wishing she wasn't there. But what I was afraid happened. My heart stopped to find her standing, staring blankly at Selena's tombstone. Her dress was completely black, her hair was beautifully loose, and she just stood there frozen.

"Mabel," I called softly. "Here you are,"

My voice seemed to have managed to snap Mabel out of her reverie at least. She blinked, once and twice, but never turned her face to mine. It brought me step by step closer to her. The closer I got, the more I felt a different aura from her. I didn't understand what was wrong, but I could feel her demeanor turning cold.

"Mabel," I called again, about to tap her on the shoulder when she immediately brushed my hand away. I was stunned for a moment. Something was definitely wrong. "What's wrong, Mabel? Are you still mad at me about what happened yesterday? I'm really sorry. I was-"

"How could you, Adrian?" Mabel asked, not even looking at me. She was still standing in the same place with eyes looking down.

"What?" I really didn't understand what Mabel meant, but I did understand one thing; it wasn't about what happened yesterday. "Have I done something wrong?"

"You can still pretend like you don't know, Adrian? Whoa, that's great." Mabel said, turning to me. Her gaze was different, there was a lot of emotion in it. I just stared at her as she stared back at me with an unfamiliar look. I had no idea what could have made her this cold.

"Mabel, I really don't understand what's going on. You suddenly disappeared the day of our engagement. And now you've suddenly changed towards me. Just tell me what I did and you didn't like it,"

My words made Mabel laugh sarcastically. That wasn't her at all. She was never acted that way to me. "Funny. You're so funny, Adrian. Do you think I'm still the same Mabel? A girl who wanted that engagement?"

I swallowed hard, bitter. "What do you mean, Mabel?"

"Oh, come on." Mabel folded her arms across her chest. "I already know the truth of everything now. To think I could be that stupid to believe you,"

Mabel made me even more confused. I tried to grab her hand, but that made her take a step back.

"Don't you dare touch me! Our relationship ends here, Adrian. I don't want to see you ever again," said Mabel in a weak voice. Her angry stare faded away to be replaced with a hurt look. I was sure I didn't do anything, but seeing her hurt, I realized I might had made a fatal mistake unintentionally.

"Please, Mabel. Could you at least explain what happened? What did I do wrong to make you this mad? I really don't know if you don't explain anything to me. Please, I'm begging you."

Mabel looked at me one more time before deciding to walk away.

"Mabel," I called, continuing to chase after her. "I'm sure this can be fixed. It shouldn't end like this,"

"Just let me go, Adrian." Mabel replied, but I still didn't listen.

"You don't want me to touch you? Fine! But I can't just let you go without an explanation," I replied while continuing to follow behind. Mabel quickened her pace, making me quicken mine too to match hers. "It's not fair to me,"

Mabel just ignored me. We kept walking fast until from a distance I could see Daniel leaning against my car door. He slowly turned towards us, his facial expression changing from surprise to confusion after seeing us start to be out of breath.

"Hey, Mabel." said Daniel to Mabel just as we passed him. However, there was no response from her. I gave him the answer about what was going on through my eyes. Luckily he was easy to understand.

I kept walking after Mabel; I would follow her wherever she went until I got an explanation from her.

"Stop following me," Mabel said coldly. She knew I was following her without even turning her head; I swore I didn't make a sound that would make her the least bit uncomfortable.

"I won't,"

"Don't make me say things that will hurt you," Mabel snapped, which I was sure was only to make me back off from my intention.

"Just say it," I replied quickly. "If it gets you back to talking to me, then do it."

I knew Mabel wouldn't do that; she would not have the heart to hurt me with her words any further. We continued walking with me wondering what vehicle she was going with, because I hadn't found her car since earlier. She just seemed to be walking aimlessly other than getting away from me.

“Mabel,” I called back after we had walked in silence and were almost far from the cemetery. "I know you just want to avoid me, but we've come this far. Are you sure you're not tired? I'd better take you home with my car,"

Mabel stopped abruptly, causing me to nearly bump into her. She took a deep breath. "No need. Wasn't it clear when I said I want nothing more to do with you, Adrian?"

"It's not clear to me until there's a reason that's clear and acceptable to me,"

"You're the most selfish man I've ever known, Adrian." Mabel replied, turning to face me. "I don't want that engagement anymore. I don't want us to get married. I want you to stop approaching me. I want you to stay away from me. I don't want us anymore, and for your information, I don't love you anymore. Is that clear enough now?"

Hearing that come out of Mabel's mouth really hurt me. I didn't expect her to say all those incredibly hurtful things, but until there was a clear reason, I wasn't going to give up on being with her.

I shook my head. "I don't take your word for it, never will. You love me, Mabel. Don't you remember saying any of that?" I asked, unable to hide my hurt.

"I don't want to remember anymore," Mabel said emotionlessly. I knew she felt pain just like me. And it was because she still felt that feeling.

I sighed. Seeing that Mabel's emotions were starting to get better than before, I tried to take her hand again, and this time she let me do it. "Please, Mabel. Tell me why you said such a thing,"

Mabel looked at me, deeply. She then directed her gaze downwards. "Then answer my question,"

"Ask me anything," I smiled faintly.

"Is it true that it was Ashton's father who accidentally hit Selena in the accident?"

I didn't dare answer, my mouth felt stiff. "What's with that?"

"Just answer," Mabel replied impatiently. "Is that true?"

"You know Mabel, I never like to talk about things involving Selena. Don't make me remember that tragic accident,"

"I just need a yes or no answer," I could see Mabel wouldn't budge this time.

"Yeah, it was him."

Mabel giggled bitterly. "Then is it true that that thing made you want revenge on Ashton using me?"

"Mabel-" I immediately understood the main reason this was all happening. "Listen to me-"

"How could you have the heart to do that to me, Adrian? Everything is just a lie, right? Everything is just a game created between you and your grandfather! Poor me, who already believed you with all my heart. I loved you with all my heart! And what did I get? The biggest heartache in my life,"