Chapter 20
Even in the grainy image, Neil knew it was Olivia. He sat up straight, his eyes locked on the photo, as if trying to sear it into his memory.
More messages from Jason buzzed in rapid succession.
[Can you believe this? I was picking out a wedding dress for my fiancée and who do I see? Olivia!]
[Neil, I didn’t get the wrong person, huh? That’s Olivia in white? Your Olivia?]
[But wait… Didn’t you break up? Why’s she trying on wedding dresses now?]
Neil ignored the messages, scrolling through the photo again and again. He’d always known Olivia was beautiful, but this was beyond imagination. Seeing her in that wedding dress really took his breath away.
But then he remembered the shredded dress and it hit him like a punch to the gut. ‘Was she wearing that dress that day, trying to surprise me?” Suddenly, he dropped his phone and strode out of his office without a second thought.
“Mr. Hartley,” his assistant said, intercepting him as she walked by. “The clients are in the conference room upstairs and ready to discuss the details.”
But Neil didn’t even slow down. “You handle it,” he said over his shoulder.
The assistant stood there, bewildered. This was the client Neil had been after for months–someone he’d gone to great lengths to impress. Why was he leaving now, of all times? Neil had always put business above everything else.
After leaving the country house, Neil headed straight for the villa he and Olivia had shared. He’d never thought about selling it. He was just furious that she’d called it quits out of the blue, thinking he could somehow force her to come back.
Like every other fight they’d had, he expected her to show up the next morning, pretending nothing had happened–cooking breakfast and greeting him with a bright smile.
The car pulled up to the gate, and Neil got out in a hurry, rushing into the villa.
The housekeeper was in the middle of cleaning and froze when she saw him, but quickly composed
- f. “ Hartley,” she greeted.
Neil barely acknowledged her and strode straight for the storage room on the first floor. He’d thrown the blue bag with the shredded wedding dress and
the bag was gone. the gifts Olivia had torn apart there. But now, after searching every corner,
“Did you see a blue bag in here?” Neil asked urgently, his voice tinged with panic as he turned to the housekeeper.
She paused, thinking. “The one with all the torn fabric pieces in it?”
“Yes!” Neil cut in quickly.
The housekeeper seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and lowered her voice. “Mr. Hartley, I–I threw it away.”
Neil’s face turned pale. “What?” He strode over to her and demanded, “Where did you throw it?”
The housekeeper was visibly shaken and stammered nervously, “I–Into the trash area outside.”
Neil glanced at the wall clock. It was 8 PM. The garbage trucks hadn’t come yet.
Without wasting another second, he sprinted to the trash area. As he got closer, the stench hit him like a punch to the gut. Neil had never been to such a foul–smelling place in his life.
But the thought of the wedding dress gave him pause. He took a deep breath, steeling himself, and approached the pile of garbage.
5
Chapter 20
The housekeeper caught up, gasping for air. “Mr. Hartley, let me help you.”
Neil just gave her a glance, already diving into the trash, his sleeves rolled up.
The place was a mess, filled with a day’s worth of waste from the entire neighborhood, Finding the dress was going to be a long shot. Two hours ticked by with no luck.
The housekeeper finally spoke up, “Mr. Hartley… um, maybe we should give up?”
“We’ll find it,” Neil said, his voice muffled by the face mask he’d grabbed on his way out. “We have to.”
Even Neil wasn’t sure why he was so determined. Maybe it was just a stubborn part of him, clinging to the hope that finding the dress would somehow make things right with Olivia.
The garbage truck pulled up, and the workers climbed out, ready to start their daily routine. They stopped short, staring in surprise. This was an exclusive neighborhood–people didn’t rummage through trash here.
“Hey, we need to get to work here,” one of the workers said, his voice polite.
Neil was covered in dirt and stains, his expensive clothes ruined. No one would connect this trash–searching mess with the proud businessman who usually acted like he owned the place.
“Just a few more minutes, please. I need to find something important,” he said, pulling out his wallet and pressing a wad of cash into the worker’s hand. “I’ll make it worth your time.”
could The worker took the money, still bewildered. “You sure about this?” he muttered, shaking his head. “What uld be so important in here?”
Neil just kept searching. Finally, after half an hour, he found it. A wedding dress, forn and dirty, but still recognizable.
The worker, his face a picture of bewilderment, glanced down at the thick wad of bills in his hand. He shook his head, muttering, “You paid all that for a dress in the trash?”
But Neil’s face softened finally.
After a moment, he and the housekeeper made their way back to the villa. He tossed the dress onto the table and said, “Get this to the dry cleaners.”
The housekeeper paused. The dress was shredded–was there any point in trying to salvage it? But she quickly replied, “Sure thing, Mr. Hartley. I’ll take it over first thing tomorrow.”
“Mm.” Neil didn’t say another word. He dragged himself upstairs and into the shower, scrubbing away the grime and the stench that clung to his skin. It took a full hour before he finally felt clean again.
Standing in the bedroom, now stripped of any trace of Olivia, Neil let out a bitter chuckle. He couldn’t believe he’d lost his mind like that. When have I ever let my emotions get the better of me?‘
He collapsed onto the bed and reached for his phone. A post notification caught his eye: [What Does It Mean When a Woman Wears Her Wedding Dress for You?]
He usually skimmed past these kinds of posts, but something made him read this one all the way through. By the time he was done, it felt like a tight grip
breathe. had closed around his chest, making it hard to
He dismissed the post and made a call. “Find out where Olivia is staying now.”
