Ava’s POV
Joseph’s betrayal still stung like an open wound, but sohow I’d managed to drag myself to work each day. I tried to focus on the job, anything to keep my mind occupied.
Working at Thorne Enterprises was definitely more intense than my old job at the boutique. There was always sothing happening, so crisis or another to handle.
I’d thought Alpha Draven’s situation with that bitch Ella was complicated enough. Caroline ca to work looking absolutely heartbroken every day, and I did my best to comfort her. We’d bonded over our shared experiences of loving n who seed incapable of staying loyal.
But today? Today took things to a whole new level when so chick nad Liz waltzed in claiming she’d had a one-night stand with Alpha Draven. Talk about the final nail in the coffin.
The look on Caroline’s face...I recognized that expression all too well. The way your heart literally feels like it’s being shredded when soone you love betrays you. It’s a special kind of hell.
Eleanor rushed over as soon as she heard and took Caroline ho. The poor girl looked like she was about to collapse.
After I finished handling the day’s work, I headed ho myself. I really hoped Caroline would pull herself together, though I knew firsthand how impossible that felt. When I got ho, I noticed my mom wasn’t back yet. I pulled out my phone and texted her.
"Mom, when are you coming ho?"
My phone buzzed almost imdiately.
"Hit a snag with the project, working late. Don’t wait up, sweetie."
I sighed, walking back to my room. The silence was deafening. I locked my door carefully, then reached under my bed to retrieve the spellbook I’d been hiding.
Every ti I opened this book, it left completely mind-blown. The words seed to flow across the page like water, neither English nor any language I’d ever seen before. Logically, I shouldn’t be able to understand a single symbol.
Yet sohow, I did.
It was like there was so invisible thread connecting my mind to these ancient symbols. I couldn’t read the words, but I understood their aning. The book felt alive sohow, like it was having a deep conversation directly with my soul.
"No wonder people think witches are so mysterious," I whispered to myself. "This shit is wild even to ."
After a few days of practice, I’d confird that I definitely had magical abilities, albeit weak ones. The book contained many simple spells, including one that made feathers float. It was my private little "levitation charm."
I pulled a few feathers from my pillow and placed them on the desk. Without a proper wand, I had to make do with a small twig I’d found on the sidewalk yesterday. I raised it, following the instructions described in the book, trying to make the feather fly.
First attempt: nothing happened.
Second try: the feather trembled slightly.
Third, fourth, fifth attempt...
For an entire evening, I repeated the sa motion over and over, sweat beading on my forehead. Finally, after countless tries, a white feather slowly rose into the air, hovering for a few seconds before falling.
"Holy shit, it worked!" I whispered excitedly.
Though the process was frustrating, I had to admit that learning magic was an excellent distraction. When I was fully focused on practicing spells, I didn’t think about Joseph, his betrayal, or any of those painful mories. It was therapeutic, in a way.
One thing confused , though. When I flipped to the middle of the book, all the remaining pages were blank. This was strange because those pages clearly showed signs of wear, dog-eared corners and creases indicated my mother had definitely read them. If she’d read them, they must have contained sothing.
I checked several tis to confirm the second half truly contained nothing. Perhaps the book had so protection chanism? Maybe the content would only reveal itself once the reader mastered the earlier knowledge?
This theory both excited and frustrated . I was thrilled at the prospect of more to learn, but disappointed that I couldn’t find any spells about breaking seals. Without that knowledge, I couldn’t enter my mother’s sealed room or discover what secrets she was keeping.
I needed to learn the truth quickly, but I knew rushing wouldn’t help. Magic clearly wasn’t sothing you could master overnight, it required ti and patience.
After studying for a few more hours, I heard keys turning in the lock downstairs. I quickly hid the book and pretended to be asleep.
The next morning, I arrived at Thorne Enterprises as usual. Strangely, Caroline didn’t show up.
"Did Caroline call in sick today?" I asked Kyle.
"No idea, she didn’t ntion anything to ," Kyle shrugged. "But considering what went down yesterday, she probably needs so ti to recover."
I nodded. That made sense. Anyone would need ti after experiencing a blow like that.
By afternoon, Alpha Draven discovered that Ella wasn’t pregnant and had been framing him all along. This was fantastic news. Draven imdiately rushed to Caroline’s house to explain everything to her. But within minutes, we received his call. Caroline had disappeared with Liam.
Kyle and I exchanged glances.
"Where would she go?" Kyle asked.
"That’s exactly the problem. I have no fucking clue. She didn’t tell anyone where she was heading," Draven’s voice grew increasingly urgent. "I tried calling Eleanor but she’s not answering either."
Kyle imdiately grabbed her phone and dialed Eleanor’s number. It rang for ages with no answer.
"Damn it," Kyle frowned, trying several more tis with the sa result. "This isn’t right. Neither of them is picking up."
A wave of unease washed over . Caroline had been devastated yesterday, and now she’d disappeared. What if sothing terrible had happened?
Kyle seed to share my concern and dialed another number.
"Joseph? We’ve got a problem. Eleanor and Caroline are both unreachable. They might be missing."
My heart lurched at Joseph’s na. With the call on speaker, I could clearly hear that familiar voice.
"That can’t be right," Joseph sounded confused. "Eleanor was at the office this morning, working normally."
Hearing his voice after so long made my chest ache, but finding Caroline was the priority right now.
"I’ll head back to the office and check what’s going on. I’ll call you back," Joseph said.
About half an hour later, Kyle’s phone rang again.
"Got so info," Joseph’s voice sounded slightly exasperated. "Eleanor apparently submitted a leave request to HR. Julia told she left the office early afternoon. I’m guessing she’s with Caroline wherever they went."
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