Chapter 132: A Killer
Theo froze. Despite rushing down from the room, through the hotel lobby, and onto the road near the beach, he stopped in his tracks.
Daisy was there, about thirty meters away, walking alongside Aurora and Adam, laughing softly at something Adam had said. She looked... alive. Unburdened. Happy. Not like him. Every day without her had been a slow, grinding torture, each moment spent apart clawing at him.
His gaze flicked down to the small keychain in his hand, the baby crochet he had picked up earlier at the shop. The sight of it suddenly made the heaviness in his chest tighten. ’Are you really this happy? Does life without me feel this... free?’
He raised his eyes to her as she walked away, a mix of longing and unease twisting inside him.
Without realizing it, Theo began to follow, keeping his distance. His footsteps were careful, measured, almost instinctively cautious. He didn’t want to draw attention, didn’t want her to know he was there, most importantly... didn’t want her to run.
From afar, he watched as they stopped at a small night stall, the warm glow of a single lantern casting soft light over the skewers lined up neatly. Daisy leaned slightly forward, picking a skewer while chatting with Aurora and Adam. Her laughter was quiet, light, but it reached him even from a distance.
He said nothing. Did not move closer. All he could do was watch, absorb the sight of her smiling, alive, completely unaware that he was there. It was enough, and yet it wasn’t.
His chest tightened, a mix of longing and irritation knotting inside him. Every laugh, every tilt of her head, was a reminder of what he’d missed and what he had no right to claim anymore. He clenched his fists, letting the keychain dig lightly into his palm.
He wanted to run. To reach her. To erase the distance with one impulsive step. But pride, stubbornness, and the raw sting of the months they’d lost held him back. His ego flared. How dare she look so content without him? How dare she move on, even without slight guilt in her heart after what she had done to their baby?
The thought hit him like a cold wave, sharp and relentless. Anger surged through him along with a gnawing ache he couldn’t shake. He hated the unfairness of it all, hated that she could smile so freely when he was drowning in memories, in regret, in loss.
But still, despite the swirled emotions inside him, he stayed rooted in place, torn between the urge to run to her and the walls he had built around his heart.
"But seriously, sis... he didn’t look scary at all earlier..." Adam said, shrugging.
"His eyes were more like... hmm... sadness?"
Daisy waved her hand dismissively, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Pfft, sadness? Honestly, Adam... why would he even feel sad about it? He should be happy, he managed to throw this damn woman who got rid of his baby..." Although the sound of her voice sounded casual, the eyes couldn’t lie.
Both Aurora and Adam went silent.
"He even happily demanded every penny from me so I could suffer slowly," Daisy continued, her voice low but steady, each word cutting sharper than she intended. Her fingers tightened around the skewer in her hand, betraying the storm of emotions she was trying to hide behind her smirk. "He must be leaning on his seat, smiling, thinking he finally got his revenge on this woman who kill—"
She stopped abruptly. The word lodged in her throat, her chest heaving as the emotions she fought so hard to bury clawed their way out.
Before Aurora or Adam could say anything, a sharp scrape of footsteps cut through the quiet night.
Theo.
He rushed toward them, his presence heavy. In seconds, he stood right in front of Daisy, his eyes blazing as he stared down at her, like he’d been summoned by the very wound in her voice.
Theo’s hand shot out and clamped around Daisy’s wrist, firm and unyielding. "We need to talk," he said, his voice low but vibrating with urgency.
Everyone froze. For a heartbeat, it felt as though time itself had stopped, the firelight flickering across their stunned faces. It took them a moment to even register that it was really him—Theo, standing right there before them.
"I don’t," Daisy spat, jerking her hand back, breaking free from his grip with more force than she thought she had. Her chest heaved, her eyes flashing with equal parts fury and fear.
Adam instinctively stepped forward, his brows knitting together. "Sir, it would be better if you let her hand go... or this could be considered abuse."
Theo’s eyes snapped toward him, cold and sharp as a blade. "Abuse?" His voice carried a bitter laugh, mocking and dangerous. "I could report you." He took a step closer, his gaze unrelenting.
Then, he shifted his glare to Aurora. "And you..." His words dripped with venom. "as someone who kidnapped my wife... should I?"
"What nonsense! They didn’t kidnap me!" Daisy shot back.
Theo’s gaze back towards her, cold and scary, "Then should I report you?"
Daisy laughed mockingly, "For what?"
"For stealing the things from my house." Theo’s eyes drifted slowly down to her hand, just wanting to confirm something.
"I didn’t freaking take anything from the house! Stop lying and making me sound like some damn thief!" Daisy’s voice rang louder than she intended, her fingers tightening around the skewer until her knuckles turned white.
Theo’s eyes darkened, a dangerous calm settling over him. "Should I call the police then, choose between kidnapping or stealing?"
Daisy let out a hollow laugh, the sound sharp enough to sting. "Go ahead, Theo. Call them. I’d love to see what crime you’re going to pin on me this time... maybe a killer?"
Her words landed like a slap, and for the first time that night, Theo’s composure cracked. His chest rose and fell sharply, eyes narrowing as if her accusation had driven a blade into him.
"Careful with your mouth, Daisy," Theo warned, his voice low, trembling not with weakness but with rage barely chained.
Daisy smirked, though her fingers trembled around the skewer. "Why not? Isn’t that what you’ve been thinking all along? That I killed our baby?"
Before anyone could react, Theo scooped her up onto his shoulder in one swift motion. He turned, his glare like fire. "Don’t stop me or I’ll drag your whole family through hell."
His final warning froze the siblings where they stood, their breaths caught in their throats, as Theo carried Daisy away.