Adrienne couldn't stand Richard's sudden silence and distant attitude any longer. She decided to go to the one place where she thought he might be: his mansion.
She hoped to find him there, or at least talk to Juliette. She suspected that Juliette knew something about Richard's erratic behavior.
"Yuck!" she exclaimed.
The mere idea of talking to Juliette disgusted her.
She felt more like smashing Juliette's bones than having a conversation with her.
She drove for hours before she reached his mansion.
"He's not here. He hasn't been back for days," one of his guards at the gate told her.
"You're lying. He told you to say that, didn't he? Let me in. I'll see for myself," Adrienne demanded.
The guards exchanged glances and nodded before they opened the gate for her.
She parked her car and entered the mansion.
"Richard? Richard!" She called out several times, but no one answered.
"I know you're hiding. Stop this nonsense and tell me what's going on," Adrienne yelled, but she only heard silence.
She searched all eight bedrooms of the mansion, one by one.
She also checked his study, the kitchen, the laundry room, and every other room. She found no trace of him or Juliette.
Adrienne collapsed on a couch in the living room, exhausted from her search. She had been looking for almost an hour.
She meant to catch her breath for a few minutes, but she fell asleep on the couch.
She woke up about three hours later and realized it was already afternoon. Her trip here had been fruitless, so she decided to go back home.
As she approached her car, she noticed something different in his mansion's garden.
The flowers had changed and ... there was a grave?
His garden used to have flowers of various vibrant colors and kinds, but now it was filled with white lilies, all surrounding the grave.
"White lilies?" Adrienne gasped as she slowly approached the grave.
Her heart clenched as she wondered who was buried there. She felt a surge of fear as she took careful steps to the front of the grave to see the name on it, if any.
Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground when she saw the name engraved on it.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Juliette?" Adrienne sobbed.
"This can't be true," Adrienne said.
She was still on the ground and she reached out to touch the grave, crushing some of the lilies around it.
It was indeed Juliette's name on it.
"How?" Adrienne cried.
Suddenly, she sensed someone's shadow looming over her from behind.
She slowly turned to see who it was and it was Richard.
He was dressed elegantly in an all-black suit. His cobalt eyes pierced hers, but she could see the sadness behind his intense gaze.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked between sobs and stood up on her feet.
He moved closer to her, maintaining eye contact, and his arm gently wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
Adrienne hugged him, knowing how much he needed her right now. He held her tightly, as if he would never let her go.
"I'm so sorry," Adrienne wept on his chest.
He managed a smile as he softly stroked her back. He felt the sadness in his heart ease a little.
"I'm sorry for disappearing like that," he said, releasing her.
They held hands and walked slowly back to the main house.
"You should have told me," Adrienne said softly.
"How did it happen? Was it Lincoln? He got the money, right?" Adrienne asked.
"It wasn't Lincoln, technically, but he was the one who left her tied up for two days without food, so he's still to blame," Richard said, his voice still tinged with sadness.
"She was starved to death?" Adrienne couldn't believe how cruel Lincoln was.
"But you said she was being taken care of here," Adrienne said.
"Yes. I made sure she was laid to rest in a beautiful garden," Richard said.
Adrienne stopped walking abruptly and Richard faced her.
"I'm so sorry, Richard," She said, her eyes filling with tears again.
"It's okay, babydoll. I am glad you are here," Richard caressed her hair tenderly with his other hand.
"No, not that. I'm sorry I can't comfort you at a time like this," Adrienne said, slowly letting go of his hand.
"Adrienne..."
"Don't call me insensitive, but I can't just forget how much Juliette hurt me just because she's dead. I'm sorry, I still hate Juliette.
I'm trying not to, for your sake, but it's hard, Richard. It really is," Adrienne said, wiping tears from her cheeks with one hand and turning to leave.
"Adrienne, please don't go," Richard tried to stop her, but she walked away without looking back.
He watched her get into her car and drive away from his house.
***
She drove back to her hotel, feeling mentally exhausted. She couldn't stop thinking about Richard and how much he needed her right now, but she had to leave him. She didn't go home, she couldn't face it.
She locked herself in and threw herself on the bed. She was overwhelmed by anger, guilt, and confusion.
She hated Juliette for what she had done to her, but she also felt sorry for her death.
She loved Richard, but sometimes, Juliette's memory made her resent him. She wished she could erase the past and start over with him, but she knew it was impossible.
She reached for her phone and saw that he had called her several times. She ignored his calls and messages, not wanting to hear his voice or his explanations. She had nothing to say to him, and nothing to hear from him, even though he was the only one who had ever made her feel alive, the only one who had ever understood her, and also the one who had broken her heart.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but she couldn't. She kept seeing his face, his pained eyes, his sad smile.
She kept hearing his voice, his words, his apologies. She kept feeling his touch, his kiss, his hug.
She couldn't get him out of her head, no matter how hard she tried.
"He is the one I love despite everything," she whispered to herself under the sheets.
She realized that she had made a mistake by leaving him when he was hurting.
She opened her eyes and looked at the clock. It was mid-afternoon. She wondered what he was doing, if he was thinking about her, missing her, or regretting her.
She decided to call him. She picked up her phone and dialed his number, hoping that he would answer.
She wanted to hear him say he loved her, that he wanted her, that he needed her, that he wanted her to come back.
"Why did I even leave him in the first place?" she questioned herself.
"Baby," she heard his voice.
She tried to speak, but she couldn't. She didn't know what to say, how to say it, or if she should say it.
She felt a lump in her throat, a knot in her stomach, a pain in her chest, tears in her eyes, a tremor in her voice, a fear in her heart.
She felt everything and nothing at the same time.
Adrienne then hung up and cried.