Chương 5
But it was hers.
She placed her keys on the counter and stood quietly.
For a moment, she imagined Julian walking through the door.
The old version of him.
The one who would kiss her forehead and ask about her day.
The image disappeared quickly.
She opened the refrigerator.
Inside was a container of soup Rosa had brought her two days earlier.
She warmed it and sat at the small table near the window.
Her phone remained untouched beside her.
At 12:17 a.m., it vibrated.
Another message.
This time from Julian.
She stared at the screen for almost a minute before opening it.
I know I do not deserve a conversation.
I know I made you carry something I should have carried with you.
But I need to understand what happened.
Not to fix it.
Not to make excuses.
Just to understand.
Elena read the message twice.
Then she placed the phone face down.
Because the hardest part was not that she wanted him to come back.
The hardest part was that a small part of her still wanted him to become the man she had waited for.
The next morning, Julian arrived at the Rossi Group headquarters before anyone else.
The building was usually a place where he felt comfortable.
Glass walls.
Quiet elevators.
Employees who lowered their voices when he walked past.
A world built around efficiency and control.
But that morning, every reflection in the glass seemed to show the same thing.
A man who had mistaken being successful for being present.
His assistant, Natalie, arrived fifteen minutes later and stopped when she saw him sitting at his desk without a computer open.
“You are here early,” she said.
Julian looked up.
“I need something.”
Natalie placed her tablet on the desk.
“Business or personal?”
The question surprised him.
Then he remembered she had worked with him for six years.
She had seen him cancel vacations, ignore messages from friends, and stay in conference rooms until sunrise.
She probably knew there were only two categories in his life.
Things that made money.
Things he avoided.
“Personal.”
Natalie sat down carefully.
“That is rare.”
“I need every document related to Elena’s employment at the Grand Alcazar.”
Natalie hesitated.
“Why?”
“Because I need to know what happened.”
The hesitation returned.
“Mr. Rossi, if this is about a private matter, I am not sure company records are the right place to start.”
Julian looked at her.
“I am not asking you to invade her privacy.”
“Then what are you asking?”
He had no simple answer.
The truth was uncomfortable.
He wanted information because information was how he survived.
Numbers.
Reports.
Facts.
They gave him the illusion that nothing could surprise him.
But Elena was not a business problem.
She was a person.
“I want to understand what I missed,” he said.
Natalie watched him for a moment.
Then she opened her tablet.
“There may not be much.”
“I know.”
“And if there is something sensitive?”
“Do not send it to me.”
Natalie looked up.
That was not the answer she expected.
“Then what should I do?”
“Tell me what I need to know without giving me anything she would not want shared.”
Natalie nodded slowly.
“All right.”
After she left, Julian sat alone.
The office felt unusually large.
On the wall behind his desk was a photograph from the company’s first major expansion.
He stood in the center surrounded by executives.
Everyone was smiling.
Everyone looked certain.
He remembered that day.
He remembered calling Elena afterward.
She had answered while grocery shopping.
He had spent ten minutes talking about the deal.
She had listened.
Then she had said, “I am happy for you.”
At the time, he heard pride.
Now he wondered if he had missed the sadness underneath.
An hour later, Natalie returned.
She did not sit.
“There is something you should know.”
Julian looked up.
“Go ahead.”
“Elena started working at the hotel six months ago.”
His expression changed.
“Six?”
“Yes.”
He looked at the calendar on his desk.
The timing hit him.
Six months ago was after she disappeared.
After he had convinced himself she wanted nothing to do with him.
“She did not use your name,” Natalie continued.
“What do you mean?”
“She applied under Elena Rossi.”
Julian frowned.
“That is her name.”
“Yes.”
Natalie paused.
“But she listed you as separated spouse information on an emergency form.”
The words were quiet.
Separated spouse.
Not divorced.
Not married.
Not abandoned.
Separated.
Julian leaned back.
“Did anyone know?”
“Probably not.”
“Why?”
“Because employees do not usually study emergency forms.”
He looked toward the window.
Outside, the city moved normally.
Cars.
People.
Noise.
A thousand lives happening without knowing his was falling apart.
“Natalie.”
“Yes?”
“Did she ever request assistance?”
Natalie checked the tablet.
“There was a medical leave request.”
Julian’s face tightened.
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“Why?”
Natalie hesitated.
“She had complications related to her pregnancy.”
The room became quiet.
Julian felt a pressure in his chest.
“Was she alone?”
Natalie did not answer immediately.
That was enough.
He looked down.
The image of Elena pushing the housekeeping cart returned.
Her tired eyes.
Her careful movements.
The way she had refused to let him see how much she was hurting.
“She did not tell anyone to contact me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Natalie looked uncomfortable.
“Mr. Rossi, I think you know why.”
He did not like hearing it from someone else.
But he knew.
Because asking for help meant admitting she needed him.
And after the way he reacted, she had every reason to believe he would only make things harder.
That afternoon, Julian went back to the hotel.
He did not wear a tuxedo.
He did not bring executives.
He did not announce himself.
He wore a simple dark coat and walked through the lobby like everyone else.
The difference was immediate.
Without the usual armor of status, people looked at him differently.
Some recognized him.
Some did not.
May you like
He preferred the second group.
He found Elena during her break.
