She's My Sleeping Pill

'Knock! Knock! Knock!'

Luiz knocked on Stefan's room early in the morning to check on him. It's been three days since Cayenne was kidnapped and up until this moment, they still haven't received any news regarding her.

At first, they thought that it was a kidnap for ransom but there wasn't any call from the abductors to negotiate money with them. They fear that this will be a case of rape and murder but as long as no dead body is found, their whole family was still hoping that she's alive.

However, Stefan was probably dying inside. Three days have passed and he hasn't eaten a single meal. The only sign of life that they knew was the rustling sound of his room. As long as he makes some sound, they would know that he's still breathing.

Luiz took a deep breath and knocked once again. "Brother-in-law, you need to come out and eat. If you won't eat, who are we going to depend from now on.. My sister is not here and we needed you. If my sister knows that you're punishing yourself like this, she wouldn't be happy. Do you want her to be upset?"

Luiz leaned on the door and he could hear the faint rustling sound inside. It was so faint from the outside but it was already loud within the bedroom. Stefan stood up and looked around, the absence of his wife makes him feel so useless and annoyed.

He could hear the faint words that Luiz mentioned but he still didn't get the energy to start over again.

"Brother-in-law, we still have classes to attend to. Please eat something today or I will tell my sister that you skipped your meals." Luiz put down the tray of food right outside his room and left. He stayed for five more minutes but Stefan didn't come out of his room. Luiz couldn't himself from sighing as he left the villa.

After the incident happened, Luiz thought that they'd be going back to their own house but, Magnus and Ferdinand stopped them from leaving. With Cayenne's incident, they suggested that the whole family stays together to make sure that they can protect each other. Besides, the villa has better security protection compared to their own home.

"Let's go." Luiz told his brother Kyle and the two of them left for school.

Stefan's room was facing towards the entrance and exit of the villa and he saw that Luiz left already along with Kyle. "Ayen." He whispered her name again. "Ayen, where are you?"

Knowing that he caused so much trouble to the whole family, Stefan finally came out of his room and took the tray of food that Luiz has left for him. He ate the food and brought the tray to the kitchen where Lucia and the other chef was working.

Seeing him after three days, Lucia was stunned and her eyes widened from surprise. Not really surprise, more like in horror. The Stefan right now wasn't the same Stefan she has known for months. He was unkempt with the same clothes he wore three days ago. His stubbles have grown within three days without shaving and his hair was messy like a bird's nest. What's worse were the dark eyebags under his eyes. They were so dark that he looked like a panda.

"Sir? Do you need anything else?" Lucia asked hesitantly.

"Nothing." Stefan placed the tray and the empty plates on the counter and left. He went back to his room and took a shower. The words that Luiz said struck a chord in his heart and he knew that he needed to stay strong to find his wife. He shaved off his stubbles and changed clothes. Now that Cayenne wasn't around, he didn't need to worry about matching his clothes but remembering how happy he was to choose clothes for her, Stefan couldn't stop his eyes from tearing up.

Who says men don't cry? Aren't they human? Don't they have feelings? Of course, they would cry. It's okay to talk about their feelings, their weaknesses, their flaws. It is not un-manly to hurt, to feel pain, to cry. Real men do cry. Men get upset and sad and depressed, they feel insecure about themselves, their abilities, and they are allowed to feel pain and frustration and loss.

Stefan wiped away his tears and put on his clothes. He was about to call Chris to come over and pick him up but he realized that yesterday was the last day of Chris in his company. He's no longer his secretary.

In the end, he decided to drive himself to work. When he arrived, many people looked at him and sighed in sadness. The boss who smiles to them, greets them and talks to them was nowhere to be seen. He was back to being the cold and devil boss.

Tristan and Elena greeted him as soon as he arrived in his office but Stefan didn't even return the greeting. "What's my schedule for today?"

Elena immediately opened her iPad and looked Stefan's schedule. "You have a meeting at 9:00 in the morning with the shareholder of Madeline Park, Aurora's Snow World and Volaris Museum. A surprise inspection in Raddison Hotel at 11:00 in the morning and a lunch meeting with Mr. Song. There's –"

"Let's deal with the morning activities first." Stefan told Elena before turning to Tristan. "You will only do one thing starting today; look for Cayenne. Find any traces that might lead us to her. Until she's found, I'm not giving you another task."

"Yes, sir."

Tristan and and Elena left the office and started doing their work. Stefan also prepared for the meeting because it's important to keep his empire while waiting for his wife.

In Trine Elite University, Luiz stopped signing autographs and meeting with his fans. He was still worried about his sister's sudden abduction and he couldn't muster up himself to give his fans some fake smile. Thankfully, they understood his current situation. Many students expressed their worries as well and some even told him that they would help looking for her.

He thought that it was just a passing comment in order to comfort him but his fans really did it. They worked with other fans, telling everyone to pay attention to their surroundings and see if they could find Cayenne. This was just a little effort but they were hoping they could really find him.

The reality was very different from their expectations though. Cayenne was no longer in the city and she was now in a place which was away from other people. Aside from the abductors and the doctor, there was no one she can reach out and she couldn't reach out to anyone as of the moment because she's still in coma.