Chapter 18: Burning Bad Energy

After failing to arose Rauf again, Amie left the room with a bang at the door.

Maybe all the news she had heard about him being active with June was all a lie. Cause she was finding it hard to believe how someone with eyes would pick June over her.

Or maybe he just couldn’t get it up at all.

The moment she was gone, Rauf let out a sigh.

He wasn’t used to pretending to be what he wasn’t, but for June’s safety he was ready to be anything.

Memories of how she carefully tend to him every night before getting to her side of the bed filled his head. She would wash his hair, cream it, and joke about plaiting it. According to her, it would make him - cute.

Cute wasn’t the sort of word you used in describing a man like Rauf.

But he laughed when she had said that.

How could he have let her slip off his hand like that?

The next morning, he was out of the mansion before Amie could come persuading him to eat one of her garbage again.

He met Henson at the bar. It was silent because it was early in the morning.

"What did you find out?"

"Everything the guard said was true." Henson said. "We tried to verify it from other staff of the mansion."

"And"

"I tried searching for Miss June as you instructed, but there was no traces of her here."

Rauf frowned.

June was supposed to be his sister-in-law, but ever since he got back to the mansion, she hadn’t bothered to pay them a visit once.

"And?"

"The last place she was traced to was her friends place downtown.’

Rauf nodded. That was a progress.

"But sir..."

He didn’t like the sound of that. In fact, but was the least favourite of Rauf’s word.

"She and her friend seemed to have vanished from the state."

Rauf tightened his arm on the armchair. It was all his fault. If only he had given June the attention she asked him at the hospital, maybe she wouldn’t have had any reason to flee.

"I want you to find out where she went to as soon as you can."

Henson nodded.

While he was gone, Rauf rested on the chair, he twirled a glass of alcohol which he swallowed at once. The burn made him feel alive.

Having no idea where the woman he loved was seemed to be taking its toll on him.

After a while, he stood up, ready to leave the room.

But a voice flow in his ears. A certain voice he wasn’t expecting to hear here, and not as early as this.

"I think he’s impotent." Amie’s voice carried in the bar.

Rauf stood still. No one needed to tell him she was talking about him, he could tell that much.

"You can’t be serious, Ames. With that fine face and all those bad boy vibes. He seriously can’t get it up."

"I wore my sexiest lingerie and yet he looked like he was staring at a wall." Her voice sounded irritated.

Rauf found it funny that his lack of interest in her had automatically made him impotent to her.

He looked towards the direction she was seated. They were two ladies beside him, probably her friends.

"I want the strongest wine in the house. Thank you."

It was have been frustrating to her.

Rauf shook his head and left the bar. If she wanted to believe he was impotent, who was he to correct her. As long as she stayed clear of his way, he didn’t mind.

Now that Amie wasn’t at home, Rauf found it was the most convenient time to return home.

Him and his wife had been living in that house for five years. They should be snippets of her all over the houses. And maybe he would be lucky enough to find something that would pinpoint him to where she might have run to.

Most of the guards were surprised to see the boss back soon, but they remained silent. After receiving a private visit from Henson, they were on better behaviours.

Rauf went directly to his room and started searching. During the last five years, they had shared room together.

He started throwing everything he saw on the floor, but no matter how hard he searched the room. There was nothing that belonged to a woman in there. Not even an earring.

He frowned at the room.

It his wife’s belongings weren’t in here, it had to be somewhere in the mansion. But there were so many rooms in here and searching everyone of them wasn’t Rauf cup of tea.

He went back to the living room and summoned every staff in the mansion.

"Where’s my wife belongings?"

The maids looked around as if he had just asked an odd question.

But Rauf wasn’t in the mood for their games.

With voice so cold that sent rivals into the mood of spilling their informations, he asked. "Where’s the belongings of the woman that lived with me for five years?"

One of the maids went down on her knees, her hand shook as she spoke. "Sir, Mrs Salvador asked us to burn everything in this house on the day you were release from the hospital."

Rauf stared at the maid as if she had personally offended him. "What did you just say? You burned my wife belongings."

The maid looked to others. "It was your wife that gave us the commande. She insisted on burning every bad energy in the mansion."

It was hard to believe, but Amie had planned everything perfectly before moving in. She wanted to remove everything that might remind him of June, but unfortunately for her, and fortunately for him, his memories wasn’t something she could temper with.

With a flick of a hand, he dismissed them all.

His mood went from bad to worse.

How could someone be as horrible as Amie?

Then he suddenly remembered the shopping bags she had in front of her the night he came back early.

Without wasting time, he moved into her room. It smelled horrible by the way, and gathered the boxes. Everything she bought were still in their boxes, which made what he wanted to do easier.

He could see some of the maids trying to see what he was doing, but the anger that clouded his gaze didn’t let him stop for once to think.

Moving to a secluded part of the mansion, he threw everything he had grabbed on the floor, and then beckoned on one of the guards.

"Burn all of this."

The guards who had recently learnt not to double his command, nodded. "Yes sir."

Rauf waited and watched as the guard got some fuel and started burning the clothes.

Satisfied, he watched everything turned into pile of ashes. Strangely enough, that seemed to melt some of his anger. And he was in a much better mood when he returned to the living room.

He retired to his office, updating Colin’s that he wouldn’t be coming to the office, but he should send all necessary documents that needed to be sign or approved through his mail.

He was busy and deep in work when he heard the satisfying shriek coming from the living room.

He relaxed on his chair, hands off his work, and counted until she would get into his office.

Three.

Two.

One.

At the count if one, the door bursted open and a teary Amie burst into his office.

"Darling, you won’t just believe what happened?"

Feigning innocent, Rauf stared at him. "What’s that?"

"I think a thief broke into the house."

This was what she could come up with, Rauf thought. Then "Thief. That’s impossible. This place is highly secured and there’s no way a thief will get access into the house."

But Amie wouldn’t have it any other way. "Can you believe all my designers wears - the Gucci, the LV, Prada and the rest were all gone. Some of those clothes are the only one in the world. I had to book a special order to get them. And they cost thousands of dollars."

Rauf blinked at her. "Are you talking about the the clothes that are still in the boxes?"

Glad that he could remember, Amie sighed. "Exactly that, darling. You need to catch and punish those thieves. And if possible get my wears back." She huffed.

She knew Rauf would do anything for him.

But when the man didn’t say a word and just stared at her, she frowned. "Darling, we should go now before the thief gets too far."

Annoyed by the repetitive darling, Rauf looked at her straight in the eyes. "There’s no need to go that far. There’s no thief in the mansion..."

"But." She tried to interrupt him.

Rauf huffed. "See, I was the one who burn those clothes."

The words came crushing on Amie. She couldn’t believe it. "But why?"

Rauf smirked at her. "I wanted to burn every bad energy in the mansion. And since I did that, I feel strangely good."

Amie stared at him in disbelief.

How could he go as far as burning those designers clothes just to feel good?

When Rauf saw she made no move to leave, he raised a brow at her. "Are you still here?"

Confused, Amie staggered out of the office. She kept glancing back at him.

Why would he do that?

As soon as Amie left, Rauf’s phone beeped.

It was a message from Henson.

"I found Miss June location. She’s in New Central State."

Rauf stared at the message.

"Guess it’s time to pay a visit to New Central State."