Three days.
It had been three days since Conrad laid his heart out for Victoria. He confessed his love for her in the attic. He saw the panic in her eyes and knew she was taken by surprise. That he had expected. But this... This reaction had come out of the blue.
Although the kids assured him that they'd heard from her, Conrad hadn't heard a word from Victoria. He hadn't seen her. If it hadn't been for the kids he would have called the police again. He knew she was avoiding him, but unless he could get to her, he feared spending the rest of his life with a ghost of a wife.
He had tried to catch her on her early morning jogs, but he never caught her in time. He originally chalked it up to him being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Last night, he had gone as far as to lock the door to her bedroom. He felt silly at making such a desperate attempt to get her attention. But she hadn't come home.
Charlotte had shown him the text messages and played the voicemails she received from her mother. He knew Charlotte wouldn't hide anything from him, especially if it meant protecting her mother. But Daniel, Daniel was different.
Conrad immediately noticed the way Daniel avoided eye contact when answering the questions. He didn't offer to show his phone and flat out refused when Conrad insisted. All Daniel would tell him was that she hid in the last place he'd expect to find. Conrad racked his brain making list after list, desperate to reach Victoria before it was too late.
Victoria wasn't proud of her actions. She knew she was avoiding Conrad and yet she had decided to hide in the one place he'd be able to get to her. She had escaped to Conrad's bachelor pad in the city. She knew the decision reflected on all the things her mind refused to accept. Despite everything she loved Conrad, too. She could have crossed oceans to escape him. She could have hidden in the cabin that David Clarke had told her about. She could have hidden anywhere.
Instead she hid in the first place that Conrad had taken her for an extended stay. She doubted that he'd figure it out, but she wasn't sure if that made her happy or sad. She enjoyed staying at the bachelor pad. The rich oak and open bar reminded her of Conrad. His scent was everywhere and she got a thrill of laying in the bed that smelled like him. She even let herself enjoy a whiff of the body wash in the shower. She would take it to the grave but she let her imagination go wild, entertaining fantasies of Conrad storming in and taking possession of her.
It didn't take Conrad long to get Daniel's phone records. Although he knew the cell phone towers that had picked up Victoria's cell phone signal, he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. She was in the city, but in an island like Manhattan that meant very little.
And then he saw it.
One small outgoing call on Daniel's phone. The call went to the bachelor pad he had shown his son. If only the two men knew about it, who was Daniel talking to?
Conrad knew he had her. He had written it on his list three times, always crossing it off. His reasoning had been that he once felt the penthouse had been a happy memory for them. While he was still married they had escaped there, enjoying nights and sometimes weekends where they stayed in bed the entire time. The memories always brought a smile to his face; the way Victoria's hair became unruly and splashed across the bed, the deep laugh that seemed out of place for Victoria and the dimples that came with that laughter. Yet he crossed it off the list, remembering the way she insulted it when he had lied and said it was sold. Why would she go somewhere she hated?
Once again, he had underestimated her. She hadn't hated it, she had said that to hurt him. Furthermore, he realized that although she was avoiding him, she wasn't hiding from him. If anything, she had picked the one place he could easily get to her.
Conrad sat down, overwhelmed by the flood of thoughts that rushed through his mind. Was she waiting for him? Did that mean she loved him?
It didn't take long for Conrad to grab his keys and head out the door. At the bachelor pad, he didn't bother knocking on the door. Victoria would know who it was immediately and he needed to have the element of surprise on his side. He burst through the door, catching Victoria as she held a strawberry to her mouth.
"Conrad! What are you ... How are you..." She stammered.
Conrad didn't stop. He didn't bother with a reply. Instead, he raced over to her grabbing her waist and pulling her into a kiss. He was amazed at the lack of restraint on her part. In no time at all she had wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her to the bed.