“Because of love.” Those dark stormy gray orbs met mine. “She loved him, Emerald. Even after he threw her out of the board members when she had equally worked hard with him to raise the company to success, even after he started manhandling her, even after he disrespected her every day, she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay with the man she once fell in love with hoping that he’d magically become the same charming man she once knew. She didn’t want her family to get shattered. So, she stayed. Tolerating everything.”

I gulped the tears that threatened to spill. She loved that man so much, but the only thing she got in return was heartache. “And she found solace in alcohol to forget her pain?”

He nodded, staring hard at the fire that flickered so high, as if it just needed a bit more air to spread its destructive wings into raging lava. The rage in his eyes matched the zing of the flames in the fireplace.

“Even though most of the time she used to be lost in alcohol, she sometimes used to come into my room at midnight to kiss my forehead and whisper goodnight.” His voice cracked at the end.

Not being able to stand there anymore, I walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. But he didn’t look up at me. Maybe because he didn’t want me to see the moisture in his eyes.

A tear slipped down my cheek. His pain was slicing through my heart. I wanted to hold him to my chest and tell him everything would be all right, that I was here with him. But the stiffness of his shoulders and rigid posture stopped me from doing so.

“She tolerated everything even after she was dying inside. She kept smiling at the fancy parties he took her with him, so no one could raise a finger at our family. She took his insults every fucking day without relent. But everything had a breaking point. Everything had a line.” His lips curled in distaste, his nostrils flared in rage. “And the line broke that night.”

I straightened. My heart pounded. I knew my answers were just a few moments away. I knew it was the night that became the worst night of his life. The night that still haunted him.