His Mistress is His Ex-Wife
Chapter 91: Hope

Chapter 91: Hope

[ At Golden Villa... ]

Dominique had no plan of returning to the Smith Mansion. He couldn’t bear to see Sasha. To avoid seeing her, he decided to go to Golden Villa.

This place held so many memories he shared with Sabrina. This served as their love nest for the two years of their marriage.

He gave this villa to Sabrina as compensation for their divorce. Unfortunately, Sabrina disappeared while Enzo had lost his memory five years ago.

Dominique secretly maintained this villa. He assigned a caretaker who would clean and manage the villa on his behalf. Sasha was clueless about this. Deep inside, he was hoping that once Sabrina returned, she would still live in this house.

The layout of the house and the arrangements of furniture were still the same as five years ago. Their large wedding photo was still hung at the center of the house.

Dominique entered the master’s bedroom. His eyes gleamed with sadness as he stared at the room. Sabrina’s warmth was long gone, including her scent. He felt the emptiness in his heart as his eyes scanned his surroundings.

Dominique slowly traced his steps toward the bed. Then he lay down, staring at the ceiling blankly.

{ What do I get in return for becoming your woman? }

Athena’s words resounded in his ears. He was tempted to accept her offer, making her his woman. Perhaps, he could even bring her into this house.

"Sigh. Am I losing my mind? Despite the difference in appearance, I can still see Sabrina in Athena. When I’m with her, I feel like I’m spending time with Sabrina. She can satisfy my longing for Sab."

Dominique picked up his phone. He installed the Ye-tube app and created an account. He immediately followed Athena’s channel.

He played her videos, listening to her voice with his eyes closed. Without seeing Athena’s face, Dominique could imagine Sabrina seeing her song.

Subconsciously, his lips curled up into a gentle smile. As he listened to her, Dominique became more convinced that Athena might be Sabrina.

He only needed to confirm her identity through a DNA test. Part of him wanted to do it, but there was a portion in his subconscious that was afraid to do it.

What if Athena’s DNA would not match Sabrina’s? Would he be able to accept that Sabrina was gone and she would no longer be coming back?

Dominique was more afraid of losing the last strand of his hope. If he confirmed that Athena was not Sabrina, then it only meant he had lost Sabrina forever, including their child.

"I avenged my family, but I’m not happy. I feel like an empty shell... someone who already lost his purpose to live." Dominique smiled bitterly at that thought.

"I should have joined her... jumping off the bridge that day. Maybe... dying is the easy way out..." Dominique’s voice was filled with regret. His hand clenched his chest tightly.

Dominique got off the bed and headed to the cabinet where a concealed vault lay hidden. He pressed the passcode to unlock it. It was the date of their wedding.

When the vault was opened, he picked up a document. It was the Divorce Agreement he forced Sabrina to sign five years ago.

His fingers traced the page, conflicting emotions evident on his face. Dominique didn’t submit the divorce agreement to the civil registrar.

So in other words, if Sabrina was alive, then his marriage with Sasha would be void since his divorce with Sabrina hadn’t been processed yet. Sabrina was still his legal wife. The divorce agreement should be submitted to the civil registrar to finalize the legal separation and make it official.

"I have this feeling that Sabrina might return for revenge. If it happens... then I am willing to accept her punishment. I’m not going to fight her... because I deserve it." Dominique mumbled, tightening his grip on the document.

"I’ll be waiting for you, Sab... You can hurt me all you want... but this time, I will never give up on you... never give up on us. I will do my best to have a frest start with you and receive your forgiveness," he swore to himself. Being stupid once was enough. This time he wanted to make things right.

Dominique fixed the document and put it back to the vault. He had just finished locking the vault when his phone rang. It was an incoming call from his right hand man– Captain Levi.

"How is your investigation going?" He asked Levi with utmost curiosity. He wanted to hear something significant related to Athena’s background.

"Sir... I apologize but some information related to Athena Ivankov were restricted. I can’t find anything useful aside from getting information about how her singing career started in Ye-Tube. She is a very mysterious woman." Levi admitted that he was struggling in digging information about Athena.

"But one thing is for sure. A powerful person is behind this. Someone is preventing me from gathering private information about her origin. Someone is protecting her in the shadows."

Dominique frowned when he heard that. He was disappointed with the result of Levi’s investigation. Athena’s identity became more suspicious.

"Sir, have you heard of the Ivankov Clan? It is a powerful family in Country M and they are part of the biggest Mafia group in the Western Countries. I think Miss Athena is connected with them. Every member of that family is protected by strict data privacy. It will be hard to investigate them unless you have connection with one of their members."

"Ivankov... Country M..." Dominique murmured, rubbing his chin as he tried to think about Levi’s words.

Before long, realization struck Dominique, his eyes widening. "Aaron mentioned to me that he came from Country M... and he was also an Ivankov. Athena Ivankov... Aaron Ivankov! There is no way this is just a pure coincidence. The two might be related!" He snapped his fingers, his eyes gleamed with anticipation.

’Sabrina may have been hiding in the country for the past five years. And now, she came back... ready for revenge.’

For some unknown reason, Dominique chuckled with joy. He continued laughing, his hand covering his eyes.

"Sir? Is everything okay?" Levi asked him worriedly. He couldn’t understand why Dominique was laughing like this.

"Yes, Levi. Everything is good. Let me call you again. Wait for my instructions."

"Okay, Sir. Copy." Captain Levi hung up the call.

Dominique couldn’t help but smile, feeling relieved. He found another reason to believe that Sabrina and their child were alive.

With the current information he had, plus his gut feelings, he could only conclude that Athena was indeed Sabrina and Aaron might be his son. She could change her appearance for revenge. But Dominique had a way to confirm his suspicion.

"If this is what you want, Sab... then I will play along with you. I don’t care anymore. I just want to be with you. I just pretend that I know nothing. I’ll wait for you to reveal your real identity."

At that certain moment, Dominique had made up his mind. He could no longer stay away from Athena.

******

[ At Ashton’s Place... ]

Ashton couldn’t sleep. He kept turning and tossing around his bed. Something was troubling his mind right now.

"Damn! What should I do? I can’t believe this!" Ashton tugged his hair tightly as he buried his face on his pillow.

He couldn’t forget what he had witnessed earlier. He just dropped by the building for some errand when he saw Sasha’s car.

She stepped out of her car with a serious expression on her face. He tried to chase after her to talk to her. But to his surprise, he saw something unexpected.

"Timothy pulled Sasha... as they entered his unit. I thought they were just having a friendly conversation, or perhaps, she went there to find Dominique. However... the two acted suspiciously."

Earlier, Ashton waited for a few minutes before ringing the doorbell. He didn’t want to put another meaning to Sasha’s sudden visit however, it was already late at night to talk about business.

When he could no longer control his curiosity, Ashton rang the doorbell. He was glad when Timothy opened the door. He thought he was just overthinking.

But his suspicion grew when he didn’t saw Sasha inside. Timothy also lied to him when he said he was alone. Ashton was not stupid. He could tell that Sasha was hiding from him.

He decided to leave Timothy’s condo unit and waited outside. His heart sank when he saw Sasha leaving Timothy’s unit.

Several inappropriate thoughts entered his mind. Sasha was even wearing Timothy’s jacket.

Unable to control his emotions, Ashton stopped Sasha, grabbing her hand before she could enter her car. He wanted to confront her. But his courage dissipated when he locked his gaze with her.

All the questions he wanted to throw at her remained trapped in his throat– "What were you doing at Timothy’s place? Are you having an affair with Timothy behind Dominique’s back?"

"Damn it! I was such a coward!" Ashton cursed himself.