Meeting her again!

It's been five days since the scandal of the Jones family's second son having a forbidden love affair with his sister-in-law had become a trending search in the city. Austin Jones had tried every means possible to shut the media and delete the news without a trace, but it had become impossible even with the amount of power they possessed. To top it off, the people who once looked down on Vanessa and mocked her for marrying the second son of the Jones family because he was rich had pitied her for her miserable marriage. Frustrated with the result, Master Jones had ordered Austin to get Vanessa and present her before him even if he had to search the entire world. With that, Austin and Theo had utilized all the resources, but couldn't find any trace of Vanessa after she moved from New York as if she had disappeared into thin air after she divorced him! Her social media accounts weren't even active in these past days, and the only post that was present on her account was the ironic apology and an image of their divorce certificate. But Austin was slightly relieved since there were no new posts, or else he would go berserk, not knowing how to get the situation under control! Since Austin, Isabella, and Vanessa's relationship was one of the major hot searches in the past week, the popularity of Vanessa had risen to its peaks, and she got a lot of followers, and the count even crossed a couple million in just three days making her an instant internet celebrity! But there wasn't a single person who had heard of Vanessa after that incident as if she didn't exist at all! Her sim card was out of service, and her bank account was closed. All her debit and credit cards were blocked. The little financial assets she had possessed previously also disappeared! Austin even tried to find her based on her last flight ticket, which was booked to Los Angeles on October 10th. Theo even fled to Los Angeles immediately to meet her, but there weren't any clues about her. He knew Vanessa's flight landed successfully in LA, but Vanessa's arrival wasn't even recorded in the airport's cc footage! Not even a single clue was present as if her presence was wiped off from the earth itself! He had no idea where she had gone nor how was she doing! As Theo reported the same to Austin, his facial features turned so cold that Theo had felt a chill run down his spine. Eyeing at the trembling Theo with his head bent down, Austin sneered, "what rubbish are you saying?" "How can Vanessa just vanish as if she never existed? For heaven's sake, she was my wife for three years!" Austin couldn't control it anymore and lost his temper. As words left his mouth, as if something struck his mind, he muttered under his breath, "back then she just appeared out of nowhere, and now she had disappeared the same way!" Hearing his words, Theo quickly agreed to it and mumbled wiping the sweat on his forehead, "you were correct, Mr.Jones. Her existence was a mystery!" Austin's chest tightened as he grasped the reality of their situation. He felt immense pain in his heart as if it was cut by a sharp knife again and again and there was nothing he could do! His body shook in fury, and he smashed the vase beside him in rage and a loud grin escaped his lips as if he had become crazy in anger, "very good, Vanessa!" "From now on, I would take you as a dead woman!" Austin muttered in a menacing tone making Theo snap his head at him in surprise, but didn't utter a word! Eyeing the bewildered Theo, he scowled, "get out!" Listening to his roar, Theo gave a nod and almost ran out as if his legs had their own mind and shut the door carefully, leaving the infuriated and lonely Austin behind. Austin grabbed a cigarette and strode to the sprawling glass window, deep in thoughts. He took quick puffs until the pack was almost emptied and threw it aside while raking his fingers into his messy hair. He had dark circles under his eyes and his face was a bit pale as if he hadn't had a good night's sleep in the past days. With a deep inhale, he shook his head and settled back on his chair while his gaze roamed across the gifts Vanessa had sent him when they were married. He clenched his fists, and his jaw turned so sharp while his eyes turned frosty. Without wasting another second, he broke them and threw all of them into a dustbin. "Well done, Austin!" He muttered under his breath while sarcasm danced in his tone as his eyes had hidden pain while he appeared as if he had lost some weight! ... Five months later At New York City's Carlton Hotel. Vanessa was coming into the banquet hall with her head held high, shoulders squared, and the clicking sound of her heels could be only heard on the red carpet, followed by her secretary Caroline Quill. The moment she stepped her foot into the decorated hall with lots of people already seated in their places, she heard someone mentioning Mr.Jones faintly and frowned. She knew there weren't many Jones families that could be called in such a respectable way in the city, and the corners of her eyes involuntarily searched to find the source of the man named Mr.Jones. As if her guess was correct, her eyes landed on the one man she never wanted to see again! Her Ex-Husband, Austin Jones! What an unexpected surprise she had received? Noah Cole, the organizer of the event, almost instantly stood up and moved in hurried steps and greeted Austin, "Mr. Jones, you were finally here!" With that, he turned around and pointed his hands to the other side of the hall and said, "meet Miss Grant of the Grant Corporation." When she heard her name, she was alarmed and her brows furrowed but stood up calmly and walk towards them in elegant steps. Eyed them with a slight smile on her lips, although she saw Austin's cold eyes boring at her, she said nonchalantly, "Nice meeting you, Mr.Jones. You were quite a famous one!" Austin gazed at Vanessa in a daze, although he appeared extremely cold on the outside, his heart sped up in happiness when he saw her all safe and sound. He scrutinized her with his piercing eyes and noticed the changes in Vanessa, and for once, he even felt as if she was not the Vanessa he had known! He tried to clear his thoughts, but her charming looks and her confident aura weren't leaving his mind. His eyes focused on her silky bronze waves, and the way those luscious locks swayed behind her back when she moved ever so slightly, had kept him hooked, and his throat bobbed. He also noticed her accentuating makeup, while her watery eyes were bright, and she put on the hazel lens, which gave her even more attraction, but he missed her lustrous brown orbs. Damn! He wanted to curse himself for even the thought of missing those amber pools! Her maroon dress hugged her hourglass figure, highlighting her sensual curves, while the faint smile hadn't left her face for once. Her velvety voice was firm yet polite, and she portrayed her intentions well as if they were indeed strangers, which led to anger coursing through his veins. Seeing her like that, he felt only one thing! That is, she was leading a good life after divorcing him! As realization dawned on him, his features darkened, and suddenly the aura emanating from his had turned chilly. He eyed Vanessa's extended hand, waiting for him to shake, but he was in no mood to entertain her! With that, he didn't want to give her any face and sat down as if she wasn't worthy of his handshake! Understanding the blatant disrespect he had shown, her smile faded, and she immediately let her hand down while licking her plump lips as suddenly she felt her mouth was dried up. Sensing the unusual tension between Austin and Vanessa, Noah was bewildered but tried his best to cover up the awkwardness by changing the topic. In the next minute, Vanessa get a grip on herself and gave her usual charming smile as if Austin's behavior hadn't affected her even in the slightest and didn't spare him another glance the whole time! Noah chatted happily with Vanessa and occasionally tried to bring Austin into the conversation, but Austin was like an aloof man and glared coldly at Vanessa as if she had owed him billions! Observing the tense atmosphere between Austin and Vanessa, Noah decided to end the dinner as quickly as he could since he couldn't afford to offend either of them! ...