Tim woke up the next morning alone on her bed, with Roxanne herself being nowhere to be seen. He checked the bathroom too which was empty so he took his clothes in there to freshen up first and then go downstairs.

When he came down to the dining hall, he was told that she had left for her office early in the morning. But she had insisted on him having breakfast at her place that she had asked the servants to prepare for him.

Tim felt it odd that she had just left without waking him up or saying anything to him. If he was in her place, he would have never done that.

It wasn't that big of a deal and he was probably overthinking but it made him feel used.

Or perhaps he was a hopeless romantic, craving validation from the people he considered dear, especially those who he shared a deeper personal connection with.

He settled only for some strong coffee and didn't feel the need to have anything else from the assortment of food prepared. And because it was his duty to keep Roxanne safe, he dialed her number to check up on her.

After a few rings, she picked up and her sultry voice filled him up, "good morning, baby. How are you?"

He felt his cheeks tingle at that remark, "good morning. I'm fine, how are you?"

"Busy," she replied, "but don't worry, everything is under control. I'm at my office and I'll be back soon as everything gets wrapped up here."

"Should I join you?"

She paused to consider, "I won't mind but you must be busy too. I'm safe here, things are going smoothly and I'll text you when I leave. All is okay."

"Alright," he took in a deep breath, "I'll see you later then."

"Certainly." By her voice it sure seemed that she was very relaxed and happy, "oh and Tim, darling, did you have breakfast?"

"I... I'm not hungry. I took some coffee though."

"Of course you did," she remarked but then quickly added, "well, I have a meeting scheduled in ten minutes and there's a lot of work to tackle here. That's exactly why I left early this morning too, I thought coming here early would give me margin to sort things out."

"Right... All the best then and take care."

He knew she was probably smiling by then as she replied, "you too."

She hung up so he put the phone back but unlike her, he was slightly perturbed. He felt the way things were passing currently indicated the onset of a terrible storm.

There had been no more death threats but Tim was worried that it could be that whoever wanted her dead was preparing silently for the attack. He instinctively felt the need to be around her the entire time so he decided to go to her office.

Surprisingly Roxanne hadn't thought much about the abrupt pause in the death threats. She felt it was probably due to Romero that she was being targeted so after his sentence, they stopped as their target had been achieved and Rom was brought to justice.

Tim on the other hand was worried because with Romero's imprisonment, it would be even easier to target Roxanne as she no longer had the kind of protection that came with being the beloved sister of a feared gang leader.

No one knew what the two were like with each other in real life but on the front, they were a very close-knitted pair of siblings to the general public.

Perhaps that was what had stopped those people from attacking her so far but with Romero behind bars, the path was clear for them to strike.

Picking up a sandwich from the plate, he took out his car keys and left for her office.

Perhaps he got worried too much and Roxanne had been right in saying that things were going to be fine. But he considered it a responsibility he had taken the day he had signed the contract with her. He had to keep her safe and shouldn't be negligent in his duty.

He reached her office and waited in the lobby as she was still in the meeting. Tim was passing by and he noticed everyone there seemed to be in a rush.

He asked the receptionist what was going on and she told him that Roxanne was winding up that company in Gotham along with many other branches in the States. So at such an abrupt decision of shutting down entire branches of the Donnelley empire, a lot of work was required from both the staff and the authoritarian.

At last, Roxanne came to the lobby, holding a brown envelope. Her eyes lit up to see him and she dismissed the receptionist who went back to her tasks.

"See, I'm all okay," she remarked, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

He had noticed that she was starting to stay much happier after Romero's imprisonment. Perhaps she felt free with him not being around her.

"Why are you shutting down so many branches of your company?" He asked.

"It's a need of the current time," she replied, "I'm shutting down all the branches that were unnecessary but served as coverups for Rom's money trail. I'm not shutting down the entire company though and I'm looking after it that all my employees are compensated well."

"You must be very busy then. I won't hold you back from your work any longer," he remarked.

She smiled, handing him the envelope, "I know. That's why it would be better if you go back home. It's going to take me long here."

He took the envelope but raised an eyebrow, "what's this?"

"A gift," she replied with a soft smile, "but don't open it right now, okay? Wait till you get home and then when no one is around you, see what I got for you."

He felt the heat rise up to his cheeks, "okay, looks like something special."

"Very special," she agreed, "I'm going back to sort out this mess, and don't wait for me, okay?"

"Okay. Bye," he replied, seeing that she had to leave.

She would have stepped out but paused, taking in a deep breath as she turned back to face him. Then stepping closer to him, she captured his lips with her own in a sweet lingering kiss.

It seemed as if she really didn't want to let go of him.

But she had to as a lot of things there required her attention. Her eyes looked up in his as she smiled and breathed out, "goodbye, sweetheart."

Something clicked in his head but he couldn't quite register it. Something about that goodbye felt like a farewell one gave right before leaving for an indefinite amount of time.

So before she could go, his hand closed onto her wrist and he pulled her back to him again.

"What happened?" She asked playfully, "can't let go of me too soon?"

He looked deep into her eyes as if trying to figure something out. His gaze was intense and she felt slightly nervous too; he was always able to look past facades and it seemed he had a suspicion right then.

"You're not hiding anything, are you?"

She laughed lightly, brushing off his concerns, "what makes you think that? Everything's finally coming back on track and I'm happy. There's nothing to hide."

He nodded, letting go of her hand. His eyes flickered back to the envelope she had given him.

"Don't open it right now," she reminded him, "it will ruin the surprise."

"Alright then I guess I'll head back home," he remarked, stepping back, "call me if you need me."

"Sure," she smiled then left the lobby as her assistant had come to get her.

Tim took the envelope and went back home as he had nothing else to do. He thought he should talk to Jason and get updates on Adrian Castellan's case.

But before that, he had to check what was inside that envelope.

So upon reaching home, he went to his room and locked the door. Sitting on the chair by his desk and computer setup, he opened the seal of the envelope.

Inside was a deed of termination for the contract. Surprised, he took out the stamp paper on which the statement of both parties mutually terminating the contract was typed out.

Right at the bottom was the place where the signatures had to be put in and he saw that Roxanne had already signed the document. The only thing needed to terminate the contract between them was his signature beside hers.

He didn't understand why she would terminate the contract without the case of the death threats being solved. But as he looked back inside the document, there was a note. He took it out and read her cursive handwriting.

Thank you so much, Tim. You are the most caring boyfriend and the best bodyguard I could have ever gotten. I'm glad I asked Bruce and he chose you for the task. But I can't keep you bound to this contract anymore. I wish you all the best and hopefully, you'll find someone much more deserving of your love and sincerity.

The note didn't specify why she had terminated that contract all of a sudden even though there was no guarantee of her being safe from the people targeting her earlier. He read the very brief note over and over for any hidden clues but something felt off.

So he took out his phone and called her but it went to voicemail. A bit perturbed, he stood up, calling her office number. The receptionist picked up and told him that she had left already back when he was still in the building.

Her assistant had come to tell her that her cab was waiting for her and she had left before Tim did.

Nothing felt right about the entire situation. Why would Roxanne not tell him even when he had asked her if she was hiding something from him or not?

But then perhaps he trusted her more than she did. Perhaps she had lied when she said there was nothing to hide.

He decided to go to her house and confirm if she was there or not. If she wasn't, then he would have to tell Bruce about it.

However, before he could leave his phone rang and he picked it up seeing the call was from Jason.

Soon as he picked, the three shocking words hit him.

"Castellan is alive."

***