“Nell, why on earth is your cousin in my company?” Samuel muttered as he tugged at his tie, clearly agitated.
Nell’s eyes welled up with tears almost instantly. “Mr. Stone, I’m so sorry. My cousin insisted I find him a job. He said if I didn’t help, he’d hit me. I didn’t know what else to do.”
Samuel waved his hand dismissively, irritation growing in his voice. “Fine. But next time, don’t bring in every stray off the street.”
That restless feeling in his chest was getting stronger. He instinctively placed a hand over his heart, trying to steady himself.
He drove straight out to the villa in the suburbs. He knocked for what felt like forever–no answer. Eventually, he punched in the code and let himself in.
The silence inside was deafening. A thin layer of dust had settled over the coffee table. In the kitchen, forgotten groceries had rotted, the stench hanging heavy in the air.
Standing alone in the middle of the living room, he suddenly found it hard to breathe.
Then, the doorbell rang.
A delivery man handed him an old, yellowed postcard. It was from ten years ago. He remembered it vividly: Alexia laughing as she wrote it, saying she wanted to send it to her future self.
He bolted out the door and immediately called his assistant. “Where is she?! How has no one noticed she’s been gone this long?!”
The assistant’s voice trembled with nerves. “Sir, Mrs. Stone told us not to disturb her… No one was allowed in the villa. We honestly don’t know where she went.”
“Then find her!” Samuel roared into the phone. “I don’t care if you have to turn all of Capitol upside down–find her!”
Soon after, someone brought in a necklace found by a passerby.
Samuel staggered back a few steps when he saw it. It was Alexia’s necklace–the one she never took off. Inside the pendant was a tiny photo from their wedding.
In the days that followed, he searched everywhere she might have gone–cafés, bookstores, florists, art galleries… but she was nowhere.
He began to waste away. His eyes were sunken, his cheeks hollow and a rough stubble shadowed his jaw. Stacks of documents piled up on his desk, but he no longer had the strength to open them.
Late at night, in the quiet stillness, he often found himself sitting alone in their old bedroom, staring at her photograph, lost in memories.
“Ally…” he whispered into the silence. “Where are you?”
Sometimes he’d jolt awake in the middle of the night, certain he’d heard her voice. But when he opened his eyes, there was only darkness–and the crushing weight of loneliness.
1/2 65.0%
He began to waste away. His eyes were sunken, his cheeks hollow and a rough stubble shadowed his jaw. Stacks of documents piled up on his desk, but he no longer had the strength to open them.
Late at night, in the quiet stillness, he often found himself sitting alone in their old bedroom, staring at her photograph, lost in memories.
“Ally…” he whispered into the silence. “Where are you?”
Sometimes he’d jolt awake in the middle of the night, certain he’d heard her voice. But when he opened his eyes, there was only darkness–and the crushing weight of loneliness.
His phone screen was always on her contact page. Every call he made rang into the void, answered only by a cold, automated voice.
“Mr. Stone, you really should get some rest,” his assistant urged again.
But Samuel shook his head, gripping his car keys once more.
“I’m going out to look again. Maybe today’s the day.I find her.”
***
Meanwhile, life at the Reese Family estate was peaceful and warm. Color had returned to my cheeks and my health was finally improving.
That afternoon, I was lounging in a wicker chair in the garden, soaking up the sun, when I suddenly heard rustling behind the bushes.
“Slow down, old man! We’ll get caught!” a woman’s voice whispered.
“I just want to see what kind of girl has got Victor so smitten,” came the gruff reply.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Were you two looking for me?”
Out from behind the hedge stumbled a sweet elderly couple, gently bickering and nudging each other.
The woman gave the man a playful smack on the arm. “This is your fault!”
They settled beside me, one on each side, their eyes sparkling as they looked me over.
“You’re stunning,” the old man said with a smile. “No wonder our boy fell for you at first sight. He’s turned down every other girl we threw at him…”
The woman quickly cut him off. “Don’t listen to him, dear. Victor might seem like a flirt, but he’s truly loyal underneath it all.”
She went on. “We used to worry–he’s nearly thirty and never had a proper girlfriend. So we kept arranging blind dates for him. He pretended to be out partying just to get us off his back! Drove us crazy!”
“Only later did he admit… there was someone in his heart all along. He just hadn’t had the chance…”
Just then, Victor came rushing over, a sheen of sweat on his brow. “Grandpa! Grandma! Stop bothering her, let her rest!”
