Chapter 2

Paula called Zach, but he did not pick it up.

So, I decided to wait for him at the airport. I figured that something had come up and he would just meet me there.

I told him on WhatsApp that I was heading to the airport and added a bunch of cringy kiss and heart emojis.

He did not reply, and I grew incredibly anxious.

I waited at the airport entrance until 3 p.m., but Zach never answered any of my calls.

Time was running out, so I went through security and waited at the boarding gate.

I waited until the plane left without us and sighed.

Why did he stand me up?

The car that dropped me off had already left. But I did not want to call my driver because my mom would find out and ask a lot of questions.

On the cab ride home, I kept calling Zach. This time, he had turned off his phone.

My husband had gone missing on the night of our wedding.

There was still no word from Zach at the end of the day. Late at night, Bailey called to ask if I had arrived in Iceland.

I said that I had, and she asked if it was cold.

I told her that it was not only cold but freezing, like being in a popsicle.

My heart already felt cold and hard, like it was in a freezer.

Before I went to bed, I decided to call Zach’s main assistant, Novan.

Usually, Novan would be wherever Zach was.

It took a long time for Novan to answer his phone. Just as I was about to give up, he finally picked up and spoke in a stern tone.

“Hello, Ms. Freeman.”

Even though I was already married to Zach, he still called me Ms. Freeman.

I licked my lips, and my throat was dry because I was nervous.

“I-Is Zach with you?”

“Yes,” he answered briefly.

I felt a little relieved.

At least Zach had not disappeared.

“Where are you guys?”

“At the hospital.”

“What happened?”

“You should ask Mr. Gordon yourself, Ms. Freeman.”

If I could find Zach, I would not have to ask him.

“Novan—”

Before I could finish speaking, the call ended.

He had always been arrogant and full of himself.

Even so, I did not care about his attitude. I had an app that allowed me to find someone’s location. I just had to talk to them for more than a minute on the phone. Even though it updated their location every thirty seconds, I could find them as long as they stayed in one spot.

The app showed that Novan was at Yardley Hospital.

I quickly changed my clothes and grabbed my purse before I headed to the hospital.

I found the building but did not know which floor they were on, so I had to search each one.

Fortunately, the private hospital was not crowded, and the elevator was not packed.

When I got to the eighth floor, I saw a familiar figure at the end of the corridor.

He was still wearing the shirt he had on when he left last night. One side of his shirt was untucked, and it made him look a little unkempt.

Zach was usually very particular about his appearance. He would change his clothes and underwear every day.

Something serious must have happened for him to be in such a state.

I walked toward him in my high heels. So, he turned to look at me when he heard my footsteps.

It seemed that he had not slept since last night. He had dark circles under his eyes and a stubble on his chin.

He was only about twenty or thirty meters away from the elevator. I was trying to figure out what to say to start the conversation.

When I reached him, I still did not have a good opening line, so I awkwardly said, “Hi.”

He looked at me with a blank expression.

Zach had not looked at me this coldly in a long time. I thought that we would become closer after our wedding yesterday.

“Who’s sick?” I asked.

“Why are you here?” he finally said.

“My husband ran away on our wedding night. Shouldn’t I look for him?”

He looked down and did not answer.

I peeked into the ward and saw someone lying in bed with a respirator. The person’s messy, long hair indicated that she was a woman.

“Is your friend sick?” I smiled and came up with something random as I walked toward the room. “I’ll pay her a visit.”

He quickly grabbed my arm and held it so tightly that it hurt.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch…”

“You should head back first.”

“Ouch, ouch, ouch…”

He pulled me out of the room and walked quickly toward the elevator. I stumbled as I followed him.

I did not know who was in the bed, but only one person could make him stay there without sleeping.

Had she returned?

“Is that Cecilia?”

Zach pushed me into the elevator with so much force that my back hit the metal railing.

My back felt like it was about to break.

As the elevator doors closed, Zach’s emotionless face slowly disappeared. I winced in pain, but he ignored me.

“Zach,” I squeezed out just before the doors shut. “Is that person in the ward Cecilia? I’m your wife. Shouldn’t you call me if you’re staying out all night? Do you know that I waited for you at the airport for hours?”

He barely looked at me for three seconds before he walked away.

My anger flared up, and I stepped in front of him to block his path. “Zach, what’s going on?”

His hostile stare scared me, and I could not speak.

After all this time, I thought that he was starting to look at me with more warmth and love.

What happened overnight to make everything go back to the way it was?

He walked past me, and I did not try to stop him again.

He was already cold. If I kept bothering him, he might start to hate me.

A wise person knew when to back off, so I decided to leave.

I walked downstairs feeling tired and soon left the hospital.

The wind picked up at night, and it began to rain lightly. It was so cold that I shrank back.

Suddenly, something fell from the sky and landed on my face.

I picked it up and saw that it was a light purple scarf.

It was odd for a scarf to fall from the sky in the middle of the night.

I was shocked when I looked up.

I saw someone in a blue hospital gown swaying near the railing on the rooftop.

It looked like a woman, so it was probably her scarf.

Was she planning to jump? Even if life was hard, there was no need to do something so drastic.

I was afraid to shout at her because I did not want to scare her and cause her to fall. I grabbed the scarf and quickly headed for the rooftop.

The woman was holding onto the railing with one hand and extending her other hand as if she was about to jump.

My heart raced with worry, and the cold wind hit my face.

“Hey, Miss.”

She turned to look at me when she heard my voice. In the light, I saw her face.

It was Cecilia, who had been missing for three years.