Chapter 12
Laris‘ temper flared after being snapped at by Micah twice in a row. However, she simply left, not wanting to push him further when she saw how bloodshot his eyes were.
Micah sat frozen on the couch, clutching the jar in his hand. Only now did he realize just how much he had been neglecting Lena.
Many things had disappeared from the house, but he didn’t even notice.
The framed photo of the two of them in the living room, the blanket they had crocheted together draped over the couch, and the homemade wooden toys in the nursery upstairs that they had once built together…
Only then did he notice that there wasn’t a single trace of Lena left in this house.
“Mr. Shaw.” The household staff entered nervously at his call.
“Where did all of her things go?”
The household staff exchanged glances before finally gathering their courage. One of them answered, “Mrs. Shaw said someone new would be moving in soon and that the old things weren’t needed anymore.”
Micah hurled the glass he was holding to the floor as he listened to her words. “Why wasn’t I told any of this?”
The household staff was hesitant to speak. “You haven’t been home much lately. We never had the chance, even if we wanted to.”
Her response left him momentarily speechless. Then, he asked again, “When did she leave? Why didn’t you guys stop her?”
The two of them nearly dropped to their knees. “Mrs. Shaw said she didn’t like people being in the house. We only,came in to do our chores and left. She told us not to come this morning, so we didn’t.”
Micah knew he wouldn’t get anything more out of them and impatiently waved them off.
He was extremely regretful that he hadn’t paid more attention to Lena. All we wanted to do now was to find her immediately.
He turned to his assistant and said, “Send someone to track Mrs. Shaw’s whereabouts.”
However, there was no sign of Lena over the next few days.
Micah felt extremely frustrated.
Suddenly, he remembered her father. He found Robert’s contact and hovered over the call button for a long time.
He couldn’t bring himself to press it.
He and Robert had once been friends despite their age gap. But ever since he’d started dating Lena, Robert had moved abroad, and they hadn’t spoken ever since.
Robert had never approved of their relationship. Their marriage had only happened because Lena had begged for it for a long time.
He could still remember his promise to her father when he and Lena were together. “Robert, I’m serious about Lena. I’ll treat her well.”
Robert had stared at him with deep distrust.
“Dad, Micah has been good to me. I really like him.”
Robert hadn’t been convinced despite facing his beloved daughter’s pleading. He had sent her out of the room and asked to speak to Micah alone.
“Micah, we’ve been friends for many years. You know me. My wife left me with only one child. She’s my everything. I can’t bear to see her hurt.”
Robert knew Micah very well. He was a man of deep thoughts and hidden intentions. Besides, the eight–year age gap between him and Lena had only added to his concern. Lena was bound to be the one who got hurt in this relationship.
“Robert, I swear on my life, I’ll never let Lena down.”
Robert hadn’t trusted his vows, yet he agreed to the marriage because he couldn’t stand to see his daughter heartbroken.
Micah felt as if something had ripped through his chest upon thinking back on that promise.
However, there was no trace of Lena, no matter how hard he searched.
Finally, he made the call.
“Hi, this is Robert. How can I help?”
“Robert, I wanted to ask if you knew…” But the call was cut off before he could finish.
Micah had no choice but to dial again. “Robert, I know this is all my fault. Is Lena with you?”
Robert exploded with fury at his words. “Where Lena is has nothing to do with you. You’re already divorced. We’re not friends anymore, so stop calling me!” With that, he ended the call.
Micah then realized that he had already been blocked when he tried to call back.
