Chapter 10
Eugene staggered back, shaking his head in disbelief. How could the wedding be off?
Nerissa’s joy had been unmissable when he’d accepted her proposal two months ago. How could she cancel the wedding?
His friends and family were baffled. They hadn’t gotten the date wrong. Why had the staff member said that the wedding was off?
Mildred asked the staff member again to be sure that Nerissa was the one who’d canceled the wedding. Then, she pulled Eugene aside, trying hard to suppress her anger. “What the hell is wrong with her? You guys set the wedding date a long time ago, didn’t you? Why isn’t she here, and why did she call everything off? What’s she playing at?”
Her anger surged when she saw that it was clear all of this was news to Eugene. She knew he and Nerissa had known each other for over two decades, and she could tell how much Nerissa loved him. That was why she’d been relatively satisfied with Nerissa.
Yet now, Nerissa had skipped out on the wedding. She’d even called everything off half a month ago! None of them had even known about it!
Mildred hissed, “Call Nerissa now and ask her whether she still wants to marry you!”
Only then did Eugene snap out of his daze and pull out his phone to call Nerissa. His hands trembled as he made the call. It was too bad he couldn’t reach her because she’d already boarded her flight to Joransen.
His heart sank when he heard a robotic recorded message. Everything had been fine just the day before. Why couldn’t he even reach her now?
He couldn’t stay there any longer and hurried home, still harboring a sliver of hope. However, when he entered the apartment, he found it to be silent. It was clear no one was at home.
Suddenly, it hit him that the photo frame on the side table was missing. It had held one of the few photos he and Nerissa had taken together. She’d always treasured it, and she wiped it every day.
That wasn’t all that was missing. Nerissa’s cosmetics and clothes were also gone. In fact, everything that had to do with her was nowhere in sight!
Eugene remembered wondering why the apartment had seemed emptier when he’d returned from his weeklong trip with Cassandra. It seemed the photo frame had already gone missing then.
At the time, he’d only vaguely felt like things were missing. He hadn’t taken it to heart, especially since Nerissa had said she’d cleared out some unnecessary things.
Only now did it hit him that the so–called unnecessary things she’d thrown out were items that were tied to their relationship! She’d gotten rid of their memories!
Now, she herself had gone missing.
Eugene was lost. Where had Nerissa gone, and why had she done this?
He continued scanning the apartment for clues. That was when he saw something written on the calendar on the table. He hurried over to it, but three simple words were all he saw.
“We’re over, Eugene.”
