Chapter 9
Jessica sucked, but she stopped talking. Sooner or later, both Samael’s money and the title of his wife were going to be hers. Nevertheless, she knew she could rush the matter, so she had to put up with it for now
It had been a while since Samuel last came home during the day. As he stood outside the familiar villa, he felt a long–unfelt sense of novelty and unfamiliarity Perhaps this was why people often said absence made the heart grow fonder.
“Emmy, l’in back,” Samuel called out as he stepped briskly past the garden and into the living room. The garden was neat and well–kept. Everything inside the house remained the same as well, with not a speck of dust to be found anywhere. All of these things reflected on the owner’s taste and personality
And these were all attributed to Emily’s efforts.
Samuel wanted to hold her and acknowledge her hard work, but there was no sight of her anywhere. At last, he asked the household staff, “Where’s Emily? Has she gone out?”
She was usually home at this hour of the day.
The household staff exchanged glances, but no one knew where she was. “We don’t know. We haven’t seen her since this morning.”
Samuel was a little displeased. “Do you not even know if she had breakfast yet?”
No one could answer his question. Deep down inside, they were all scoffing at him as well. Shouldn’t he, her husband, be the one who knew best where she was? Why was he asking them?
Sensing the awkwardness in the air, Samuel extracted himself from the situation by saying, “Oh, forget it. It’s pointless to ask you guys. I’ll look for her
myself.”
He assumed she was sleeping in out of boredom, the way she used to back when they were still studying. Thus, he padded lightly up to the bedroom, but it was empty as well.
The curtains were drawn, and the windows were open. The sunlight filled the room, making it warm and cozy, but Emily, who was supposed to be here, was missing.
Emily was nowhere to be found.
Samuel instinctively looked around the room. Eventually, he spotted a sealed envelope beneath a box on the dressing table. The envelope contained
Emily’s last words to him.
“I know all about you and Jessica. I’m leaving. Don’t bother looking for me.”
Emily didn’t even bother signing off on the letter. With just a few short sentences, she put an end to their relationship that had begun over a decade ago. Samuel had no clue that she had long since lost the urge to say anything to him.
Almost instantly, Samuel called Emily, but she didn’t take the call. He clutched the letter she wrote, not noticing he’d crushed the edge so hard that it was fully crumpled.
He kept calling her, repeatedly pressing the call button as he continued to search every corner of the house. Alas, there was no sign of her anywhere, not even among her favorite flowerbeds or at the swing they’d installed on the rooftop to use when stargazing.
Emily had truly left.
“Sorry. The number you have dialed is currently unavailable…”
After hearing that recorded message for the umpteenth time, Samuel finally accepted reality. Emily wasn’t going to take his call. Still, there had to be a way to get in touch with her. He reminded himself to stay calm.
He slapped himself in the face a few times. Once he finally came back to his senses, he pulled up his contacts and looked up all of his and Emily’s mutual friends. They had known each other since their schooling days and were the fairytale couple who married their high school sweethearts. Therefore, they knew a great deal about each other’s lives and friends.
The first person Samuel called was Grace, Emily’s closest friend. Grace didn’t take the call at first. It was only after his third time calling that she begrudgingly answered.
Upon hearing why he was calling, she scoffed and shot back, “You’re married to her. How am I supposed to know where she is if you don’t?”
Once she finished speaking, she dropped the call. Now wasn’t the time for Samuel to get offended by her attitude, however. He quickly called up the others as well, only to end up with similar results. They all seemed to be displeased with him, though they chose not to confront him out of consideration for their past friendship.
Having known the couple for years, they could also sense the recent change in the relationship.
Samuel refused to give up. When talking to Tanya Scott, the last of their classmates that he called, he asked, “Did she not get in touch with anyone at all? If she really wanted to leave, wouldn’t she have at least discussed it with someone first?”
Tanya laughed as it she had just heard a joke. “You’re Emily’s husband. If you didn’t even notice anything amiss with her, what’s the point of asking if she got in touch with any of us? Instead of asking us, you should think about whether you two have argued about anything recently.”
Samuel fell silent. It had been ages since he and Emily last had a proper conversation. She probably wouldn’t have left without a word if she were still willing to argue with him instead.
After ending the call with Tanya, Samuel began feeling, even more panicked. Everything in the bedroom was still in the same place–save for Emily’s things. All of her possessions were gone.
