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He knelt for what felt like an eternity, the weight of his quilt crushing him, before finally rising stiffly His body ached, but he forced himself to prepare the necessary documents for an overseas visa.
When the bureau caught wind of his leave request and the uncertainty of his return, they demoted him without hesitation. But Elias didn’t protest.
For Mira, he would sacrifice anything–even his career, his status–anything to get her back.
Days turned into weeks as Elias anxiously waited for the visa. Each moment felt like an eternity. As soon as it was issued, he traveled to every possible place Mira might have gone, but there was no sign of her.
Fifteen long days later, he finally boarded a flight to Manchester, his heart heavy with hope and desperation After the exhausting journey, he stepped into the foreign country, overwhelmed by the sea of unfamiliar faces around him. His initial excitement quickly dissolved into a deep sense of helplessness
How could he possibly find Mira in this vast, unknown place?
He searched aimlessly for four or five days, becoming more and more frustrated, until he decided to join several
local groups, hoping to put up a missing person notice
When he tried to find a photo of Mira on his phone, he was met with an unsettling emptiness. She loved taking pictures, and countless memories of their time together were meant to be saved on her phone. But her image was
nowhere to be found.
It dawned on him that Mira had never shared a single photo of their life together on her social media. Her presence in his life had become a ghost, slipping through his fingers like sand
Suddenly, an idea hit him. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. There, tucked in the interlayer, was the last photograph he had of them together–taken during a trip they had taken the previous year.
Ehas held up his phone to take a picture of the photo, but before he could capture it, his wallet was snatched
from his hands.
The thief darted into the crowd, and Elias immediately gave chase, running for two blocks. But the thief was fast,
and he lost him in the sea of people.
There was nothing of value in the wallet–just a few bills and some cards. But the one thing he couldn’t afford to lose was the photo of Mira.
Frustrated, Elias ran a hand through his hair, cursing under his breath.
At that moment, across the street in a nearby café, Frederick was preparing to take Mira out. His gaze fell on the tall, familiar figure in the distance, and his eyes widened in shock. His pulse quickened.
Mira followed Frederick’s line of sight, her gaze landing on the Asian man standing in the midst of the bustling crowd. There was something about his presence that unsettled her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
She frowned, confused. “What’s wrong with that man?”
Frederick, noticing her complete indifference to him, felt an unexplainable sense of relief wash over him. She had
9
As he thought this, he saw Elias striding across the street, heading directly for the coffee shop. But Elias didn’t
seem to notice them
In a swift motion, Frederick adjusted Mira’s hat, pulling it low to cover most of her face, leaving only her delicate chin exposed
Elias entered the coffee shop, and as Frederick and Mira prepared to leave, the three of them passed by each other without any recognition, as if they were strangers
Once in the car, Mira noticed the shift in Frederick’s mood. His expression seemed distant, and she couldn’t help.
but ask, “Fred, are you in a bad mood?”
Frederick shook his head, his tone steady. “No”
He removed her hat gently, fastening her seatbelt for her with a quiet care. The faint, cool fragrance of his cologne lingered in the air, making the moment feel both comforting and intimate
As they drove, Mira’s curiosity got the better of her. She hesitated for a moment before asking, “Fred, when i came to your house the other day accidentally saw your computer desktop”
Frederick’s grip tightened on the steering wheel for a fraction of a second, but he didn’t react outwardly Mira continued, her voice softening.
“It was a hand–drawn cartoon of a boy and a girl standing beside an astronomical telescope, looking up at the
stars. It seemed
familiar.”
She paused, a sudden realization flashing through her mind. “I found it again–on the handwritten note I left before my surgery. It was the same picture of me and you, taken by the president
The words hung in the air, and Mira felt a warmth spread across her cheeks as she asked, almost too suddenly “Senior, do you like me?”
She immediately regretted the question, her face flushing with embarrassment
From the moment she had awakened from surgery until now, Frederick had been with her every step of the way
