The assistant hesitated, then explained, “Hallie submitted her resignation yesterday. After you signed it, HR processed her departure. She’s already packed up and left the company.” Panic surged through Jasper’s chest. Without another thought, he grabbed his phone and dialed my number. But all he heard was the cold, mechanical voice of voicemail.
Frustrated, he rushed out of the hospital, hopped into the car, and sped back to the villa, calling out my name as he entered.
The moment he stepped into the master bedroom, a wall full of photos of him and Nora flooded his vision. His heart sank, and he froze for a moment, staring at them.
He walked to the wardrobe, his chest tight, and opened it. It was filled with Nora’s colorful dresses, not a single pale gown, the ones I used to wear.
He scanned the room desperately; there wasn’t a single trace of me.
A thought hit him like a bolt of lightning. He spun around and rushed to the guest room.
It was empty, spotless as if no one had ever lived there.
Jasper sat on the bed, a sense of defeat weighing him down. His hand reached out, grazing the sheets as if he were searching for any trace of me, but there was nothing, not even a single strand of hair.
He lifted his head, his eyes falling on the black card resting on the desk. At that moment, he recognized it instantly; it was the one he had given me two days ago as a token of
compensation.
Beneath it, a corner of a note peeked out. His fingers trembled as he picked it up, revealing the familiar, elegant handwriting.
“Jasper, congratulations on your wedding.”
His pupils contracted sharply, fingers trembling slightly as he held the note, a wave of turmoil crashing through his chest.
His mind went blank. He couldn’t believe it; he raced through the entire villa, searching desperately for me, hoping to ask what I meant.
But all he heard was the echo of his own heavy breathing in the empty house.
“No… Hallie, I don’t believe you’d leave me… You promised you’d always be by my side…”
He muttered in a daze, pulling his phone out repeatedly to call me, but only the cold, mechanical voice of the voicemail greeted him.
Frantic and furious, he called his assistant. “Find out where Hallie went! And what she did when she was at the company!”
His gaze swept across the vast villa, but there was no sign of me, no trace that I had ever been there.
He slammed his fist into the wall. The sharp crash of a frame hitting the floor echoed through the room. A photo of him and Nora smiled up at him from the ground, the sun
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shining down on their radiant faces; now, it felt like a blade slicing through his chest.
He kicked the photo frame aside and slumped against the wall, his eyes closing in exhaustion as he forced himself to regain some semblance of calm.
Raised as the heir to the family business, Jasper had always prided himself on his composure, never one to easily show his emotions.
The only time he had ever lost control in front of others was when Nora went abroad.
From the foyer, the sound of the front door unlocking reached him. Nora walked in, picked up the photo frame, wiped it clean, and carefully hung it back on the wall.
“Jasper, what’s wrong?” She squatted in front of him, reaching out to smooth the deep furrow between his brows.
Jasper suddenly snapped back to reality and pulled her into a tight embrace.
“You’re back, Hallie. I knew you wouldn’t leave me… Hallie, let me explain…”
But the words died in his throat as he looked up.
16:04 Mon, 19 May G.
