Louisa struck Rebecca hard across the face. However, Rebecca didn’t get angry. Instead, she smirked and leaned close to Louisa’s ear, whispering something. It made Louisa’s face go pale in shock.
The next moment, Rebecca threw her lighter onto the exposed electrical wires.
Sparks burst out as the flames spread quickly through the flowers and vines. When Simon saw the fire, he rushed in, ignoring the servants trying to hold him back. He grabbed Rebecca, who was closest to him and turned to run.
Louisa opened her mouth to call out to him, but sharp pieces of falling glass stabbed into her back before she could. She couldn’t help but wail painfully. Then, a loud explosion erupted. The blast sent her flying, hitting the ground hard in the yard.
Simon ran out carrying Rebecca. Once he was safe, he realized Louisa wasn’t with them. He turned to go back, but Rebecca clutched his arm as she cried pitifully.
“Simon, it hurts so much! My leg might be broken … ”
Simon looked down at her. After a brief pause, he made a decision. He scooped her up and ran toward the car.
“We’ll get you to the hospital first!” he said urgently.
Then, he ordered the driver, “Take Louisa to the hospital too.”
Simon didn’t notice Louisa lying on the ground, trembling in pain.
Firefighters arrived soon after and put out the flames. Louisa was lifted into an ambulance, treated with simple bandages and sent home alone.
Moving like a ghost, she packed her luggage into the car, picked up Micah’s urn and drove to the cemetery. She buried him quietly beside their parents. When it was done, she didn’t look back. She went straight to the airport and boarded a plane to Boston.
At the hospital, Simon waited, expecting Louisa to arrive, but she never came. He questioned the driver, who told him she had been taken away by ambulance earlier. Simon reached for his phone to call her, but Rebecca caught his hand gently and spoke in a soft, coaxing tone.
“Simon, it means Louisa wasn’t badly hurt if she isn’t here. Didn’t she say she was going on a trip? Maybe she’s already on her way now.”
Simon said nothing. A heavy, uneasy feeling filled his chest. When his phone rang, he quickly answered, thinking it was Louisa. But it was only the bridal shop.
Rebecca leaned against him and acted spoiled, her voice sweet as she said, “Simon, we’re getting married tomorrow. I don’t want my mom to have any regrets. Can you just stay with me for these two days?”
Simon let out a deep sigh. Then, he texted his assistant.
[Light a sky lantern and take a picture of the diamond. Send it to Louisa’s favorite jewelry store and have them make a ring. After that, he ordered his assistant to find the best wedding planner for a proposal.]
After sending the message, he finally felt calmer and turned off his phone. The next day, Simon kept all news about the wedding completely secret. But that same day, Boston was buzzing with gossip about Mr. Perkins, who was said to be preparing a grand wedding. No one knew who the bride was.
On the way to the wedding manor, Simon overheard people talking excitedly.
“I heard Mr. Perkins spent billions on this wedding! He even shipped over furniture and decorations from New York and dozens of boxes of rare New York roses. He said the bride is used to living there, so he wanted to make Boston feel like home.”
“Then the bride must be from New York too. Mr. Perkins must really love her!”
Simon’s heart tightened and Louisa’s face flashed in his mind again and again.
The ceremony started. Simon held Rebecca’s hand and walked toward the priest. Her mother and the guests gave their blessings, but Simon felt nothing but emptiness inside. All he wanted was for it to end.
As soon as the ceremony was done, he turned to leave. Rebecca grabbed his hand as she kept blinking her eyes in uncertainty.
“Simon, where are you going?”
Simon pulled his hand away and looked at her coldly as he said, “I’ve fulfilled my duty by being here. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other.”
With that, Simon walked away and pulled out his phone. He wanted to call Louisa to find out where she was. But to his shock, he realized she had blocked him. Every message showed only red exclamation marks.
What he didn’t know was that at the exact moment he and Rebecca exchanged rings, Hugo Perkins from Boston had approached Louisa, offering her a pair of priceless heirloom rings.
Simon already felt restless became more upset, which made him to storm. But when he opened the door, no one was there. Immediately, he ran upstairs to check the closet. It was empty too. Louisa usually left a few clothes in her closet when she travelled. Not a single cloth left this time.
Simon’s voice shook as he shouted for the servant, “Where are Louisa’s things?”
“Miss Jacobson had everything thrown out, Sir,” the servant replied nervously.
Simon stared in disbelief, his face pale. Not long after that, he ran to the study. Only to find that nothing of Louisa’s remained there either. A sharp pain gripped his chest as if someone had stabbed him.
He fumbled for his phone and called his assistant as he spoke desperately, “Find out where Louisa went! Check every travel record, every hotel booking, every trace you can find. I want all of it, now!”
The moment the call ended, Simon paced wildly through the house. He was searching for anything reminded him of Louisa. Even though he already looked everywhere, there was nothing. It felt as if Louisa had been erased from his life.
Simon couldn’t help but lean against the wall. His legs felt weak, while his breath was coming in gasps. Nevertheless, he opened his chat with Louisa. It was empty. There hadn’t been a single new message from her.
Louisa used to text him every day. She sent pictures of food she liked, little trinkets she wanted to buy and stories about her day. She always filled his world with her words every minute. She never held back her love for him.
But ever since Simon brought Rebecca home, Louisa had grown quiet. Slowly, she had stopped sharing herself with him. And he hadn’t even noticed.
Half an hour later, his assistant called him.
The assistant carefully informed him, “Mr. Griswolds, we couldn’t find any trace of Miss Jacobson’s travels. There are no plane tickets, no train tickets, no hotel bookings. Whether local or overseas, her name doesn’t appear anywhere. It’s as if … as if she vanished completely.”
“No way!” Simon shouted, nearly dropping the phone.
“Louisa told me she was going on a trip. How could there be no record? Search again! Use every name she’s ever used, even nicknames. I don’t care what it takes. You must find her!”
When he hung up, Simon started calling all of Louisa’s friends. But one by one, every call went unanswered. For the first time, he felt afraid. Louisa had gotten angry at him before, but never like this.
And now, even he couldn’t find her. When he almost felt despair, a thought suddenly struck him like lightning. It was Micah.
Louisa adored her younger brother more than anyone. If Micah was still in the hospital, she would never just leave him behind. Perhaps she hadn’t gone anywhere at all. Perhaps she was still in New York, just hiding to cool off.
Clinging to this hope, Simon snatched up his car keys and ran out the door. He sped to the hospital, running through two red lights. When he reached Micah’s ward, he flung the door open. But the bed was empty with the sheets neatly folded.
The flowers on the table beside the bed had wilted, but Louisa used to change them every single day.
“Where’s Micah?”
Simon desperately asked as he grabbed a nurse who was passing by, “Where’s the patient who was here? Is he in surgery?”
The startled nurse stammered as she responded by pointing toward the doctor’s office next door, “I … I’m new here. I don’t know. Please, ask the doctor.”
Without further ado, he burst into the doctor’s office. He even waved the other patients aside. After that, he asked in a demanding tone, “Where’s Micah Jacobson?”
“His surgery … did it finish already? Why is his room empty?”
The doctor blinked in confusion. He then adjusted his glasses on his worried face. After that, he responded, “Mr. Griswolds, what are you talking about? Micah Jacobson has … passed away.”
