chapter 15

Girls always loved to ask the most random questions. If a disaster happened, who could really say what they'd do? But of course, I didn't say that out loud. Instead, I said, "Yeah, I would. Why? Still thinking about what happened earlier?"

"Really? Then would you marry me?" A girlfriend as stunning as Lily was like a dream come true. Normally, I'd say yes in a heartbeat. But today, her sudden question threw me off.

Even with the Logan Davis incident, Lily shouldn't be this distraught. Her behavior was so out of character made me wonder if something else was going on. Was Jack harassing her again? Or... was she pregnant? With someone else's kid?

Lily saw my hesitation and pressed, "You wouldn't, would you?"

"I would. It's just that I haven't thought about marriage and kids recently." My earlier suspicions made me pause. If Jack really harassed Lily every month, how could I marry her and have her go through that? And what if she had someone else's child?

Thinking of this, I added, "Maybe not right this second, but once we get everything sorted out..." I don't know if Lily misunderstood me, but before I could finish, she burst into tears. While I was still trying to figure out what to do, Lily ran to the porch, grabbed her keys, put on her shoes, and dashed out.

"Lily," I called out.

I'd never seen Lily so upset. As I wondered if I'd said something wrong, I heard a car engine start. By the time I got to the door, Lily's car was already speeding down the street.

I rushed upstairs, grabbed my phone, and called her, but it went straight to voicemail.

I collapsed on the bed, staring at the ceiling, guessing that Lily must have gone home angry. I'd find her tomorrow and explain everything once she calmed down. Exhausted, I fell asleep without realizing it.

When thunder woke me up, about an hour had passed. I sat up and called Lily again. The call went through, but no one answered. She was still mad. I sat in the chair, angrily pounding the table, thinking how unlucky I was today!

As I shook the table, the screen suddenly lit up with a news alert.

[Brown Couple Face Death Penalty for Corruption, Drug Trafficking.]

What?! It wasn't Logan Davis, it wasn't Jack... it was Lily's parents.

How had I not thought of that? Oh God. This was bad.

I regretfully rushed down the stairs, got in the car, and drove to Lily's house. By the time I arrived, the rain was pouring down even harder, with a storm that seemed to unleash a month's worth of frustration.

But then I noticed Lily's car wasn't in the yard. The house was dark and empty. Where could Lily be in such heavy rain? Could she be thinking of doing something drastic?

'Calm down!' I told myself. Maybe Lily went to a friend's place?

I hurried back to the car and started calling Lily's friends one by one, but each response only made my heart sink further. None of her friends had seen Lily today. What should I do? Call the police? Emerald City was so big, they might not find Lily immediately.

Thinking it through calmly, I knew Lily was a tough girl. Even in such a terrible situation, I didn't think she'd do something drastic. She had to be nearby.

I jumped in the car, calling Lily's classmates and friends while driving around, hoping to spot her car.

As it got darker, I wandered the nearby streets for what felt like forever without seeing Lily's car. Around ten o'clock, just as I was about to give up and call the police, I suddenly spotted her car parked on a street near Celestial University.

How did I miss it earlier? Could Lily have just arrived? I hurried out of the car, and double-checked the license plate, the little sunflower dangling from the rearview mirror. It was definitely her car, but she wasn't inside.

Could she have gone to Celestial University? Thinking this, I jumped back in the car and drove to the campus. The place was eerily quiet on a weekend night, especially in such bad weather. Ignoring the rain soaking me to the bone, I ran towards the main building of Lily's college.

Unexpectedly, I saw a figure coming out of the building. It didn't look like Lily, but maybe they knew something. I hurried over and found it was David. He was short, wore old-fashioned glasses, and just looking at him was annoying. But since he was in the same department as Lily, it was worth asking him.

"David? Have you seen Lily?" David seemed drunk, with a hint of intoxication on his face.

"Lily? Nah. Haven't seen her. Isn't she your girlfriend? Maybe she's off with some other guy."

Hearing his tone and vulgar words made me sick. But I was desperate to find Lily, so I didn't argue with David and ran into the building.

I checked every room but still couldn't find Lily. Unknowingly, it had already been eleven.

I felt extremely worried and exhausted, walking dejectedly towards my car in the rain.

Suddenly, I saw the shadow of a car. It was parked in a corner of another parking lot, hidden from the streetlights, near the edge of the trees. Maybe I was too anxious earlier and didn't see it, but now I suddenly realized it looked like Jack's Jeep.

A sense of unease filled my heart. Could Lily, in her most sorrowful moment, have called Jack for support?

But Jack lived in Boston, and it took over five hours to drive here. He couldn't have made it. Then I remembered—he'd been in Emerald City for work last month. Could he be back again?

I couldn't let it go and walked step by step towards the Jeep.

The rain was still heavy. As I got closer, I gradually saw the Jeep's details. There was no doubt that it was Jack's car!

As I got even closer, I saw a pair of black slippers lying by the rear wheel, being washed by the rain.

A chill came to my heart instantly.

I felt unsteady and collapsed by the rear wheel. Lily was with Jack. Again. Regret washed over me. If I hadn't hesitated, if I'd fixed that damn door...