Chapter 9

Henry rushed back to the office, where work buried him alive. Documents were piled high across his desk. He flipped through them page by page until his eyes grew strained. Finally, he paused and glanced out the window.

Right at that moment, a plane flew across the sky, its tail leaving a long white trail against the deep blue sky. For some reason, a sudden, sharp pang pierced Henry’s chest. An inexplicable sense of unease began to spread in his heart, as if something of the utmost importance were slipping away from him.

Frowning, he pressed a hand against his chest, and Lena’s face instantly flooded his mind. In a daze, he remembered that she had muttered something right before he left her apartment. Her voice had been so faint that he could not catch it at the time, and now, no matter how hard he tried, he could not recall what she said.

Henry’s grip on his pen tightened. Something felt deeply wrong. Was she still angry? Lena had always had a willful, spoiled streak. Whenever she felt upset, she never bottled it up, and the number of people she had humiliated in their social circle was too much to count.

Over the past month, he had admittedly diverted a lot of his energy toward Ava. Perhaps he had neglected Lena, pushing her to the point where she got so furious that she burned all those gifts.

Sighing, he pressed the intercom on his desk. His secretary, Grant, quickly pushed the door open and stepped inside, standing respectfully before him.

“Have someone send the latest seasonal line of clothing, bags, and jewelry to Lena’s apartment.” Henry looked up and ordered, “Also, tell the wedding planners to pay extra close attention to the details. Keep a tight eye on everything.”

Grant nodded in agreement. Just as he was about to turn around, Henry called him back. “By the way, any updates on the matter I told you to look into?”

“We have a few leads, sir, but we still need to verify the accuracy of the information.”

“Alright.” Henry twirled his pen as he said, “The moment you get confirmation, let me know immediately.”

Ever since Lena’s mother’s keepsake was broken, he had been desperately looking for a way to make it up to her. She had no regard for ordinary jewelry whatsoever, so he sent his men out to ask around. That was when he unexpectedly discovered that before Lena’s mother’s passing, the woman had donated a sapphire necklace to a charity foundation and that, after changing hands several times, it had ended up in the collection of a foreign buyer. He had immediately ordered Grant to track down the necklace’s whereabouts. No matter how much it cost, he was determined to buy it back.

An image of Lena’s face lighting up with joy upon receiving the necklace flashed across his mind, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He picked up his phone and shot a text over to Lena.

[I had someone send the latest seasonal clothes, jewelry, and bags to your apartment.]

Right after, he sent another. [Lenny, I’ve also prepared a gift for you. You’re going to love it.]

There was no reply from her end, but he was not in a rush. Lena was just throwing a tantrum. Once she cooled off, she would text him back.

Henry worked at the office until the dead of night. By the time he wrapped up all his work and checked his phone, it was already one o’clock in the morning. In his chat history with Lena, his two messages were still sitting there, completely ignored.

“She has quite a temper on her,” he muttered under his breath before stuffing the phone back into his pocket.

A knock sounded on the office door, and Grant walked in with a file, placing it on the desk.

“Mr. Hale, we’ve tracked it down. That necklace is going up for bidding at the largest auction house in Malkovia. The event is scheduled for the day after tomorrow at eight-thirty in the evening. Should we send someone to–”

“No need. I’ll go myself!” Henry cut him off, standing up abruptly and grabbing his coat from the back of his chair. “Book the earliest flight right now. We leave immediately.”

“But…” Grant hesitated. “The day after the auction is your wedding day. Won’t that be cutting it too close? Maybe it’s safer to send someone we trust–”

“I won’t rest easy leaving this to anyone else.” Henry checked the time and said confidently, “There’s enough time. Once I get the necklace, I’ll fly straight back. I can surely make it in time for the wedding the next day.”

He wanted to hand this surprise to Lena personally.