CHAPTER 12

Under the thick dark clouds that blanketed the night sky and the heavy pouring rain, Elysia dragged her bag, walking slowly with a destination in mind.

Her clothes clung tightly to her skin due to how wet they were.

Already half a block away from her house—or rather what is now her previous house—and what felt like forever, a faint light shone from the distance.

Squinting her eyes and focusing her gaze on the source of the light, a very faint smile appeared on her face and disappeared almost as fast as it had appeared.

It was the headlight of an approaching car; hopefully, it's a cab.

Just as it drew closer, Elysia stretched out her hand, and thankfully, it was a cab.

“Where to, ma'am?” The driver asked, turning back to stare at her.

Elysia clenched her teeth to stop them from clanging, and she tried to reduce her shivering as much as she could.

Meeting the driver's gaze with eyes devoid of any emotion, she told him her destination.

The driver pressed his lips together and nodded his head, then drove off to the destination she had told him about.

Elysia leaned her head on the window, staring at the rain rolling down the glass.

She finally arrived at a small, run-down rental apartment in another district that really paled in comparison to the one she was coming from.

There were no marble floors or luxurious items decorating the apartment, but at least it's hers.

She had secured it a couple of weeks ago, just in case, and she has no regrets about doing that.

She placed her bags on the floor and sunk into the bare mattress; there was no furniture yet.

Barely anything at all.

Staring at the ceiling with a blank expression in an apartment that was so silent, except for the echo of her heart beating.

Her mind was blank, nothing running through it, and it should have stayed that way until a stray question made it to the surface of her mind.

Why wasn't Orion in the hallway when she had gotten out?

The nurse had said he had something urgent to attend to; she couldn't help but wonder what could be so urgent that would make him leave her all alone in the hospital.

A part of her was whispering loud enough that it would obviously be all about Seraphina.

The next morning arrived faster than she thought.

She made her way to a corner store; she had taken notice of it the last time she came to check out the place.

She bought instant noodles and ate them close to the window, staring out at a tiny cafe across the street.

She watched people go in and out in pairs, some alone.

She took her gaze off the cafe for a second, returning her gaze to the cafe, and her gaze landed on a couple walking out with smiles adorning their faces and brightening their facial features.

The man said something, and they both burst into laughter while sharing a pancake.

The man kissed the forehead of the baby he was carrying on his arm.

Touching her stomach absentmindedly, Elysia tore her gaze off the couple, focusing on the instant noodles that she had lost appetite for.

A week after that day, Elysia made her way into the café.

She walked close to the counter and ordered a cup of tea; not long after, her order arrived.

“Thank you,” she said to the petite lady behind the counter and reached for the cup of tea; her hand trembled as she picked up the cup.

A quiet man sitting nearby and reading a newspaper noticed her, and with a small and gentle smile and a soft expression, he questioned, “Rough day?”

She tried to offer a smile, but she decided against it and simply nodded, “You could say that.”

Without a word, he stretched the newspaper forward and raised an eyebrow, silently offering his newspaper to her.

She shrugged her shoulders in response.

“The chair is not taken,” he said, stretching his hand to the chair across from him.

“Thank you,” Elysia replied, pulling out the chair she sat on.

She took a sip of tea and placed the cup gently on the table in between both of them, then she reached for a page of the newspaper.

“I am guessing you're not from around here,” the man said without taking his eyes off the newspaper.

“What makes you guess so?” She questioned with a slight furrow of her eyebrows.

“Because this is my first time seeing you,” he answered, still keeping his gaze fixed on the newspaper.

“So, because this is your first time seeing me, you feel like I don’t live around here?” She questioned and tilted her head slightly to the side.

He finally closed the newspaper and focused his attention on Elysia. “Yeah, look around, Miss or Mrs. This is not a really big area, and people that live here come here often.”

Elysia picked up the cup and sipped a bit from it; she hadn’t really taken in the fact that the area she moved to wasn’t a huge one.

“I am not from around here,” she finally answered the question he asked earlier.

“Then that says I am correct.” He picked up his cup of coffee, raised it in a manner of toast, and gave a slight bow of his head before he took a sip from it.

Then he returned his attention to his newspaper.

A genuine smile was plastered across her face for the first time in days. This was the first conversation she was having in a while that felt like she didn't need to explain her existence, and she was glad to meet the young gentleman in the café.

Elysia had been a little lost in her thought that she didn't notice that the young man was staring at her above his newspaper.

“You smiled,” he said, grabbing her attention. “Then I guess your day is a little better than it was when you stepped inside here,” he added, the gentle smile returning to his face and softening his facial features.

“I guess I have you to thank for that.”

He replied amidst the smile, “It's my pleasure,”

Elysia returned her attention to the tea placed in front of her that was already turning cold.

****

The same night when Elysia had made her way out of the house, Orion rose to his feet after calling Elysia endlessly.

For a moment, he wondered if she was still in the hospital and he drove back to the hospital.

On getting inside, he met the nurse he had sent to her earlier.

“Good evening sir, how may I help you?” She questioned, calling for him from behind the counter.

Orion walked over to her, “What about the woman I followed here earlier, is she still with the doctor?”

Worry creased his brows.

“No sir, she already left a while ago,” the nurse answered. "She left already." The nurse told him and for some reason he interpreted it deeper than she meant it.

His brows furrowed deeper but this time it was not with worry, instead, it was confusion.

He moved back to the car and called her one last time, but she wasn't picking, it just kept on ringing on and on.

He flung his phone on the passenger seat in the back and ignited the engine of the car, driving home as fast as he could.

Arriving home once again, he made his way to the room. He was met with absence and silence, she was nowhere to be found.

Orion let out a sigh, and threw his head backwards with the thought that she might be pissed at him for leaving without informing her first.

He was worried about where she could be, because it had been raining for quite a long time.

Just as he was about to walk out of his room, his eyes landed on something that made him pause in his footsteps.

He slowly dragged himself to the slightly opened closet. It was mostly empty. None of her clothes were inside.

He moved his gaze around the room, looking for whatever might be missing.

The crib catalog was gone also.

That was enough indication that she was gone for real.

Panic danced around in his eyes, hie heartbeat slowly rised.

No matter how hard he tried to brush off the truth, he couldn't, because it was staring him directly in the face.

Regret slowly made its way to the surface of his mind.

Orion called for one of the maids.

“Did you say you saw her leave?” He questioned her for the umpteenth time.

“Yes sir, she packed two bags when she was leaving,” she answered almost immediately.

“Ok, you can leave,” he waved at the maid, pushing down the devastating urge to tighten his hands on her shoulders and ask her why she didn't stop Elysia from leaving.

She was gone. Orion didn't expect her to go like this, without any goodbye or even written note or something.

He picked up his phone and called her once again, walking around restlessly, but just like before, she didn't pick.

This was a consequence of the decision he made earlier. He knew there would be consequences, but he didn't expect it to be like this.

Standing in the empty hallway with a heavy heart and staring at the silent phone on his hand, he whispered to himself with a voice filled with pain and immense worry, “Where the hell did you go, Elysia?”

"She left already." This time around the words of the nurse made complete sense to him.