Just entering the international terminal, Dylan hurriedly looked up at the electronic board, which displayed the departure information for the flight to country Y. He quickly passed through the crowd and ran to the check-in counter.
The female employee in the navy blue uniform bowed as soon as she saw him. She recognized him as the senior leader of the Global Group. He usually looked very handsome when he went to check in for his departure, but why did he look so disheveled today?
“What time is the flight to country Y about to depart?” Dylan asked in a gasp.
“Sir, it took off fifteen minutes ago.”
“Doesn't that flight take off at four thirty?”
“Yes, a few days ago, the airline adjusted the departure time earlier than usual.”
Dylan's hand slipped off the counter, hanging limply as if it were broken. Could this be fate? She was gone, once again, unintentionally and coldly stepping out of his life.
In this city, which he thought was within his control, finding her was already difficult, let alone in a distant place like that.
His feet took aimless, faltering steps through the downpour. Why did he feel so heavy when he was carrying only his own body?
Each passing autumn took the girl he loved farther away, leaving him lost in the freezing winter. If the distance between him and her were just a rainy afternoon blocking his way, he would willingly soak himself until the rain stopped to be by her side. But the place she was going was country Y, halfway across the world from here.
Images of the days they were still together kept flooding Dylan's mind, the warm lips, the lingering scent of her hair, the passionate gaze, the whispered words, the gentle embrace.
His eyes gradually blurred, and then his entire body collapsed. In the very same place, one found love while the other lost their love forever.
Paul had just parked the car and ran to the passenger terminal when he saw his boss lying motionless in the cold rain. Panicked, Paul threw down his umbrella, rushed to Dylan's side, and asked a few people to help him get into the car because although he looked thin, he was incredibly heavy when he fainted. If Paul tried to carry his boss, he would probably bend his spine and ribs.
Arriving at the villa, Paul struggled to help Dylan in. Although Dylan was unsteady on his feet, he still dragged himself upstairs, showered, and changed clothes without letting his assistant help.
Throughout the long night, Paul kept sneaking a peek into his boss's room. From this afternoon until now, Dylan hadn't said a word, just sat there, deep in thought, and immersed himself in alcohol.
Because he was afraid that his boss would do something stupid, he didn't dare to leave. Luckily, Dylan left the door ajar, otherwise, Paul would have to climb out onto the balcony and sit there in the rain to watch him.
Today, Paul's mother-in-law came to visit and stayed with Ella, otherwise he wouldn't know what to do. He couldn't bring his pregnant wife here to watch over his boss together.
Jenny moved back to her daughter's house after Camila's funeral. Every weekend, she and her daughter would come here to help Dylan clean the house and then go home. So, this huge villa was left with only him. He didn't hire anyone to serve him.
Reaching out to open another bottle of wine, Dylan absentmindedly looked out the glass window, where the long road was running into the night, the colored lights did not make it more beautiful and splendid in his eyes.
Although he knew that drinking too much was not good, this was the only way for him to forget the physical and mental pain that was tormenting him at the moment.
The rain continued to fall, softly and gently lulling the night, as indifferent as that woman. The dim light from the table lamp drew a thin silhouette on the wall, so gloomy, so desolate.
As soon as it was dawn, Paul was awakened by the ringing of the phone. He hadn't slept all night and had just laid down for a while when he had to sit up. He tried to use his eyes that couldn't see his homeland to open the door for Stephen.
Seeing the assistant's lifeless appearance, Stephen didn't ask and rushed straight up the stairs. When he saw the room was ajar and unlocked, he ran inside.
Stephen saw a scene that couldn't be more messy, he never imagined that a neat person like Dylan could sleep on a pile of trash like this.
The pillows and blankets were in a mess, and that skinny body was lying half on the bed. Red wine stains were everywhere, the smell was so strong that he almost got drunk just by smelling it, the empty bottles were rolling around everywhere.
Stephen shook his head in dismay. Was this guy trying to cook tripe stew in wine or something?
Stephen had just reached out to shake Dylan when he suddenly turned over, rolled over, and fell off the bed. The pain woke him up, his eyes were hazy as he looked at the person in front of him but he still didn't get up, just lying on the floor, asking loudly.
“You know where she went, right?”
“Are you crazy? How would I know when I just got home?”
“You lied. Surely you know.”
“Hey, I admit I lied to you before, but I don't know this time. What kind of strange love do you have? Torture her and then torture yourself.” Stephen put his hands on his hips and said a long string of words in frustration.
When he glanced up at the head of the bed, he was so surprised that he stood still for several minutes. The bride's face in the photo was Nancy's, but the groom holding her was a strange man.
“Dylan, who is the person in that photo?”
“It was me from before.” Dylan replied, his eyes still lifeless looking into space.
“Don't tell me that Nancy is your ex-fiancée.”
“It's her.”
Dylan's confirmation made Stephen freeze. Before he could ask anything more, Dylan told him everything about how she left because she thought about his future and the company, which he only knew now, how she accidentally heard his lies to Rosalind and misunderstood his feelings for her and ran away from him.
“I wanted to see her to clear up all the confusion but she left. I lost her. How am I going to live in the future?”
After saying that, Dylan burst into tears like a child abandoned by his mother in the middle of a flea market, leaving Stephen confused and not knowing what to say. How helpless and desperate must it be to make someone who seems like a piece of iron like Dylan become so weak?
“Dylan, I asked Harry to check the passenger list on that flight and other flights to country Y, but there was no one named Nancy Pelosi.”
Hearing Stephen say that, Dylan quickly got up but lay back down after a few seconds. Even if Nancy didn't appear on those flights, she would have left. If she didn't let her best friend know where she was going, how could he have any clues to find her?
“You're not going to solve anything if you keep being depressed like this. Look at your current appearance, do you still look like a human?”
After saying that, Stephen kicked the bottle, causing it to roll under the table, then angrily turned around, got in his car, and drove straight to the company. It wasn't because he was angry with Dylan, but because he was angry with himself.
A few days ago, while calling Nancy, he had criticized Dylan's fiancée harshly, not knowing that she was the one. He wondered if she had decided to disappear because of what he had said. His conscience felt like it was being bitten by ants, making him extremely uncomfortable.
Yesterday, when he was about to board the plane, he called her but couldn't reach her. Then, he called Jolie to ask and found out what happened.
To be sure, he asked Harry to ask the staff to check the passenger list on flights to country Y because Harry's family was a major shareholder of the airport. However, the search result did not include her name, so he flew back here, otherwise, he would have been standing there waiting for her.