Chapter 229

[ 1,185 words ]

Sebastian’s POV

I didn’t go after her this time.

I just stood there on the freezing beach, watching her taillights vanish into the night, her words echoing in my head.

“Are you really not in love with Abigail anymore?”

The wind cut through my jacket. Ryder was growling in my mind, furious with me for letting our mate leave like that.

“You’re an idiot,” he snarled.

“I know.”

I spent the whole night in my car, parked at that beach, replaying every moment of the disaster tonight had been. When dawn finally broke, I drove straight to the office, my body on autopilot while my mind stayed stuck on Emilia’s tear-streaked face.

The moment I walked in, I saw it. That sky-blue letter, lying on the floor.

My chest tightened. She’d been here. She’d seen it. She’d known.

The guilt hit me like a freight train.

I reached for Emilia through our mind-link.

Nothing. Complete silence.

She’d blocked me.

“Emilia,” I called again through the link, pushing harder this time. Still nothing.

“She doesn’t want to hear from you,” Ryder said flatly. “Can’t say I blame her.”

I gritted my teeth, grabbed my phone from the desk where it had sat all night, and dialed her number instead. It rang once, twice, then went straight to that automated voice: “Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later…”

“Damn it,” I muttered.

I stared at the phone a few seconds, my mind racing, then dialed the house instead.

“Hello, Silver Moon Pack house. Who’s calling?” Tiffany’s cheerful voice came through.

“Tiffany, it’s me. Is Emilia up yet?”

“I don’t know. What happened to you last night? Why didn’t you come home?”

“Something I had to deal with,” I said tersely. “Just go check on her and tell her to turn her phone back on. I need to talk to her.”

“Uh… okay.”

I heard her footsteps heading upstairs. A few moments later, a knock on a door.

“Emilia? Emilia, are you in there?”

Silence.

Then the door creaked open.

“Emilia?” Tiffany called again, her voice more uncertain now.

More silence. Then footsteps moving around the room, and a sharp gasp.

“Oh no. Oh, Goddess.”

My heart dropped into my stomach.

“Sebastian!” Tiffany’s voice was panicked now. “Emilia’s gone! She ran away!”

“What?”

“She left a note! The bed’s still made, like she never slept in it, and there’s a note on the coffee table.”

I didn’t wait for her to finish. I grabbed my car keys and bolted out, my mind racing.

I broke every speed limit on the way home. By the time I pulled into the driveway, I was barely holding it together.

I burst through the front door. “Tiffany! Tiffany!”

The living room was dead silent. My parents sat at opposite ends of the sofa, their faces grim. Tiffany was nowhere in sight.

“Where’s Tiffany?” I demanded.

My mother looked up, her expression cold. “Looking for your wife?”

She pointed at a sheet of paper on the coffee table. “Read it yourself.”

I snatched it up, my eyes scanning the words.

“Mom and Dad, I needed a trip to clear my head. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back soon.”

That was it. No explanation. No destination. Nothing.

“Where did she go?” I asked, my voice rough.

My father raised an eyebrow. “You’re asking us? You think we know your wife’s whereabouts better than you do?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. He was right. I had no defense.

“Tiffany already left for the airport,” my mother said coldly. “We’ll see if she can bring Emilia back.”

I turned and ran back to my car, then sped straight to the airport.

Inside, I shoved through the crowd in the departure hall, scanning every face, every figure, searching for her.

“Sebastian! Sebastian!”

I spun around and saw Tiffany running toward me, out of breath.

“Did you find her?” I asked.

She shook her head, panting. “No. She’s already gone.”

I turned away, hands on my hips, trying to breathe through the frustration and panic climbing in my chest. “She’s going to drive me insane. How can she just leave like this?”

“What are you talking about?” Tiffany snapped. “You were out all night!”

“So she runs away because I was out all night? “

“I don’t think that’s the only reason she left, Sebastian,” Tiffany said pointedly. “And you know it.”

I shut my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. Then it hit me.

I knew where she’d gone.

“Tiffany, take this.” I pulled the key to my office safe from my pocket and handed it to her. “Give it to Fynn and tell him to run the company for a few days.”

“Where are you going?”

“To find Emilia.”

“Do you even know where she is?”

“Yeah,” I said, already turning toward the ticket counter. “I know exactly where she is.”

The flight to Japan felt like it took forever. I tried Emilia’s phone again the moment I landed. Still off.

I checked into a hotel near the city center, then stood at the window, staring out at the heavy snow falling over Hokkaido.

“She wouldn’t be reckless enough to come here in this weather, would she?” I muttered.

“She’s not stupid,” Ryder said. “She’s hurt. And you did that to her.”

I ignored him and pulled out my phone, scrolling through my contacts until I found the name I needed.

Kaito.

I dialed, and he picked up on the second ring.

“Sebastian? Is that really you?”

“Yeah, it’s me. I need your help.”

“Anything. You know that.”

Kaito ran one of the most powerful yakuza clans on the island. Ten years ago he’d been a marked man, hunted by an enemy family and running from his own past. I’d helped him vanish, given him the money to rebuild. He’d never forgotten it.

We met at a small Japanese restaurant an hour later. Kaito grinned when he saw me and clapped me on the shoulder.

“You should’ve told me you were coming. I’d have laid on a proper welcome.”

“It was a last-minute decision,” I said.

His grin faded a little. “Something urgent?”

“My wife may be in Japan,” I said. “I don’t know where. I need your help finding her.”

Kaito burst out laughing. “That’s it? I thought you were in real trouble. Don’t worry, friend. This is easy.”

“Can you start now?” I asked. “I don’t like the idea of her out here alone.”

“Of course, of course.” He turned to one of his men. “Get a dozen guys and sweep the city center. Every hotel. We’re looking for Sebastian’s wife.”

“Boss, do we have a name? A photo?”

I took out my wallet and handed over a picture of Emilia. “Her name’s Emilia Taylor. This is her.”

Kaito clapped me on the back again. “We’ll find her. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks,” I said quietly.

But as his men scattered into the snowy night, all I could think was:

Please let her be okay. Please let me find her before I lose her for good.

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