CHAPTER FOUR
704 Words
It had been almost three weeks.
In the past ten years, Anita had never gone this long without contacting him.
Not once.
Stefan sat in his office, his chair slowly swiveling as his fingers tapped impatiently against the mahogany desk. The pile of documents before him had remained untouched for more than an hour.
His eyes drifted towards his phone again.
No messages.
No missed calls.
No apologies.
His expression darkened, a dangerous anger rising in his chest.
“Childish tantrum.”
He clicked his tongue, the words leaving his lips with contempt.
He knew Anita.
Or at least, he thought he did.
She had loved him for ten years.
She still loved him.
At least, that was what he believed.
For ten years, she had stayed by his side, forgiving every harsh word, accepting his coldness, and returning every time he pushed her away.
So this time would be no different.
She was simply angry.
She wanted him to chase after her.
She wanted him to be the one to give in first.
And for Cece’s sake, he was willing to do just that.
He picked up his phone and dialed her number.
First ring.
Second ring.
Then—
Beep.
Beep.
The call disconnected.
A small crease formed between his brows.
He called again.
And again.
After the fourth failed attempt, the calm expression on his face finally cracked.
She had blocked him.
Anita had really blocked him.
The woman who once stayed awake all night nursing him through a fever had blocked him.
A strange discomfort settled in his chest.
He loosened his tie, his jaw tightening.
How dare she?
He pressed the intercom.
“Come in.”
A few moments later, his personal assistant, Stella, entered the office.
“Mr. Neil.”
“Find Anita.”
Stella looked up, surprise flashing across her face.
“Miss Anita?”
Stefan’s eyes turned cold.
“Do I have another Anita in my life?”
She lowered her head immediately.
“I’ll begin immediately.”
“Check her apartment. Her design studio. The coffee shop downtown.”
“Yes, sir.”
As soon as Stella left, Stefan leaned back in his chair.
“She’s really making me chase her, huh?”
Fine.
He would allow her to play this little game.
But once he found her, he would make sure she understood her mistake.
Hours passed.
Soon, morning came.
A knock sounded on his office door.
“Come in.”
Stella entered, her expression hesitant.
Stefan noticed immediately.
“Where is she?”
Her fingers tightened around the file in her hand.
“We couldn’t find her, Mr. Neil.”
Silence.
“Her apartment is empty. She hasn’t been to her studio, and the coffee shop said they haven’t seen her in weeks.”
“We’ve checked every place we could think of. We still have people searching.”
Stefan’s face turned grim.
“Keep looking.”
“Yes, sir.”
Stella left immediately, releasing a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.
After the door closed, Stefan looked at his phone again.
Suddenly, he remembered the look in Anita’s eyes at the hospital.
No tears.
No begging.
No desperation.
Just emptiness.
For a brief second, something unfamiliar settled in his chest.
Unease.
But he pushed it away.
Anita loved him.
She was practically obsessed with him.
She would come back.
She always did.
She had nowhere else to go.
Ring.
The sudden sound of his phone interrupted his thoughts.
He answered immediately.
The doctor’s anxious voice came through.
“Mr. Neil, Miss Cece’s condition is deteriorating faster than we expected. We need to proceed with the transplant as soon as possible.”
Stefan’s fingers tightened around his phone.
“Find another donor.”
There was a brief silence.
“Mr. Neil, with her condition and compatibility requirements, finding another donor may take too long.”
For the first time in a very long time, Stefan Neil had no response.
Because the person who had always sacrificed everything for him…
had disappeared.
As he stared at the dark screen of his phone, a thought he refused to acknowledge settled at the back of his mind.
What if this time…
Anita never came back?
- Writer
