Chapter 8
Dylan was so furious that he threw the bouquet of flowers onto the floor.
"She signed the papers. How could she go back on her word? Didn't the doctor stop her?" he demanded.
Jaxton puffed up with anger, looking cute and fierce at the same time.
Jaxton said, "Did Mom go home? Let's go get her and bring her back!"
Ellis smiled softly. "Don't worry about it. The doctor ran some more tests on me just now and said it's nothing serious. I just need to take some medicine, no need for a kidney transplant."
Dylan's face lit up with relief, but then his anger flared again.
He said, "I'm glad you're okay, but Amina really crossed the line.
"Guess I gave her too much credit. Thought she was all sweet and nice."
Just as Dylan's car was pulling into the complex, I was hopping into a taxi, heading straight for the airport.
Honestly, I had no idea where I was going, but all I knew was that I had to get out of here.
Just then, my phone buzzed with a message from Harriet: [Amina, I'm getting married! Will you come to my wedding?]
'When I saw Harriet's message, it felt like I'd finally found my direction,' I thought to myself.
I quickly replied, "I'll be there!"
I blocked Dylan and Jaxton's numbers, cutting off all contact.
I was done with everything here.
"Amina! Come out, now! Where are you?" Dylan yelled.
He rushed from room to room, frantically searching every corner for her.
"Dad, I'll go check upstairs!" Jaxton shouted.
He searched every room on the second floor, but there was no sign of me anywhere.
"Dad, Mom's not home," Jaxton said as he came back down.
"Unbelievable! She really had the nerve to run away!" Dylan shouted.
Dylan was beside himself, furious and desperate.
Brooke had just finished cooking and stepped out of the kitchen.
"Mr. Clark, is it time to serve dinner? Mrs. Clark said she's not eating tonight," Brooke said.
"Amina? She was just here?" Dylan asked, his voice sharp with surprise.
"Yes, she left about twenty minutes ago. She grabbed her suitcase and left, no idea where she was headed," Brooke replied.
Dylan felt a jolt in his gut. A sudden wave of anxiety hit him.
He rushed upstairs to the master bedroom and flung open the closet door. All my clothes and jewelry were still there.
He let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"She's so damn willful!" Dylan muttered.
"Where did she learn to act like a rebellious teenager? Running away from home at her age. Seriously?" he grumbled.
Suddenly, Jaxton shouted, "Dad! Mom's photos, all of them, are gone!"
Dylan shot to his feet and started searching frantically around the room. The photos on the walls were all still there, except for any that had me in them. Not a single photo with me in it remained.
"She's the one at fault. What's with all this drama now?" Dylan muttered, clearly frustrated.
Dylan's mind raced, searching for any clue about where I might have gone.
"The orphanage. That's the only place she could be!" he exclaimed, the answer hitting him all at once.
He jumped in his car and sped off to the orphanage, but I wasn't there.
"So now she's gone and vanished? Just perfect," Dylan spat out.
"Bank manager, freeze Amina's supplementary credit card," Dylan ordered.
Dylan tapped the steering wheel with satisfaction, feeling in control.
"Let's see how long you survive out there without my support," he said.
When I found out my credit card was frozen, it didn't faze me.
Before I left, I'd already grabbed thirty thousand dollars in cash from the safe.
Not a fortune, but enough to keep me afloat for a while.
Dylan was so furious he went on a rampage, wrecking the place and smashing things left and right.
Dylan said, "It's been three days, and she still hasn't come back!
"Does she really think she can't survive without me?"
Suddenly, Dylan's phone rang. It was a call from an unfamiliar number.
Dylan quickly picked up.
"Mr. Clark, the Cotton Group is calling off our deal," came the urgent voice on the other end.
"What? This is the most important deal we've got this year! Why are they backing out all of a sudden?" Dylan demanded, his voice sharp with shock.
"We're not sure, sir. We just got word. We're still trying to salvage the situation," the person replied.
Dylan pressed his hand to his forehead as it suddenly hit him, the warning that old fortune-teller had given him.
"Get Amina back. No matter what, you have to bring her home!" Dylan demanded.
Ellis had watched Dylan going crazy for three days, and she just couldn't take it anymore.
"Dylan, so what if Amina left? Doesn't that just make things easier for us?" Ellis cooed.
Dylan glared at her, his gaze icy and suspicious, lingering for several seconds.
"Did you tell her something?" he demanded, voice sharp.
Ellis just shook her head, playing innocent.
"What could I have possibly said? Come on, you really think I'd be that dumb?" Ellis replied.
Dylan seemed to buy it. He grabbed the wine bottle, took a few long swigs straight from the neck, then headed back to his room, looking defeated and unsteady on his feet.
"Where did you go, Amina?" Dylan said.
"How long are you planning to stay away?" he called out.
Suddenly, Dylan clutched his stomach as his old pain came back with a vengeance, forcing him to double over.
"Amina, my meds!" he cried out, the pain twisting his voice.
That's when it hit him that I was gone.
Dylan rummaged through the drawer, looking for his meds.
But a stack of reports was sitting right on top, catching him off guard.
"Divorce papers? And a miscarriage report?" Dylan said, stunned.
His hands trembled as he held the reports, shock flooding through him.
"Amina, how could you do this? How could you abort our child?" Dylan cried out.
"We got married in Grelland! And now you want to sue for divorce?" Dylan shouted.