Chapter 5
It was exactly eight in the morning.
The styling team had finished their work and quietly stepped out to the living room to wait.
I wore that expensive custom-made wedding dress and a crown veil adorned with countless tiny diamonds, sitting on the edge of the bedroom bed.
I felt like an elegantly dressed porcelain figurine waiting to make an appearance.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled shadows on the floor.
The room was eerily quiet. All I could hear was my heartbeat, a little too fast for comfort.
My phone was still dead silent.
I couldn't stand it any longer. I snatched up my phone, found Edmund's number, and pressed call.
"Beep beep beep."
The long, repetitive beeps drilled into my eardrums one after another, and into my growing anxiety.
Finally, a cold, automated voice rang out. "The number you are calling is not available at this time. Please try again later."
Not available?
Why wasn't he answering?
He should be getting ready to head to the church by now.
Maybe he left his phone somewhere. Or was he caught up with something and didn't hear it?
I took a deep breath, forcing down the panic that was threatening to take over, and dialed Francis, Edmund's best man and one of his closest friends.
This time, the call was picked up almost immediately.
"Hello? Harley?" Francis's voice sounded a bit rushed, and there was some noise in the background.
"Francis, is Edmund with you?" I tried to keep my voice steady.
There was a split second of silence on the other end. It was barely noticeable, but it made my heart sink.
"Edmund? He probably stepped out for something and didn't take his phone with him. Don't worry, Harley, we've already got people looking for him. I'm sure we'll get in touch with him soon," Francis said.
Were they sending people to look for him?
No one was able to reach him?
Those words hit me like daggers of ice, stabbing straight into my heart and leaving me shivering inside.
"Can't get in touch with him? What does that even mean?" My voice shook, fear leaking through no matter how hard I tried to hold it back.
"It's just... Well, maybe his phone's dead, or he left it somewhere." Francis tried to sound casual, but I could hear the worry in his voice. "Don't worry, Harley, the wedding will start on time. Edmund—"
Before he could finish, the phone seemed to get pulled away, and I caught the sound of hushed, anxious voices in the background.
"We've searched everywhere, but there's still no sign of Edmund," someone said.
"Did anyone check over at the marina?" another asked.
"His phone just won't go through," another guy answered.
Those scattered words landed like hammer blows, smashing the last bit of hope I was clinging to.
Marina.
Edmund has a private yacht that was always moored at the east side marina.
Sometimes he'd get a few friends together and head out on the water to relax.
But today was our wedding day. Why would he go there?
Unless...
A cold, terrifying thought slithered into my mind like a venomous snake, and it sent chills down my spine instantly.
I didn't dare let myself go there.
"Francis!" I raised my voice, cutting through the chaos at his end. "Just tell me the truth. Where is Edmund?"
There was silence again, this time so suffocating it felt like the air had been sucked out of the room.
After several long seconds, Francis finally spoke, his voice carrying a heaviness I had never heard before. And maybe even a trace of sympathy.
Francis said, "Harley, we're doing everything we can to find him. Edmund boarded the yacht last night, and since then, we haven't been able to reach him."
A deafening silence buzzed in my head.
My mind went completely blank.
It felt like the whole world had gone mute, leaving only my heart beating frantic and hopeless in my chest.
He really disappeared.
On our wedding day.
There I was, dressed in my wedding gown, sitting in my room and waiting for him.
And he was nowhere to be found.
"Ms. Blaine? Ms. Blaine, what's wrong?" the makeup artist asked.
"Oh my god! Ms. Blaine, you look like you've seen a ghost," the hairstylist echoed.
The styling team in the living room saw me stumble out of the bedroom, my face as white as a sheet, and they all rushed over, startled.
I couldn't hear or see anything anymore.
"He boarded the yacht last night, and since then, we haven't been able to reach him." Francis's words kept replaying in my head, over and over.
His yacht.
Right, the yacht.
I needed to find him.
I had to see for myself.
I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that Edmund, who had pursued me for three years, doted on me endlessly and vowed solemnly to give me a perfect future, would leave me like this on our wedding day.
"Ms. Blaine, where are you going? The wedding's about to start." The team leader tried to stop me.
I shoved her aside, along with anyone else who tried to get close, and stormed out of the apartment in that heavy, elaborate wedding dress, like I had lost my mind.
"Ms. Blaine!" someone shouted.
"Be quick! Follow her," another said.
I could hear frantic shouting and the rush of footsteps chasing after me.