Chapter 5
The were dumbfounded. “What do you mean? Didn’t a young woman
men
move in a month ago?”
“She looked just like this!”
They showed my photo, but the neighbor shook her head in denial.
“I’ve seen her before. She lives in the next building. I haven’t seen her again ever since her husband died. Are you her friends?”
Realizing something was off, the group immediately pressed the neighbor for answers, “What nonsense are you spouting? Her husband is alive and well! Why are you saying he’s dead? Were you paid to put on this act too?”
“Tell her to come out! Her husband has fully recovered, and today is their wedding day. If she throws a tantrum now, the wedding might have to be postponed again!”
They raised their voices, shouting at the neighbor’s door.
Thinking I was hiding inside the neighbor’s apartment, they barged in.
The neighbor tried to stop them, but it was too late.
“I can’t believe you people! How could you not know where your friend lives? What’s worse, you didn’t even bother checking on her when her husband died! Unbelievable!”
Ignoring the neighbor’s protests, they ransacked the place but found no
trace of me.
Frustrated, they called a locksmith, assuming I was still hiding in the apartment Herman had rented for me.
Annoyed, one of them grumbled to the neighbor, “I’ve never seen such a dramatic woman. If it weren’t for Herman, I’d have left long ago!”
The neighbor, however, defended me, “Are you really her friends? I’m sure she never moved in here. You should go check her place. What if something happened to her?
“Thinking back, I haven’t seen her for a long time.”
The neighbor suddenly narrowed her eyes and smacked her forehead. “The last time I saw her, she was getting rid of a pile of wedding items. I heard her husband died. Poor girl! Just looking at those albums and wedding photos, you could tell she loved him deeply. Such a shame!”
Those men knew how much I treasured my memories with Herman.
Even the pull–tab rings he playfully used as engagement rings were carefully stored in a luxury box.
Now, hearing that I had thrown away bags of couple’s items, they finally sensed that something was wrong.
Just then, the locksmith arrived and swiftly unlocked the door.
The group rushed inside, only to find the place untouched.
Everything remained exactly as they had left it when helping Herman set up the apartment.
The lilies they had placed in a vase had long since withered and begun to
rot.
A musty smell filled the air of the unoccupied room.
07154
Charter 5
They exchanged uneasy glances, their faces turning pale.
Calvin Rivera, one of them, immediately called Herman.
At that moment, Herman was at the hotel overseeing the wedding setup. As his phone rang incessantly, his eyelid twitched uncontrollably.
Pressing down on his twitching eye, he finally answered.
“Herman, bad news-”
“Cut the bad luck talk! It’s my wedding day. Watch what you’re saying!”
Calvin swallowed hard and steeled himself. “Herman, Hollie never moved into the apartment. And your neighbor said she threw away everything from your six years together, including the albums and wedding photos.”
“What?! Impossible! Hollie told me she bought a seaside villa. Maybe she moved there instead!”
“Herman, why didn’t you say so earlier? You had us worried for nothing. Send us the villa address so we can deliver the wedding dress to her.”
Herman suddenly froze.
It finally occurred to him that he had no idea where my seaside villa was.
