It had been a week since Vanessa vanished from her apartment without a trace, leaving Darryl in a state of unrelenting torment. Every day, every waking and sleeping moment was consumed by thoughts of her whereabouts, her safety, and her silence. Despite his attempts to find her, he found nothing – not even a trace or clue that could lead him to her. He had tried every possible means to reach Vanessa, calling her phone and her mother’s, only to be met with frustrating voicemails. He had sent numerous text messages, hoping she would eventually receive them, but the silence was deafening, and Darryl’s imagination ran wild with worst-case scenarios.
He rubbed his tired eyes, the exhaustion of the past week etched on his face as he slumped into the sofa in his usual spot, scanning the dimly lit club with a mixture of disinterest and desperation. The red lights cast an eerie glow on his face, masking the worried look etched on his features. He poured himself a drink, the amber liquid splashing into the glass as he struggled to keep his hands steady due to fatigue from sleepless nights.
Despite his fatigue, his thoughts about Vanessa refused to be quiet. His memories were haunted by the vision of Vanessa’s face and the fear of losing her forever. The familiar rhythms of the club, once a source of comfort and escape, now seemed irritating and uninviting. Dawson had dragged him to the club, hoping it would cheer him up a little. With the look on Darryl’s face, Dawson could tell that his best friend’s mind was elsewhere, trapped in a relentless cycle of concern and regret.
“What happened to the man who enjoyed his time at the bar?” Dawson tried to start a conversation with Darryl, willing to distract him from his worries.
“I think that man is dead,” Darryl replied, sounding uninterested in the conversation.
“Revive him. I don’t like the present one,” Dawson said, who wasn’t ready to give up on his best friend.
“Only Vanessa can revive him. If you want the dead man back, find Vanessa,” Darryl said to his best friend.
“It’s surprising that all you think about is Vanessa. What happened to ‘I would never get attached to any woman’? What happened to ‘everything I do now is for fun, I’m not interested in anything serious’?” Dawson said, mimicking Darryl’s voice.
“I can say the same for you,” Darryl countered without wasting time.
“I never said anything like that,” Dawson said, trying to clarify Darryl’s accusations.
“I can’t leave Phoebe for any other woman,” Darryl said, mimicking Dawson’s voice.
“I don’t sound like that, and I never said that,” Dawson countered Darryl’s claim.
“I wasn’t the one head over heels for Phoebe,” Darryl said before gulping down his drink. He might be engaging in a conversation with Dawson, but his mind was still dwelling on Vanessa.
“It’s in the past now. I’m happily married and expecting a baby with my wife,” Dawson said, causing Darryl to laugh.
“That makes two of us. I’m married and expecting a child, but with another woman. That’s the slight difference between us,” Darryl said with humor.
“It’s so that you considered yourself married, and I thought you said Tania isn’t pregnant,” Dawson raised his eyebrows, giving Darryl a questioning look.
“What happens when a man places a ring on a woman’s finger? Marriage. So why won’t I consider myself married?” Darryl explained with a grin.
Dawson couldn’t help but shake his head at his best friend’s state. Darryl was in love but wasn’t ready to accept it. Maybe because he was scared of going through another heartbreak.
“That’s not how it works,” Dawson said.
“Coming from someone who had an arranged marriage,” Darryl retorted.
“Must you rub that in my face? Yes, I had an arranged marriage, and I’m thankful for it. Through that arrangement, I met the woman I love the most,” Dawson said with a smile on his face.
Darryl couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his best friend, who shamelessly proclaimed his love in a club.
“Why do you think mine is any different? I had a contract marriage too,” Darryl countered.
“Do you love Vanessa?” Dawson fired the question at him.
“No. Why would I?” Darryl answered without thinking about it. The question might have caught him unexpectedly, but he didn’t even know the right answer to it. Moreover, he wasn’t ready to proclaim his love for Vanessa to anyone. Some things are better left unsaid, and his feelings for Vanessa were one of them.
“Are you sure you don’t love her?” Dawson asked again, expecting his best friend to change his answer.
“I said I don’t,” Darryl answered as fast as he could.
“Then, why are you worried about her? Why are you desperate to find her? Why do you long for her? Why does her absence affect you so badly? Why do you think about her every single time?” Dawson, who was now Darryl’s love doctor, asked him.
“Why so many questions? What are you?” Darryl said, trying to dismiss Dawson’s claim.
Deep down in his heart, he knew the answers to those questions, but he wasn’t ready to say it. The last time he felt this way for someone, he ended up heartbroken. He wasn’t ready to go through the same pain again.
“An answer is all I need from you. If you don’t love Vanessa like you claim, you should have the answers to my questions,” Dawson said.
“I’m worried about her because I am the reason she disappeared in the first place. Secondly, I want to make sure she is around me so I can ensure her safety. And most importantly, I want to make up for everything I did to hurt her. I owe her that for putting her through my shit,” Darryl fumbled for the right words as he tried harder to hide his feelings from Dawson.
“In one sentence, you love her,” Dawson said firmly.
“I care about her,” Darryl countered.
“Why? We know she isn’t your responsibility,” Dawson said, hoping Darryl would summon the courage to accept the fact that he was in love with Vanessa.
“To start with, she is my employee. Most importantly, she is my wife. Can you tell me how she is not my responsibility?” Darryl said, avoiding all means to give Dawson the answer he desperately wanted to hear.
“Prove to me that you don’t love her,” Dawson said, hoping this would help Darryl confess his feelings.
“What should I do to make you believe me, Love doctor?” Darryl teased.
“Have fun tonight,” Dawson winked. “You know what I meant by fun, right?”