Richard returned to the villa wearily at one o’clock in the morning while Helen crying as she sat in the living room. When she saw Richard coming in, she couldn’t help but burst into tears. “Richard! Where is Abbie?”
“Mom, they are still sending people to look for her.”
“Why haven’t we found her after such a long time? Did something happen to her? Is she not coming back?”
“Mom!” Richard wanted to comfort her, but he couldn’t say anything.
Twenty more hours had passed. The ocean surface had violent waves and there were even sharks roaming about. Would Abbie still be able to survive?
He couldn’t accept the fact that Abbie was gone, but he had to learn to live with it.
He couldn’t change anything by deceiving himself!
Helen burst into tears when she saw the hurt in Richard’s eyes. “I shouldn’t have stopped her! I wouldn’t have done that if I had known that this would happen. I should have let her do whatever she wants and it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on separating her and Michael and bringing her here, this wouldn’t have happened at all.”
Helen was putting the blame on herself. Richard held her hand and said, “Mom, it’s not your fault at all!”
“How can I not blame myself? I stopped her because I couldn’t stand being insulted by Meadow. I should’ve begged Meadow to give Abbie her blessing! Why did I force her to break up with Michael?”
Tears streamed down Helen’s face and Richard wiped it for her. “Mom, this has nothing to do with you. It’s all my fault!”
“It’s not! She came to me and I dreamed of her. She was blaming me for separating her and Michael. She hated me and she didn’t even give me a chance to touch her…” Helen thought of the dream she had last night and cried even more uncontrollably.
Richard tried to persuade her with teary eyes, but Helen fainted after crying so much.
Richard immediately sent Helen to the hospital to receive first aid. At that moment, Richard was standing at the door of the operating room in a daze.
His heart felt empty as he recalled Abbie’s voice and smile. He was four years older than Abbie, and he had been with her since he was a child.
He watched as Abbie slowly grew up and he had always cherished her.
He would hold Abbie’s hand as she went to school and accompany her to do homework at night. He often took his own pillow sleep with Abbie as well.
He gradually grew up with Abbie. Helen and Donald did not allow him to sleep with Abbie anymore, but he didn’t care.
He made up an excuse that his younger sister was too timid to sleep alone and he wanted to protect her. He placed a mattress on the floor of Abbie’s room for two years before he was forced to change his habit when he was sent abroad to study.
He really loved his sister very much. His love for her was unconditional and she was very obedient to him as well.
Richard would try to like everything that Abbie was interested in. He was a brother, but he was like her parent. He knew about Abbie’s likes and dislikes even more than Helen and Donald.
Everyone knew that he loved his sister so much that he would do anything to make her happy.
Since Abbie liked bags, he bought countless limited-edition bags from various luxury brands. He would do anything he could just to hear Abbie calling him sweetly.
She was his only sister! She was an obedient, sensible, lively, and lovely girl! How could she be gone just like that?
How could the heavens be so cruel? He was willing to do anything to bring her back to life!
Richard leaned against the wall as tears rolling down his cheeks.
The fishing boat on the sea surface was lit up as Michael stood on the deck and stared at the sea.
Michael had stubble on his face. His face was extremely pale and his eyes were exhausted. When Jaxon saw Michael staring at the sea, he came over and patted the latter on the shoulder. “Michael, you’ve been standing here for a long time. Go and have a rest first.”
“I’m fine!”
Jaxon let out a sigh. “You’re human too. We’ve already taken a rest and you can’t possibly stay awake all the time. Why don’t you take a seat in the cabin and drink some water?”
“I can’t rest as long as Abbie isn’t found! She’s waiting for me to save her and our child!” Michael murmured.
“It’s been such a long time since she’s gone missing, so you should be mentally prepared!”
“What did you say? Say it again!” Michael grabbed Jaxon’s collar and glared at him fiercely.
Jaxon looked at Michael calmly. “I know you can’t accept it and I know you are in pain, but the reality is cruel!”
Michael grabbed Jaxon’s collar and his hand trembled. After a while, he slowly let go.
He took a few steps back dejectedly and suddenly turned around. “Do you think that there’s no way to save her?”
“No, but I just want you to be mentally prepared.”
Michael stood for a while and took out his mobile phone from his pocket to call William. “William!”
“Are you okay?”
“No, but I’m calling to ask you a question. Do you also think that she… will not come back alive?”
“This…”
“Answer me! William, tell me, do you think so too?”
“Michael, I know that you’re in pain and I understand how you feel, but… forget it, let’s continue searching! If Abbie fell into the sea, you should know the duration for her to be saved is already up. I can only hope that someone saved her! Perhaps she made it out alive.”
William’s words made Michael smile bitterly. “Do you think that she is gone as well? She can’t leave me! She is pregnant with my child and she hasn’t gone to collect the marriage certificate with me yet. We haven’t had the chance to enjoy our time together and I haven’t loved her enough. I haven’t given her anything…”
Michael’s eyes were teary and his voice was trembling. “I’ve never treated her well. I’m a bastard!”
“Michael, you can’t change anything by blaming yourself and now is not the time for that. You have to get yourself together!”
“Why should I? Without her, everything I do would be meaningless!”
Michael hung up and began to stare at the sea again.
As time went by, the dark sea began to have hints of gold as a new day was approaching.
Michael stood against the wind on the deck and looked at the sea. It was turbulent and he could faintly see a few sharks on the sea surface.
There was a bitter smile on his face. Under these circumstances, he was lying to himself by believing that Abbie was alive.
Jaxon saw that Michael’s lips were cracking. He wanted to turn around and help Michael get some water, but he heard a thud behind him just as he took two steps.
Jaxon turned his head and saw that Michael was gone. This made him jump in fright and he quickly walked to the edge of the deck. Just then, he saw that Michael’s body was gradually being swallowed by the waves. His face immediately changed and he raised his voice. “Hurry! Michael fell into the water! Hurry up and save him!”