'Captain, the ambulance will be here in half an hour.' Mike was on the phone.
'Shit.' Damian had tied a makeshift tourniquet around Austyn's chest using his shirt, but blood was still oozing out. 'Give me a hand. We have to drive him to the hospital." Austyn saw the world in front of him slowly turn black.
Damian's voice sounded so far away.
Austyn felt his eyelids grow heavy.
Before he passed out, the last image he saw was Kira's face.
'Austyn! Austyn!' Damian's eyes were red. 'Don't you die on me!'
A harsh ringtone disturbed the quiet in the lavishly decorated bedroom.
The man got up from the sofa and answered the call. 'Yes?"
'It's done. Austyn's shot in the chest. Survival's Highly unlikely."
'Good job. The man smiled. The rest of the money will be in your account this afternoon. Did
you cover your tracks?"
I'm already on a plane
1 of Trinidonia. They won't find me."
'Good. The man ended the call.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
A week later.
Kira felt a chill on her face as soon as she walked out of the library.
Autumn was well on its way.
The temperature kept dropping each day.
She rubbed her arms and felt goosebumps on her skin.
Maybe it was time to swap her t-shirt for a sweater.
She checked her phone, which was kept on silent mode while she was in the library.
Same result.
No calls, no texts.
Kira was so used to it, she no longer felt disappointed.
There was just a numb sensation in her heart.
It was now Day Ten of Austyn's disappearance.
He had gone completely radio silent.
Well, not entirely.
He just didn't communicate with her.
But the others—at least someone in his company-had definitely heard from him.
Kira went to the M Group's office three more times.
She got stiff-armed by the receptionist every time.
Andrea the secretary took pity on her and told her the president was away on a business trip.
The date of his return was not fixed yet.
Nor could Andrea tell her the name of the city Austyn went to, or if he was even in the country. Day Ten of Being Ghosted
Kira bombarded Luca with phone calls until the police captain had to block her number.
He sent her a text message before that.
Austyn's fine. Don't worry."
Kira gave up trying to look for him after that.
It seemed that everyone knew where Austyn was
Everyone except het.
Day Five of Austyn's disappearance, she was mad, hysterical, out of her mind.
Day Six, she cried herself to sleep.
Day Seven, she reported for class.
The new semester had begun.
Day Eight, she went back to the villa, packed up her stuff and, despite Elsie's entreaties, moved out of the villa
Day Nine, she settled into the school dormitory and spent the whole day in class.
Day Ten, she no longer called Jesse, Luca, Liam, or Kai.
It was pointless.
Giana wasn't in the room when she returned to the dorm, but the other two roommates were.
One was on the phone with her boyfriend.
Ditto for the other girl.
Kira blocked out the 'honey' and 'sweetie' and 'boo' and 'you're the cutest."
She flung her bag onto her bed and texted Giana.
""Where are you?"
"With Noah. BRB."
Giana put away her phone and pecked her boyfriend on the cheek. 'Gotta go. Kira's back in the dorm.'
'Is she feeling better?' Noah was reluctant to see Giana leave.
The girl was in a bad place.
'Not really.' Giana shrugged and sighed. 'If she is, her text would end with a smiley face and
not a question mark'
"So, still no news on her husband, huh?"
Nope Giana shook her head. 'It's been almost ten days now. No news at all!
Isn't he some kind of big shot? His name's Austyn McCarthy, right?
'Right."
I remember reading about him in business magazines. Doesn't he own the M Group?
"He does."
'So how can he disappear for ten days at a stretch? Won't someone have filed a police report by now?
'Well, he's not exactly missing. Giana told Noah about Kira's futile visits to the office," Apparently, people at the company think he's away on a business trip."
'I don't get it.' Noah scratched his cheek. 'So he's not missing. He's just dodging his wife's calls?"
'At least it looks that way.
Noah winced. 'I feel bad for Kira.'
"I do, too. Which is why I asked her to move into the dorm. She shouldn't be alone right now
Besides, Giana thought Austyn's prolonged silence and absence was a prelude to something. worse, something like...divorce.
Noah clicked his tongue. 'I just never thought a man like Mr McCarthy will stoop to ghosting his wife. It just doesn't sound like him at all.'
""You don't even know him.'
"But I've read about him in the magazines.
"That should teach you to never judge a book by its cover."
'I know.' Noah raised his right hand as if to take an oath. 'I will never do something like that to you. If we're going to break up, you'll be the first to know." Giana narrowed her eyes.
She gave him a box on the ear. 'So you've thought about breaking up with me?'
'Ow, ow! I didn't! I never! It was hypothetical!'
Glana let go of his ear. 'You should go home. I'll go back to the diner to get some takeout."
'I'll go with you.' Noah walked alongside her.
'Kira has lost so much weight,' Giana said. 'She used to eat like a horse. Now she eats like a bird. I'm really worried about her.'
'At least she has you. You're a good friend.'
""Is that all I am?"
Noah added in a hurry, 'And a good girlfriend."
'Just good?'
'No, no, I misspoke. Not just good. You're the best girlfriend."
Giana returned to the dorm twenty minutes later.
Kira had fallen asleep on her bunk bed.
Giana pinched Kira's nose and counted to five.
Kira's eyes snapped open.
She pushed Giana's hand away. 'Are you trying to kill me?'
'I'm trying to wake you up. Lunch is here.'
Kira sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Thanks, Giana."
'No problem.'
'You're a good friend."
Recalling what Noah said, Giana smiled. 'I know
Kira washed her hands and sat down in front of the desk.
She ignored the fried rice with hibachi chicken and went straight for the 4-ounce mini cup of Ben & Jerry's.
Giana had picked 'Doughn't Worry Be Happy,' a caramel flavour with pieces of cookie dough and chocolate cookies.
She hoped it would work as well as its name promised.
'How much do I owe you?' Kira dug out a big spoonful of ice cream.
'Don't worry about it. It's on me."
'No, I can't keep sponging off you.' Kira held out her wallet. 'Here.'
Giana extracted two ten-dollar bills.
'Eat your lunch before dessert.' She snatched the ice cream cup from Kira's hands.
Jabe Chocted
'Aw, come on.' Kira pleaded with her eyes. 'Dessert IS lunch.'
Giana looked at Kira's sunken cheeks, sighed and gave in. 'At least eat some rice.'
'I will, after I finish the ice cream.'
Giana sat down next to her and lowered her voice. 'So, still no news from...you-know-who?'
Kira said nothing.
'Forget I asked.' Giana patted her shoulder. 'Come on. Try the hibachi chicken. You used to eat them by the bucket.
'You make me sound like a pig.' Kira protested.
Heidi laughed.
She'd just finished her phone call with her boyfriend.
'If you're not hungry, I can help you finish the rice,' she offered.
'No thanks, it's Kira's lunch,' Giana said with an edge to her voice.
Unlike Kira, Heidi had no problem with mooching off others.
She was the main reason Giana stopped bringing takeout food back to the dorm.
Heidi stuck out her lower lip, pouting.
She turned her attention back to Kira. 'Why'd you suddenly move back here?"
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Stamford University offered each full-time student a bed in the dorm.
It was up to them if they chose to stay on campus or off.
Heidi had been using Kira's bunk bed as her personal storage closet.
Kira's return was not welcome news to her.
'I just thought a change of scenery would be nice Kira said vaguely.
'Really? What scenery do we have here?' Heidi swept her eyes over the small room. 'Where were you living before this?"
"That's none of your business.' Kira couldn't help clapping back with a snarky comment.
Heidi had been hostile to her since the first day she moved in, which was something she couldn't understand.
She barely knew the girl.
They had different majors and spent almost zero time together.
If this were any other time, Kira would have tried to find out the reason and maybe patch things up with Heidi.
But now, she simply couldn't be bothered.Text content © .
'Hey, I just asked an innocent question. Why are you being so catty?' Heidi crossed her arms,
'Sorry if you find it rude. That's just the way I talk. If you're not happy about it, move out!'
Heidi was red in the face.
'Kira. Giana tugged on her sleeve. 'Stop it.'
Giana turned to Heidi. 'Kira's in a bad mood. Don't mind her.'
Heidi huffed and stomped off.
'Bitch,' she muttered under her breath.
Neither girl heard her.
Giana threw an arm around Kira and whispered 'What are you doing? I know you're under a lot of stress right now, but that doesn't mean you should lash out at others.
Kira hung her head. 'I wasn't thinking."
'I know, but it was still wrong, what you did.' Giana sighed. 'I know you don't like Heidi.
Neither do I. But she didn't do anything wrong this time. She was just making conversation.' 'I'll...I'll apologise to her later."
Giana squeezed her hand. 'If you plan to stay in the dorm, it's best if we all get along."
hand.
'I know.' Kira started shoving the fried rice into her mouth with a fork.
She had no appetite, but she didn't want to hear Giana nagging at her again.
"What's wrong?' Giana was shocked when she noticed tears on Kira's face. 'I wasn't trying to scold you. I was just..."
'No, it's not you.' Kira wiped away the tears with the back of her hand. 'I just remembered something else."
Austyn used to scold her like this, too.
He called her a hothead and said she often talked without a filter.
""What is it?"
'Nothing. Just a...a bastard.'
'Oh.' Giana didn't need to ask whom Kira was referring to.
In the past week, words like 'bastard,' 'jerk' and two-timer' had become a familiar refrain.
And they were all directed at the same person.
Kira stabbed at the chicken with her fork. 'If he shows up in front of me right now, I'm going to impale him with this fork!"
Giana eyed the plastic fork.
It probably couldn't pierce skin.
But she just nodded along. 'Your food's getting cold. If you don't finish the rice, you're not getting any more ice cream next time.'
Kira pouted, but she went back to her food anyway.
She stuffed a piece of chicken into her mouth.
Usually, the bone-less, bite-sized chicken breast cubes were her favourite.
They were yum-yum, especially when served with teriyaki sauce.
But now Kira found the chicken to be greasy and the smell of fried meat to be off-putting.
She forced herself to chew on the meat.
Five seconds later, she threw down the fork, shot to her feet, covered her mouth with both hands and dashed into the toilet.
"Kira, what's wrong?' Giana followed her.
Giana heard the sound of vomiting from inside the cubicle, followed by the sound of the toilet
flushing-
Kira came out, looking paler than usual. 'I think the chicken has gone bad."
'Are you sure? I ordered the same thing for lunch. It tasted fine to me.' Giana helped Kira back to the dorm room and fetched her a glass of water. 'I think it's because you've skipped two meals in a row. Your stomach probably can't stand the sudden grease.
'Maybe,' Kira rinsed her mouth, too weak to argue.
'Do you want some Tums?"
'I think they're for indigestion, not nausea.
'Since when did you become a doctor?' Giana rolled her eyes. "Then just lie down. A nap will probably make you feel better. You should skip class this afternoon."
'But there's a test in a month. I don't want
'In a month, as in, four weeks, as in, thirty days. You can afford to take one afternoon off. I'll bring you the notes."
'Okay.' Kira nodded obediently. "Thank you, Giana.'
She climbed up to the top bunk.
Giana stayed with her until it was time for class.
Kira stared at the white ceiling and counted the water spots.
She couldn't sleep, though her brain was beyond tired.
She had lost her ability to fall asleep instantly since Austyn's disappearance.
She counted sheep, read the most boring textbook she could find, binge-watched brainless idol dramas and ate melatonin pills like candy.
Nothing worked.
She couldn't close her eyes at night and couldn't get out of bed in the morning.
If Giana hadn't dragged her to live at the dorm, she probably would have stayed in the villa's master bedroom and never ever come out.
She had stopped looking in the mirror, afraid to see the hollow-eyed, wraith-like figure in it.
When she wasn't at school, she was at her father's bedside in Stamford General.
Giana wasn't the only one who had thought of the possibility of divorce.
Kira lived in round-the-clock panic.
Austyn must be with Deborah right now.
They could be away on a honeymoon.
Once he returned, he would broach the subject of divorce with Kira.
She would be fine with that, but what if he stopped paying her father's medical bills?
She was still 282 days away from graduation and had yet to land a job offer.
Her savings were a drop in the ocean compared to the size of the bills.
The uncertainty was killing her.
Divorce Is The Only Outcome
Jesse Chase, who worked at Stamford General, went out of his way to avoid Kira.
He used to enjoy teasing her, but now he locked himself in the office whenever he knew Kira was coming.
Kira stopped pestering him once she realised he would not tell him anything about Austyn's
whereabouts.
Austyn had loyal friends.
All she knew was that Austyn was fine.
But what did 'fine' mean, exactly?
None of his friends would tell her anything more
Kira forced herself to pay attention in class.
Everything else in her life was out of control, but at least she could still handle her studies.
She couldn't afford to let her grades slip.
A Grade Point Average of 4 out of 4 was her ticket to a good job offer.
She could afford to lose her husband, but she couldn't afford to lose her father.
Kira knew Giana was right.
She shouldn't have lashed out at Heidi.
Professor Elliott called it transference.
She was redirecting her anger at Austyn onto Heidi, which was wrong.
But Kira couldn't help it.
Just like she couldn't help feeling bitter when she heard her roommates talking to their boyfriends.
Why did they get to have a sweet and trouble-free relationship?
It was so unfair!
Kira whipped out her phone and stared at the screen.
All she saw was her own ghostly reflection.
She didn't know when or how she'd drifted off.
She was jolted awake by her phone's vibration.
She had deleted Bob Dylan's rendition of 'You Are My Sunshine.
The ringtone was getting too chirpy for her taste.
Kira sat bolt upright in bed and answered the phone without checking the caller ID. 'Austyn!"
A moment of silence on the other end of the line
Then, 'No, it's me.'
'Oh.' Kira's face fell when she recognised Gideon's voice.
"What's wrong? You sound disappointed,"
'Nothing. What's up?"
"It's five o'clock. I'm taking you out for dinner.'
'I'm not hungry."
"You said the same thing yesterday, and the day before that. Are you trying to starve yourself
to death?"
'No, I'm just...not in the mood.'
*I know your dorm room number. Do you want me to stand outside the building and shout out your name?!
""No!' Kira was wide awake now.
Her stomach growled.
Maybe dinner was not such a bad idea.
'I'll come to you,' Kira said. 'Where are you?"
'Outside the main gate. Look for a black BMW.
'Okay. Could you give me a ride first?'
'Sure, where to?"
'Stamford General.'
Gideon paused. 'Going to see your father again?'
'Yes.'
'Weren't you there this morning?"
It was not as if anything had changed in the past twelve hours.
Leland Hewitt was still in a coma.
'How did you know that? I never told you I went to the hospital this morning.
'I know you. I could guess. We used to live together, remember?
"Oh.' Kira climbed down from her top bunk. 'I'll be out in ten minute
She had to stop moving and wait for the dizzy spell to pass.
Then she went into the bathroom to freshen up.
Gideon sat behind the wheel and smiled.
His car was parked about fifty metres away from the main gate of the university-he knew how much Kirá hated drawing attention to herself.
He caught
his smile in the rearview mirror.
The
smile grew wider.
He had never been in such a good mood since he came to Stamford.
Austyn's disappearance was the best news he'd ever heard.
The M Group's PR department did a good job of keeping the news out of the public eye, but word was spreading fast in Stamford's business circle.
Austyn McCarthy had not attended any of the scheduled meetings.
His vice president stood in for him.
Cyril was tight-lipped about Austyn's whereabouts, but he couldn't stop the others from speculating.
Gideon, of course, was in the know.
Liam had generously shared the news with him.
Austyn was currently in some small town in Trinidonia, along with his ex-girlfriend.
He was there to pick up his son, born out of wedlock
That was the extent of Liam's knowledge, but Gideon was thrilled,
He could almost guess where this was headed.
Austyn didn't seem like the type to shirk his responsibilities.
If he had a son, he was duty-bound to take the boy home.
Which would lead to an inevitable confrontation with Kira.
Divorce had to be the only outcome.
Gideon tapped a finger on the steering wheel and couldn't help grinning from ear to ear.
He would hold his silence and bide his time.
He didn't need to do anything.
Kira would eventually return to his arms once she saw through Austyn's true colours.
They could go back to the old days.
Kira had one more year left in school.
Gideon already planned on coming to pick her up every day.
She shouldn't stay in the dormitory.
He would persuade her to move in with him.
It would be just like high school all over again.
He would drive her to school every morning and then pick her up after class.
They would try out random restaurants, one for each day, before heading home together- their home.
He would give her time to get over her previous marriage.
Then he would propose..
If she
preferred staying in Stamford, he could move his operations from Ourhlana to this city.
She didn't have to work after graduation.
He had enough money to provide her with anything she wanted, which had been the sole purpose of his taking over control of the Gideon family.
He got blood on his hands during the process, but Kira didn't need to know that.
Gideon's phone trilled.
He scanned the message from his assistant and ignored it.
Martin was asking where he was and begging him to come to a client meeting.
Gideon couldn't care less about clients or business or money.
He was on cloud nine right now.
The front passenger door was
suddenly pulled open.
Dear Jane Letter
Gideon looked over to see Kira getting in and shutting the car door.
He smiled. 'Don't want your classmates to see you?'
Kira nodded, panting.