“She told me that she was going to try on some clothes,” Zain replied.
I quickly realized that I was no longer interested in what had already happened. What was more important was finding where she had disappeared to.
“Did she run away, or did someone take her?” I asked although I had a pretty good guess.
“I don’t think anyone could have kidnapped her,” Zain replied solemnly.
“How long has she gone missing?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. Less than half an hour ago...” Zain replied.
“Find her. Use all means necessary and make sure that no one finds out about this. Don’t come back until you do,” I commanded before hanging up.
Suddenly, the view of the city from outside the window looked grim although the sky was clear and blue, and the sun was shining brightly. I should have known that something was off when Dahlia suddenly asked to go out shopping. Even though I told her that I wasn’t free and that meant that she wasn’t allowed to go, she had negotiated until I felt like we were going to have another senseless argument if I refused to let her go.
‘I’m just going to go out to buy some new clothes and some shoes. It’s not a big deal. Plus, isn’t shopping supposed to be super boring for guys? If you’re not free, Zain can come with me instead,’
Dahlia’s words came back to me as I felt anger rising up inside of me. It wasn’t like I trusted that she would never try to run away. I just thought that if she tried anything Zain would be able to stop her from making her escape. It was hard for me to believe that someone as capable as Zain had let his guard down. At the same time, I wondered if I had started to let my guard down around her as well. Her smile can be quite disarming at times.
The main reason why I didn’t think that Dahlia would try to escape was because there wasn’t any good reason for her to run away. In fact, it made no sense for her to run away. Since her sister had not been found and had no returned, she had to keep filling in for Diana while we both faked our perfect marriage and relationship. If she didn’t truly run away, then where did she go?
I’m going to make you pay for this, Dahlia...
Zain knew the city very well and our men were stationed pretty much everywhere in the center of the city. There was no way that they couldn’t find one woman. In fact, I truly expected Dahlia to be found within half an hour. Even though I was convinced of that, it didn’t quite stop me from feeling restless.
I should just go out there and find her myself instead of simply relying on others...
I stood up from and headed for the door. There were so many meetings that I had to attend all the way until late in the evening but none of that mattered anymore. If anyone found out that Dahlia went missing, there would be endless complications. It might not kill for her to be walking around randomly in the open, but it wasn’t perfectly safe for her to do so either.
The photo that she posted of us did not help at all even though I looked more like Anthony than myself and she was supposed to be Diana. Anthony’s secretary had a shocked look on her face when I suddenly emerged from the door.
“Where are you going, sir?” she asked with widened eyes.
“Out...” I replied without bothering to explain further.
Telling her that the woman who was supposed to play the role of Anthony’s wife had gone missing wasn’t an option. On top of that, there was no time to lose.
Suddenly, the phone on her desk started ringing quite loudly. I immediately found the sound irritating as I headed for the door.
“Lady Diana is here?” the woman exclaimed quite loudly from behind me.
It felt like time slowed as I turned around to see Anthony’s secretary clutching the receiver close to her ear. The moment she caught me looking at her, her eyes focused on my face.
“Wait a moment please. Umm...your wife is here to see you, Sir,” she reported with a slightly confused look on her face.
I could understand her reaction. This was probably the first time since we got married and since I started acting as Anthony that Diana had visited the company. I tried to keep a straight face as my mind worked to sort out fact from fiction. If the real Diana had returned, I would have been informed immediately. Since I had not heard anything, the Diana that had turned up to see Anthony couldn’t have been anyone besides Dahlia.
“Tell someone to lead her up here. Please don’t keep my wife waiting. Also, please cancel all meetings that I have for the day,” I instructed calmly.
“Oh, Ok. Sure, I’ll do that right now...” she replied while stuttering a little.
I turned and returned back into Anthony’s private office while I heard the secretary relaying my instructions to the receptionist stationed in the lobby. Dahlia’s sudden appearance was nothing short of surprising, but it did save me the trouble of going out to look for her.
‘Diana is here with me. Call off the search.’
I sent a short message to Zain to call off the search because it was no longer necessary. I sat back down onto the large chair behind Anthony’s worktable before letting out a sigh with a mix of relief and rage as I waited for Dahlia’s arrival. It was a strange feeling to feel such conflicting emotions at the same time. On one hand, I was glad that Dahlia was here and that she wasn’t in any kind of danger. However, when I thought of the reason why she suddenly turned up here, my mood headed southward. As far as Dahlia was aware, Anthony was healthy and living his life normally.
--To be continued...