Chapter 11
+25 BONUS
Isabella had always used her social media as a way to document her life, sharing countless photos and snippets of her day–to–day. There were sweet moments from when they first fell in love, warm memories from their life together after marriage, and even the candid photos she had secretly taken of him from behind.
Samuel’s heart felt like it was crumbling as he scrolled through the photos and words on his phone, as if reliving the beautiful moments they had shared together. But all of that stopped abruptly six months ago.
The last time Isabella had logged in was just the night before. After changing her mood status to “I’m done“, she submitted a request to deactivate her account.
What did that mean? Had she finally given up on him?
Samuel felt like his soul had been ripped from him. He sat on the swing until it was dark, then dragged himself back to the bedroom.
He lay down in the spot where Isabella usually slept, hoping to feel some trace of her warmth. But all he could touch was the cold, empty sheets.
The night felt endless, and sleep eluded him.
In the midst of his despair, a thought suddenly flashed through Samuel’s mind–she had left him a surprise. Perhaps she wanted him to find her on their anniversary!
The clock on the wall just crossed midnight. It was a new day, and also their fifth wedding anniversary.
Samuel sat up quickly and opened the box on the bedside table.
What he saw inside hit him like a bolt of lightning- it was divorce papers.
Fear, despair, and helplessness flooded over him in waves. He quickly dressed and rushed out of the house, driving as fast as he could to the nearest police station.
The on–duty officer was startled when someone suddenly rushed in front of him.
“Sir, please take a moment. What’s going on?”
Samuel hurried in, almost running. His voice was tight as he said, “I want to file a report! My wife is missing! She left without a trace, and I can’t reach her anywhere…”
As soon as the officer heard someone was missing, he quickly asked for the details–time and location. Samuel hesitated, trying to recall everything.
“She probably left the house… went up to the mountain to look at the stars. It was probably last night.”
None of it seemed to make sense.
The officer raised an eyebrow. “Your relationship… wasn’t good, then?”
