Emily turned to David and made the decision immediately, "David, can you book a ticket to M country
for me?
I am leaving right now. I can't waste another minute."
"But it's almost midnight… you're not serious about leaving all by yourself... Emily, I am worried about
you. Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Rita, as she turned to look at David, seeking for support.
"If Jacob finds me, he will never let me go…" Emily sighed. Emily had made up her mind a long time
ago that she would keep the child no matter what the cost. "Rita, please…you know me…I need to do
this and I will need your help," Emily urged Rita.
Rita and David looked at each other without saying a word. In their hearts, they knew that there was
nothing they could say or do to stop Emily from going. Perhaps, the best way to help Emily was to do
as she had said.
David called his contact at the airlines and booked a flight ticket for Emily, while she packed her things
for the journey.
Rita pulled Emily to the side and slipped a credit card into her hands. "Emily, take care of yourself,
okay? And remember to call me if you need anything…promise me that you will call me, okay?" Rita
insisted, looking concerned.
"You don't need to do this, Rita. I've got enough money…" Emily replied, as she tried to give the card
back to Rita. Emily felt like she owed so much to Rita for her care and support.
In truth, Emily wasn't lying. She made sure to bring an extra card with her secretly in case of an
emergency.
"I don't care. You have to take it. I demand you to take it," Rita insisted, tears appearing in the corner
her eyes. "I really wanted to spend more time with you, Emily. Now you are leaving… and I don't even
know when I will see you again. Is there no other way? I mean, seriously, when will this stupid hide-
and-seek stop?" Rita added.
Emily looked at her with a bitter smile and said, "May be... it will all stop when Jacob finally forgets
about me and lets me go..."
However, they both knew that was never going to happen. Given the fact that Jacob was so adamant
about Emily being the love of his life, he would hold onto her until the end of the world.
"Emily won't be gone forever. Relax, she will be back soon. Safe and sound," David cut in, trying to
ease the sad atmosphere. "Here, this is my friend's number. He is an old friend in M country, and you
can trust him. When you arrive at the airport, go and find him. He'll look after you for us," David added,
as he placed a note in Emily's hand.
"Thank you, David," said Emily, and then she put the note in her bag.
Emily didn't want to run away again, especially because of the baby, but she had no choice.
Before long Rita and David took Emily to the airport. The couple stood in the brightly lit up lounge, and
watched through the big glass window, that reflected countless tiny lights, like stars shimmering on an
open sky. They waited until the plane carrying Emily slowly disappear into the dark sky, before driving
back to their villa.
Jacob arrived at their gate almost at the same time. With his messy hair and worn out clothes, his
weariness was something he couldn't have hidden even if he wanted to. He stood in front of the gate
and quickly glanced through the place with sharp eyes before he let himself in.
Surprised, Rita's heart pounded hard in her chest. Emily was right. If she hadn't left in time, Jacob
would have caught her.
Jacob had showed up alone. He could have been there a little earlier if so many people hadn't gotten in
his way.
"Where is Emily?" Jacob asked. He walked around and scanned each and every corner of the house
with his gaze. His eyes darted wildly around the house sifting through things and trying to look for
traces of Emily.
"I don't know what you're talking about. What are you doing here? Emily is not here," David replied,
trying to keep his nerves calm and composed.
"I won't ask again. Where is Emily?" Jacob yelled, his voice almost cracking. He rushed and grabbed
David by his collar before forcefully pushing him against the wall. Jacob's bloodshot eyes, gave David
the impression that he hadn't slept in a long time.
"I really don't know! She isn't here and I didn't see her, either!" David exclaimed, struggling to get
Jacob's hand off of him.
The next moment, Jacob's mind finally collapsed. Emily was so close, but he had failed, again. He was
exhausted and demoralized.
"Pow!" Greatly dismayed, Jacob lacked the fortitude to deal with his failure. The only thing that could
give him instant gratification was venting his anger and crushing everything in front of him.
"Run, Rita! Take Dylan with you and run!" David screamed at Rita in a hurry. He had never seen Jacob
like this before.
As it were, fighting with Jacob seemed to be the only way to calm him down. David was ready to
defend himself and get into a fight, but he didn't want anything bad to happen to Rita and little Dylan.
"Oh, you don't have to tell me. That's exactly what I am doing right now. You thought I would stay and
fight for you?" Rita replied, as she held the baby in her arms and ran as fast as she could with the
nanny.
David watched as Rita's body slowly disappeared in the hallway.
'She didn't even care about my safety at all. She just left without even looking at me, ' David thought.
"Tell me. Where did you hide her?" Jacob asked again, hysterically, his hands choking David's throat.
"Jacob, calm down!" David urged. Tussling and struggling, David tried to fight back, but then he
realized that he was also part of the reason why Jacob was going berserk. Jacob trusted him, and he
betrayed that trust.
"Tell me! Where is she! Why are you lying to me? Why is everyone lying to me? You all want Emily to
leave me. You all say it's good for her, but no one cares about me, no one!" Jacob yelled, almost
breaking down in frustration.
He punched David again. This time he almost broke David's nose.
"Fuck! Jacob, are you crazy?" David could not stand it any longer. He continued furiously, "Are you
trying to kill me? If you think that will solve your problem, then please, by all means, go ahead !"
Jacob, however, couldn't hear what David was saying or be rational any more. Unable to control his
anger, he punched David again and again.
"What's the matter with you? Didn't you hear me?" David asked, as he lay on the ground helplessly,
trying to fend for himself. 'Thank God, Rita and Dylan aren't here. I wouldn't want them to see me like
this, ' he thought to himself.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, Jacob stopped. The pain on the back of his head was so strong that he could not move or
think.
"Jacob?" asked David. Before David could understand what was going on, he saw Jacob's body drop
right in front of his eyes. When he raised his head, he saw Rita standing behind Jacob, trembling with a
baseball bat in her hands. When did she come back?
"Why…When…Where is Dylan?" David asked, looking confused. For some reason, he thought that
Rita was going to knock him out with the bat too.
"Dylan is with the nanny," Rita replied softly, her lips trembling with fear. Rita dropped the bat to the
ground.
"I knew you were worried about me. You wouldn't leave me alone like this," David said, and he couldn't
help smiling from ear to ear. He slowly got up and checked up on Jacob while he spoke to Rita.
"I was worried about my furniture," Rita replied, indifferently.
"Okay, whatever you say," David smirked, satisfied with her answer.
"Mr. and Mrs. Xu, I…" Stunned, Sam didn't expect to see such a dramatic scene, and he continued, "I
am really sorry. What happened to Mr. Jacob?"
"I think he passed out. Come on. Help me get him to the car and bring him to the hospital.
Hurry up!" David urged.
"Okay…Yes…Okay…" Sam mumbled. He was in so much shock that he didn't know what else to do
besides follow David.
They all went to the hospital together.
Before long, the doctor came out of the ward and reported that it wasn't anything serious but only a
mild concussion, and that Jacob would be awake in no time.
Rita felt guilty, so she looked at the doctor meekly. When David noticed Rita's expression, he lowered
his voice and whispered, "Don't worry about it. If anyone asks, just tell them it was me."
"You? Seriously? What did you do exactly? If it were not for me, you will be dead by now," Rita
sneered. 'He didn't even fight back. How could he let Jacob beat him like that? Does he even know
how to protect himself? Does he understand how much I worry about him?' Rita's mind overflowed with
questions.
"I…I have my own rules…" David didn't know how else to respond.
"Forget about your stupid rules. You should thank me for saving your ass," Rita looked at his face and
snickered.
"Yes. Thank you madam," David smiled back, with blood still dripping from the cuts on his face.
"Move away and wash yourself," Rita ordered.
Meanwhile, Jacob was still unconscious. While Jacob was in the hospital, Sam brought several men
with him and searched the entire C City, but unfortunately, they couldn't find even a single trace of
Emily.
'If Miss Emily is not in C city, then where on earth could she be? Did we receive the wrong information?'
Sam kept asking himself.
"Okay... Yes...Okay..." Sam mumbled. He was in so much shock that he didn't know what else to do
besides follow David.
They all went to the hospital together.
Before long, the doctor came out of the ward and reported that it wasn't anything serious but only a
mild concussion, and that Jacob would be awake in no time.
Rita felt guilty, so she looked at the doctor meekly. When David noticed Rita's expression, he lowered
his voice and whispered, "Don't worry about it. If anyone asks, just tell them it was me."
"You? Seriously? What did you do exactly? If it were not for me, you will be dead by now," Rita
sneered. 'He didn't even fight back. How could he let Jacob beat him like that? Does he even know
how to protect himself? Does he understand how much | worry about him?' Rita's mind overflowed with
questions.
"l... have my own rules..." David didn't know how else to respond.
"Forget about your stupid rules. You should thank me for saving your ass," Rita looked at his face and
snickered.
"Yes. Thank you madam," David smiled back, with blood still dripping from the cuts on his face.
"Move away and wash yourself," Rita ordered.
Meanwhile, Jacob was still unconscious. While Jacob was in the hospital, Sam brought several men
with him and searched the entire C City, but unfortunately, they couldn't find even a single trace of
Emily.
‘If Miss Emily is not in C city, then where on earth could she be? Did we receive the wrong information?’
Sam kept asking himself.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda