Contract Marriage: I’ve Always Loved You

Fuck! Where is Giana? What happened to Olivia? Did…Did he kidnap her? No, no. This can’t happen.

After shaking my head, with my trembling hand, I immediately call the bodyguard whom I asked to stay outside, and now regretting terribly for my decision.

“I shouldn’t have asked the bodyguard to stay outside.” As I murmur, holding the phone to my ear, tears trickle down my cheeks.

But he doesn’t answer the call, making me more anxious.

Fuck! With each passing second, my fear is intensifying. Giana, where are you?

Evan’s cries become louder, and I scoop him up, holding him close as tears stream down my face. “It’s going to be okay, Evan. Mama is here. We’ll find your sister.”

“Gaina… My baby came back to Mama.” I call out to her while sobbing, hoping that she will come back to me, listening to my voice.

After calling the police and ambulance, I call Steve, my hands trembling.

“I think you’re missing so much. I’m coming…” he pauses as he hears my sob. “What happened, Love? Are you alright?” He asks, his voice tinged with worry.

“Steve.” I cry out. “Giana…”

“What happened to her?” He asks, panicking. “Is she alright?” As I sob louder, not understanding how to tell him, he urges. “You’re scaring me, Grace. Say something.”

“Giana has been missing, Steve.” I hiccup. “I…” I tell him everything, crying. “I’m sorry, Steve. Because of me…”

“Giana will be alright.” He reassures me, but his voice quivers with concern. “Just stay calm, love. I’ll be there soon,” he promises before hanging up.

Holding, Evan closer to me, I ask about Giana from the people present in the park.

Minutes feel like hours, my heart pounding with fear and anguish. Every passing second without knowing where Giana is feels like an eternity of torment.

***

Steve’s P. O. V.

Tears trickle down my cheeks, my entire body trembling as I sit in the car backseat, calling the detective, and all the authorities to search for my lost daughter.

I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to my little princess. The mere idea of her being out there, alone and vulnerable, fills me with anxiety. Every moment that passes without news of Giana’s whereabouts feels like an eternity of agony.

“Please, God. Keep her fine and bring her back to us.” I enchant this prayer constantly until I reach the park with the police.

As I step into the park, my heart sinks at the sight of Grace, her face etched with worry and fear, tears streaming down her cheeks as she desperately questions passersby about Giana’s whereabouts. Her condition intensifies the ache in my heart.

As I rush towards her, she looks at me with guilt, pain and fear in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Steve. I couldn’t protect our daughter.”

I pull her into my arms, sandwiching Evan. “We will find her,” I reassure her, my voice trembling with emotion. “We’ll search every corner of this park, leave no stone unturned until we bring Giana home safe and sound.”

My mind races with a million thoughts and fears. What if something terrible has happened to her? What if we never find her?

No, No. She’ll be fine. We’ll find her.

I reassure myself before pulling away from Grace and wiping my tears.

“Let’s find our daughter, Grace,” I utter with determination before taking Evan in my arms and hugging him.

At least, he is with us.

Our voices ring out with Giana’s name as we comb through the park. The ambulance took Olivia to the hospital, detective interrogated Grace. Now they are interrogating all the people present in the park.

As we search for Giana in the park with cops, Evan suddenly starts kicking me and hitting me, calling out to her sister. “Sisshy.. Sisshy…” It seems as if he wants to come out of my arms.

As I put him down on the ground, he hurriedly crawl somewhere, while Grace and I follow him, confused.

He stops and picks up a hairpin. It’s Giana’s.

“Sisshy…” he says, looking at us, showing us Giana’s hairpin. Fresh tears fill up our eyes, seeing this. Grace and I give each other a look of despair.

“We’ll find your sissy, Evan, I promise.” I comfort him as I pick up Evan and embrace him tightly. Grace takes the hairpin from Evan’s hand and kisses it.

“Where are you, my baby? Please come back to Mama,” she cries, staring at the hairpin, and seeing her, my heart clenches and fresh tears roll down my cheeks.

Evan wipes my tears with his tiny fingers and shakes his head, his innocent eyes staring at me with a sad pout. He can’t see his daddy’s tears. I kiss his forehead and look at him, now holding back my tears because seeing me cry makes my baby sad, and that’s the last thing I want.

Evan resembles his sister in every way, except for the colour of his eyes. I already miss looking into my princess’s adorable blue eyes.

***

We have been searching for Giana in the park for three hours now. With each passing moment, my anxiety grows, and the knot in my stomach tightens.

Grace’s sobs echo through the air, mixing with the sounds of children playing and birds chirping. Her every cry breaks my heart. I never wanted to see her like this.

Despite our efforts, there’s still no sign of Giana. My mind spins with negative thoughts about my daughter, and I struggle to maintain composure for Grace and Evan.

I can’t fall weak. I must find my daughter.

Clutching Evan tightly to my chest, I make a silent vow to find Giana, no matter what it takes.

The detective comes to us and says, “You should go home now and rest. We’re searching for her.”Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

Grace shakes her head. “No. I’m not leaving until I find my daughter.”

“Mam, please try to understand. There is no use of you both staying here,” the detective insists, his voice laced with empathy. “We have teams combing through every inch of this park, and we’ll continue to do so until we find her. But right now, you both need rest. You need to stay strong for Giana.”

Grace’s hands tremble as she clutches onto the hairpin, her knuckles turning white with the intensity of her grip. “But I can’t just sit at home while my daughter is out there somewhere, alone and scared. What if she is hurt, or…” her voice chokes up with pain, shattering my heart.

I compose myself and place my hand on her shoulder. “He’s right, Love. We need to trust the authorities to do their job. We can’t help Giana if we’re exhausted and running on empty. Let’s go home, get some rest, and be ready to continue the search tomorrow.”

Although I also don’t want to leave the park and go home without Giana, I explain to Grace, because her condition is worsening. She needs rest. Evan also needs a bed to sleep in.

Reluctantly, Grace nods, her shoulders slumping with exhaustion. “Okay,” she whispers, tears glistening in her eyes.

With heavy hearts, as we reluctantly leave the park, I can’t shake the feeling of helplessness that grips my heart, knowing that our daughter is still out there, somewhere in the darkness, waiting to be found.

***

We enter the mansion. Evan is sleeping in my arms, and Grace’s hands are gripping my shirt. I’m feeling emptiness in my heart. Giana isn’t with us and we have no clue where she is and how is she.

As my father sees us, he rises from the sofa and approaches us, his face etched with worry. “Did you find something about Giana?”

I shake my hand, dejected, wishing I could give him a positive answer. “No, Dad. We searched everywhere, but there’s still no sign of her.” His shoulders slump in disappointment.

Grace’s grip on my shirt becomes tighter. I glance and find her, looking down in guilt. “I’m sorry, Dad. I…” a sob escaped out of her mouth. “I couldn’t protect her.”

“None of this is your fault,” Dad reassures her, placing his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find Giana, I promise. But right now, we need to stay strong and focused.”

Grace nods, tears still streaming down her face as she leans into Dad’s comforting embrace.

“Take Grace to the room. I’ll look after Evan. You both need rest.” Dad says, taking Evan from my arms.

Grace’s words draw our attention. “Dad, I don’t want to hurt you, but I want to keep Evan with me. After losing Giana, I’m scared of losing Evan too. Please, let me be with him tonight.”

Dad’s expression softens, and he nods. “I understand, Grace. You can stay with Evan tonight. But make sure to get some rest.”

Grace gives Dad a nod, embracing Evan tightly as if he’s her lifeline. I watch them with despair.

As we enter the room, Grace lays Evan on the bed and sits beside him, caressing his hair, her sorrowful eyes fixed on him.

As I settle beside her, she stares at me, her eyes widened in horror. “What if that-that monster has kidnapped our daughter.” Her breath becomes heavy, and beats of sweat appear on her forehead. “What if he hurts her? What if he tries to do what he did…”

My heart clenches at the thought, and dread pools in the pit of my stomach. The mere idea of Giana being in the clutches of that monster sends shivers down my spine. But I can’t let Grace drown in her fears.

Her entire body trembles with fright. “Steve, I ca…” she pants. “Can’t breathe.”

I hold Grace close, feeling her body tremble with fear and panic. “Love, listen to me,” I murmur, trying to calm her down. “We don’t know for sure what’s happened to Giana yet. We can’t let ourselves get consumed by these thoughts until we have more information. We have to stay strong for Evan and for each other.”

But Grace’s breathing becomes even more erratic, her chest heaving as she struggles to catch her breath. “I know, Steve, but… I can’t shake off this feeling of dread,” she gasps between breaths, her eyes wide with fear.

Fear grips my heart as I watch her condition worsen. I gently guide her to lie down on the bed, her body shaking uncontrollably. “Shhh, it’s okay, Love. I’m here with you,” I reassure, caressing her hair. “Just focus on your breathing. In… and out… You’re safe here with me.”

But her panic intensifies, her eyes wide with terror as she continues to struggle for air. My heart races with anxiety as I desperately try to calm her down. I can’t bear it. It feels like a nightmare.

Just then, Evan stirs on the bed, his eyes fluttering open as if he has sensed his mother’s distress. After sitting up, he looks at Grace with concern in his innocent eyes. “Mama…” He crawls over to her and wraps his tiny arms around her, pressing his cheek against hers.

As Evan’s warmth envelops Grace, her breathing gradually begins to slow down. Her body gradually relaxes, her trembling easing as she hugs Evan tightly, finding solace in his presence. “Mama’s baby.” Her voice chokes with emotion.

I watch in awe as Evan’s touch works like magic, soothing Grace and bringing her back from the brink of panic. Tears of relief fill my eyes as I realise what magical power our little boy possesses.

“Thank you, Evan,” I whisper, my voice trembling as I caress his hair. “You are our only strength in this dreadful time.”

I wrap my arms around both of them, promising myself to bring back our daughter no matter what.