Chapter 3

His heart violently lurched. He instinctively scanned the living room, searching for something.

As if expecting Vivian to appear before him the next second.

“Vivian…”

Julian called her name over and over, the panic in his heart growing larger and larger.

An impossible thought gradually surfaced.

Vivian left him?

He refused to believe it!

“Vivian, are you playing a prank on me? Come out, this isn’t funny at all.”

“It was my fault this morning, but Serena and I are really just friends. Please believe me, okay?”

Julian spoke, his steps never faltering, his gaze sweeping around, trying to find Vivian in hiding.

It was only then that he suddenly realized many things were missing from the villa.

Our joint photos, Vivian’s personal belongings.

All gone!

How could this be? How could everything be gone?

Julian was almost losing his mind.

The dream from noon resurfaced in his memory. Unwilling to give up, he pulled out his phone and tried calling Vivian again.

But only a series of beeps came from the other end. He sent a message to Vivian with trembling hands, only to see a large red exclamation mark!

Vivian had blocked him!

His pupils widened dramatically, his body trembling. A massive dread instantly consumed him.

He numbly scrolled through his phone, searching for any social media accounts related to Vivian, but they were all gone.

She had deactivated them, all of them!

His mind went blank in waves. He racked his brains but couldn't think of anywhere else she could be.

Vivian’s father had died when she was young, and her mother had passed away from a serious illness two years ago.

He could only place his hopes on Chloe's friends.

“Hello? This is Julian Albright. Is Vivian with you?”

“Huh? What nonsense are you talking about? How could Vivian be here?”

This conversation happened countless times.

Even Julian’s own friends were asked, but no one knew where Vivian had gone.

That extreme taste of despair swept over him again and again.

He felt as if he had entered the nightmare where Vivian was gone.

His feelings for Vivian now completely filled his heart. Her sudden departure was like a piece of his flesh being torn out.

His very being felt ripped apart, the agonizing pain almost shattering him completely.

“Vivian, please stop playing games with me, okay? I want to see you.”

Julian roared hoarsely, his eyes completely bloodshot, like a lion roaring after losing its mate.

But why?

He asked himself.

Every detail of his interactions with Vivian during this time replayed in his mind.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered his bias towards Serena and his neglect of Vivian during this period.

And that day, when she heard him speaking Italian with his friend, her body had suddenly stiffened.

“Vivian, did she ever learn Italian?”

The housekeeper, seeing his somewhat frantic desperation, cautiously spoke.

“Miss Vivian has been studying foreign languages for years, and even hired a private tutor, sir. Didn’t you know?”

*Bzzzzzz.* The tight string in his mind snapped completely.

### Chapter 1