12
Jared had spent the entire night on the balcony, exposed to the cold wind until he was practically frozen. The pile of cigarette butts scattered in front of him bore witness to his sleepless, self–destructive night.”
At dawn, he made up his mind. He had to see Carrie
Without a second thought, he booked a return ticket, not bothering about Karin’s reaction or what she might do. She didn’t matter. Only Carrie did.}
Sitting in the first–class cabin, he absentmindedly scrolled through news articles and fandom social media posts, trying to distract himself.
Then, his eyes locked onto a particular post.
The user’s ID read: “Waiting for him to wake up.”
At the very top was a photo of a couple.
His breath hitched.
The woman in the picture was Carrie 8
She was leaning against a man’s shoulder, smiling, her eyes brimming with happiness. The man, in turn, gazed back at her with undeniable affection, as if they were the only two people in the world
Jared felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. His fingers trembled as he tapped on the image, enlarging it. He even rubbed his eyes. thinking he must still be drunk from last night.
But no matter how many times he blinked, the person in the photo was still Carrie
A cold sweat broke out on his back.
No. This couldn’t be real.
Desperate, he started scrolling through the post, devouring every piece of information.
The entire feed was a timeline of their relationship, documenting every milestone. [January 7, 2022)
est! Now he has to tutor me, and my
“Art failed his physics exam! Like boyfriend, like girlfriend–l also flunked my advanced math test! payment? A kiss!?!
Below was a blurry photo of a girl kissing a boy. The image wasn’t crystal clear, but the warmth between them was undeniable. [June 5, 2022)
“We graduated! And guess what? Art actually proposed to me during the ceremony. I cried so much–my classmates must have taken the ugliest photos! I need to remind him that when we get marned, he is not allowed to make me cry and ruin my makeup.
Attached was a graduation photo. She was holding a bouquet, a sparkling ring on her finger!
August 7, 20223
“Art fell asleep. But I will definitely wake him up. We haven’t had our wedding yet.”
[September 6, 2024]
“Art wake up soon. It’s so painful to pretend to like this disgusting guy every day. I miss you so much.” Jared sat frozen in his seat, unable to breathe
His lips moved, but his voice barely came out.
“Impossible… Impossible… It must be someone else. Just someone who looks like her. This isn’t Carrie.”
His pulse pounded in his ears. His mind screamed at him that it couldn’t be true.
Came had always been by his side. She had told him–sworn to him–that she would never leave, that she would cling to him until they were old and gray.!!
And yet…!!
The timestamps on the posts were from two y
years ago.
Two years ago… That was when Carrie had first come into his life.
The coincidence was too glaring
His phone rang suddenly, snapping him out of his daze. It was his bodyguard.
Jared answered immediately. “Did you find Care? Where is she? Tell me, and I’ll go straight there
The response made his blood run cold?
“Sir, we haven’t been able to locate Miss Dean. There’s no record of her travel entries or exits. Someone must have helped her erase her tracks. As of now, we have no leads. I
Jared gripped the phone so tightly his knuckles turned
white
“What the hell do you mean no leads?! She’s a living person–how could she just disappear?! Keep searching! Use every connection, every resource–I don’t care what it takes! I want results!”
“Understood!”
