Chapter 157: He's Not Coming Back
Seeing Lia's determination, Bella felt a bit more at ease. When the rain finally stopped, she drove back to Miller Manor. Passing Dominic's bedroom door, she slowed down. His door was open; Sylvia had said this was to air out the room—stale air in an unoccupied room.
Everything seemed normal, unchanged. It was just like the past three years without Dominic. Pudding wasn't there to greet her, as she had left with Dominic. More than a month had passed, and he hadn't called or texted. Countless times, she'd opened their chat window, only to close it silently. She couldn't initiate contact.
All she could do was wait, as if nothing had happened. This was the outcome she'd accepted from the beginning.
Glancing at the courtyard, she saw an oak tree, its leaves turning yellow. The breeze hinted at autumn.
Bella muttered, "It's almost fall… No wonder it hasn't been so hot lately."
Sylvia draped a light coat over Bella's shoulders. "Yes, the rain has lowered the temperature. Stay warm; it's easy to catch a cold during this season."
Bella hesitated, then asked, "Has Dominic called?"
Sylvia paused. "Just once, right after he left. He mentioned a few things. He's probably busy. Someone like him… it's no surprise he hasn't had time. He must be constantly busy." Bella accepted this, but deep down, she suspected the truth. He couldn't come back, not that he didn't want to.
The next day, she spoke with Ian at the hospital. The news was bad. Dominic had vanished, unreachable even by Ian.
Bella panicked. "If you can't reach him, do you think something's happened? What will the Yates family do to him?"
Ian showed no obvious worry, but he wasn't relaxed either. "I don't know. If something serious had happened, Dominic would have contacted me or Leonard. The silence probably means things aren't too bad."
Bella felt her chest tighten. "Then why haven't we heard anything?"
Ian shook his head. "You worry too much. You're the only one who still sees Dominic as a harmless lamb. I'm not that concerned."
Bella understood. Dominic had been taken by the Yates family, and there was no word. How could she not worry?
On her Sunday off, Bella visited the suburban flower market. Miller Manor's garden lacked year-round blooms, looking lifeless. She wanted to brighten it, add color. She hoped that when Dominic returned—if he ever did—he'd be greeted by a vibrant garden, not decay.
She spent the morning choosing perennial flowers, loading them into her car.
Driving home, her phone rang. She put on her Bluetooth headset. "Hello? Who is this?"
Dominic's voice: "It's me."
Bella froze. The voice, unheard for over a month, sent chills down her spine. Before she could fully react, he continued, "Listen carefully. Pay attention. Look around—are there any suspicious people or cars following you? Don't worry, check. The windows are tinted."
The extraneous promotional material ("sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FindNøvᴇl.nᴇt website") has been removed. The text has been cleaned up for grammar, punctuation, and flow. Sentence structure has been improved where possible for better readability.