Free Web NovelChapter 59: Where is Julian
The next morning, Lyvana felt even worse.
The sun was up, but her phone was still silent. No texts. No missed calls.
She sat at the kitchen table, staring at the cold cup of coffee in her hands which she hadn’t touched.
She dialed Marco’s number again.
"Marco. Did you find out if Julian left the country?"
"No, ma’am," Marco said. "The men are all here. None of us have heard from him since yesterday. We don’t know where he is."
Lyvana hung up. If his own men didn’t know where he was, something was very wrong.
Just then, Emily walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. She was still in her pajamas and looked sleepy. She stopped when she saw Lyvana.
"You’re up early," Emily said. Then her expression changed when she saw Lyvana’s face.
"Wait, what’s wrong, Liv? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
"I can’t find Julian."
Emily pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. "What do you mean you can’t find Julian? Did you guys have a fight?"
"No," Lyvana shook her head. "We were supposed to go to the cottage last night. He never showed up. His phone is off and even Marco is worried."
Emily reached out and touched Lyvana’s hand. "Maybe his phone just died? Or he got stuck in a long meeting?"
"Julian always carries a charger, Emy. And he always calls me." She looked at her dark phone screen again. "Something’s happened to him. I can feel it."
Emily looked worried now, too.
"Okay, don’t panic yet." She turned towards her bedroom and yelled. "Ethan!"
A moment later, Ethan’s head popped out the door. He looked sleepy, his hair a mess. "Yo, what’s up? Oh, hey, Lyvana."
"Where’s Julian?" Emily asked sharply.
Ethan’s smile faded as he looked at Emily, then at Lyvana’s pale face. He frowned.
"Um, I was with you all night, babe. Why? What’s wrong?"
"Lyvana can’t find him," Emily said. "He never made it to their meeting last night, and he isn’t answering his phone. Even his security team is worried."
Ethan rubbed his face, fully waking up now. The casual look in his eyes was gone, replaced by a focused, professional look. "That’s not like him. Julian doesn’t just go dark."
He reached for his phone on the nightstand. "Let me make a few calls. I’ll check with the guys at the main office and see if his car’s GPS is still active."
He walked back into the bedroom, already dialing a number. Lyvana and Emily stood in the kitchen, listening to the muffled sound of his voice.
Ethan walked back into the kitchen, grabbing his jacket. His face was serious now.
"I have no idea where he is for now," he said, checking his phone one last time. "But sitting here won’t help. Let me head to his house and then his parents’ house and see what I can find out. Maybe he went there for an emergency and didn’t have time to call."
Lyvana stood up immediately. "Call me as soon as you find anything."
Ethan nodded, hurrying out the door.
"Something bad happened to him," Lyvana whispered.
"You don’t know that," Emily said softly. "Maybe his dad had a heart attack. Maybe something happened with the business."
"Then he would have texted me from a different phone. He would have sent someone to tell me. Julian doesn’t leave me wondering. He tells me if he won’t be available. I am having a really bad feeling right now."
An hour later, Emily’s phone rang.
She grabbed it off the counter. "It’s Ethan," she said, quickly answering and putting it on speaker so Lyvana could hear.
"He’s not here," Ethan said. "And my uncle and aunt left early yesterday morning. They didn’t say where they were going or when they’d be back. The house is basically empty. But don’t get worried, we will find him."
It had been a week since then and Julian was still no where to be found.
Lyvana sat in her office, but she couldn’t focus.
The runway show was in a week’s time. It was the biggest moment for her business, but her mind was somewhere else. She kept looking at her phone, hoping for a message that never came.
Her life felt empty without him. Even with the war chest of money he left her, she felt powerless. Every time the door opened, she hoped to see his lazy grin, but it was always someone else.
There was a soft knock.
"Ms. Lyvana?" Bertha whispered. "The fabric suppliers are here for the final meeting." freewebnoveℓ.com
Lyvana sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Give me five minutes."
As Bertha closed the door, Lyvana’s phone buzzed. It was Emily.
"Emy."
"Liv... are you okay?" Emily asked. Her voice sounded odd.
"Why? What happened?"
"You haven’t checked your phone yet, have you? Social media? The news?"
"No," Lyvana said, her breath hitching. "Why? Did something happen to Julian? Is he hurt?"
"Um... Not exactly," Emily whispered.
"What is it Emy? Just tell me!"
"Um... check the messages I just sent you. I’m so sorry, Liv."
Lyvana pulled the phone away from her ear. Her fingers shook as she tapped on the notification. The screen filled with high-resolution photos.
It wasn’t a hospital or a crime scene like she thought. It was a cathedral, filled with white lilies.
In the center of the frame stood Julian. He looked devastatingly handsome in a formal black tuxedo. Beside him, clutching his arm with a triumphant smile, was Catalina.
She was wearing a white lace wedding gown, a long veil trailing behind her.
They weren’t just together. They were actually married. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
The headline below the photo read:
JUST IN: Julian Blackwood and Catalina Windsor, Exchange Vows in Private Ceremony.
Lyvana stared at the date on the post. It was from this morning. While she had been sitting in her office, terrified that he was dead or kidnapped, he had been sliding a ring onto another woman’s finger.
