Chapter 195 CHAPTER 195
Empty house
Julian reached his front door breathless, his mind still spinning from everything that had unfolded in the past twenty-four hours. He had left Ares’ mansion only moments ago, promising to return quickly after checking on Dorcas, promising to reassure her, promising to be present.
He fumbled with his keys, hands shaking, his pulse pounding in his ears. All he wanted was to see her sitting on the couch, rubbing her belly and pouting about something silly. He wanted to hug her, tell her he chose her, tell her nothing mattered more.
But when he opened the door, the house greeted him with a silence so heavy it felt like a slap.
“Dorcas?” he called out, stepping slowly inside.
No answer.
He dropped his keys on the table and walked through the living room… empty. The remote was still on the sofa where she usually left it. Her blanket was neatly folded instead of tossed aside. Her slippers was gone. His heartbeat quickened as he hurried toward the bedroom.
The bed was made. Her perfumes were missing from the dressing table. Her handbag wasn’t on the chair.
His stomach knotted painfully. “Dorcas… where are you?” he whispered, already fearing the answer.
Then he saw a single white envelope placed carefully at the center of the bed. His name written on the front in her handwriting. His legs felt weak as he sat on the edge of the mattress and tore it open with trembling fingers.
Julian,
I can’t do this anymore.
You’re too available for Ares, too loyal to him, too invested in his life. I am tired of coming second to your best friend. I want a man who will choose me as his first, not as an afterthought.
Don’t look for me. I’ve moved on, and you should too.
—Dorcas.
The letter slid from his fingers and fluttered to the floor.
For a long, suspended moment, Julian simply stared ahead, numb, hollow, unable to breathe. Then the shock cracked open, and something raw and terrified poured out of him. He stood abruptly, searching the closet, the bathroom, every corner of the room, praying desperately that maybe she only packed lightly, maybe she still planned to come back.
Nothing. She hadn’t stolen a single thing. Every valuable object was still in the house. She took only her clothes, her passport, and the baby… their baby… the tiny life he had been dreaming about for weeks.
Finally, the truth landed violently in his chest. She was gone, completely gone. And she had taken their unborn child with her.
“No… no, no, no…” Julian whispered, gripping the edge of the table as panic swallowed him whole. “Dorcas, why would you… why would you…”
His voice cracked, collapsing into a broken sob as he reached for his phone with shaking hands. He dialed her number, it was switched off. He tried again. Switched off. Again. Switched off. The room blurred as tears formed in his eyes, hot and unstoppable.
He snatched his jacket and stormed out of the house, driving like a madman until he reached the nearest police station. He burst inside, still breathless, waving the letter.
“She’s gone!” he shouted before anyone could even look up properly. “My fiancée is gone…Dorcas…pregnant… I came home and she was gone! I found this letter, please, you need to help me find her! Please! She’s pregnant!”
Officers rushed to calm him down, guiding him to a chair and asking for details, but he barely heard their questions. His voice kept breaking as he repeated, “My baby… our baby… please help me find them.”
Ares cancelled their UK trip before Tessa even finished packing her small bag. He stood in the hallway, his face tense and drained, gripping his phone.
“Dorcas’ missing,” he said. “We’re not going anywhere until we find him.”
Tessa immediately froze. Richard, who had been pacing beside her, stopped mid-step.
“What happened?” Richard asked, stepping closer.
Ares didn’t answer. He just turned around and walked out the door, expecting both of them to follow. And they did fast.
They found Julian at the police station, disheveled, eyes swollen, fists clenched in helpless fury as he explained for the third time what he had discovered. He looked like a man on the edge of completely falling apart.
Ares was the first to reach him.
“Julian,” he said softly.
Julian whipped around, eyes red, expression wild. “She’s gone, Ares. She left. She took the baby. She said she moved on. She said I shouldn’t look for her.” His voice cracked as he repeated, “She took my baby…”
Ares stepped forward and pulled him into a hard, steadying embrace, holding him firmly as Julian’s body shook with silent cries. They had grown up together. They survived each other’s storms. It broke Ares’ heart to see Julian crumble like this.
Behind them, Tessa watched silently, her hand clasped over her mouth, her own emotions swirling in her chest. Richard stood stiffly, unsure if he should approach or stay back.
When Julian finally pulled away, he wiped his eyes angrily and faced the officers. “Have you started tracking her? Her phone? Her passport? Her bank cards?”
“We’ve begun the process,” one officer replied. “But we need more, any emails, messages, calls she may have received earlier…”
Julian dragged both hands over his face. “She didn’t steal anything. She didn’t take money. She didn’t take jewelry. She took only the baby.”
Ares placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find her.”
“You don’t know that!” Julian snapped not out of anger, but despair. “You don’t understand… I loved her. I gave her everything. Why would she leave me like that? Why would she…”
“Toxic influence,” Richard muttered under his breath.
Julian wheeled toward him. “What?”
Richard shrugged stiffly. “Dorcas has always been attached to the fantasy of being saved. But when life gets real, people like her panic.”
Julian lunged at him, but Ares caught him, holding him back.
“Don’t,” Ares said firmly. “Richard didn’t mean it like that.”
Richard lifted both hands. “I’m trying to help, that’s all.”
Julian broke free of Ares and sank into a chair, burying his face in his palms.
Ares knelt beside him. “Listen. You are not alone, Julian. We’re here. We’re not leaving you.”
Julian didn’t answer but his shoulders eased, just a little.
Tessa stepped closer, her voice soft and cautious. “Julian… she might come back. Maybe she only needed space. People do impulsive things when they feel afraid.”
He looked up at her, exhausted. “What if she doesn’t? What if she’s gone for good? That’s my child, Tessa. My child.”
“We will find her,” Tessa repeated gently. “No matter where she went.”
Over the next hour, the police gathered evidence, made calls, and began tracing Dorcas’ movements. Ares remained beside Julian the entire time, his presence strong, grounding, protective. Tessa sat nearby, cooperating with officers while keeping Richard from pacing holes in the floor.
Finally, one officer returned with a small update. “We’ve identified her last phone activity. A taxi picked her up near Julian’s residence two hours before he arrived. She paid cash. The taxi driver dropped her at Shibuya Station.”
Ares exhaled slowly. “So she left voluntarily. That’s good, we know she wasn’t taken.”
Julian looked torn, partly relieved, mostly destroyed. “Which means she wanted to leave…”
Ares gripped his shoulder again. “We’ll find her. And when we do, we’ll make her explain properly. You’re not facing this alone.”
Julian closed his eyes, breathing unevenly, but this time he nodded.
Richard approached the group cautiously. “I know today is not my moment, but… thank you for staying with him.”
Ares gave a stiff nod. “Family doesn’t leave when things fall apart.”
Julian’s eyes welled again, and he looked at all of them—Ares, Tessa, Richard with a devastated, grateful expression.
Ares stood and turned to the officers. “Continue tracking everything, phone, ATM, subway logs. We’ll remain available.”
The officers nodded.
Ares helped Julian rise to his feet. “Come on. Let’s get you home. We’ll face whatever comes next together.”
Julian didn’t protest. He simply leaned on Ares slightly as they walked, exhausted, broken, but not alone.
Tessa followed them out into the night, her heart aching. Richard walked beside her silently.