Time passed by slowly. Deanna wandered around the ancient town for an entire day, feeling both exhausted and hungry.
Yet, she hadn't found any familiar buildings.
Seeing that it was about to rain, Deanna had no choice but to find a place nearby to take shelter.
Meanwhile, Lance and Julia had returned to the inn.
They met in the living room, only to realize that Deanna was not there.
"Mr. Mercer, where is Deanna?"
"Wasn't she with you?" Lance asked in surprise.
Clearly, both of them had thought Deanna was with the other.
Julia shook her head and said, "I haven't seen Deanna since we separated this morning."
"Mommy must be lost," Gregory said worriedly, frowning.
Hearing this, Lance also became concerned. "I'll call her."
But when he dialed her number, her phone was off.
Seeing his furrowed brows and worried expression, Julia asked, "What's wrong?"
"Deanna's phone is off," Lance replied honestly, putting down his phone.
Julia didn't think much of it. "Maybe her phone ran out of battery. Let's wait a bit longer. If she doesn't come back soon, we'll go look for her."
But Lance couldn't just wait.
Especially since it started raining heavily outside, making him even more anxious.
"Alright, you stay here and wait for Deanna. Take care of the kids. Xavier and I will go look for her."
With that, he walked out of the hotel without looking back.
Seeing this, Xavier quickly grabbed an umbrella provided by the inn and followed him.
When Lance saw him, he instructed, "Go find the tourist police and ask them to help search for her."
"Yes," Xavier nodded in agreement, reminding Lance to be careful as he moved.
Lance followed the direction Deanna had left earlier in the day, searching carefully along the way.
By now, there were hardly any tourists left in the ancient town, and all the shops around were closed.
Deanna had nowhere to go and could only hide under a dark eave.
She crouched on the ground, hugging her knees and staring ahead. She felt cold, tired, and scared.
The reason was simple: she was in a very secluded area.
Next to her was a pitch-black alley that looked like an endless abyss, filling her with fear.
Apart from the sound of rain, there were no other noises around, making Deanna feel even more uneasy, as if she were the last person left in the world.
Deanna hugged herself tightly, her eyes welling up with tears.
At this moment, she regretted leaving in a huff earlier that day because of Lance.
She buried her head in her arms, hoping it would bring her some comfort.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she faintly heard someone calling her name.
"Deanna-"
Lance was searching for Deanna's figure in the rain with an umbrella.
His clothes were soaked by the rain, but he didn't care.
Finally, after walking another hundred meters, he saw Deanna crouching under an eave.
Deanna saw Lance in the distance. The tears she had been holding back suddenly flowed out.
As Lance approached, he heard her soft sobs. His heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, causing him great pain.
He walked up to her, held the umbrella over her head, and pulled her into his arms to comfort her. "I'm sorry I'm late."
With those words, Deanna's emotional dam broke completely. All the suppressed feelings burst out.
"It's all your fault! If you hadn't made me angry, I wouldn't have gotten lost and ended up like this!"
She vented her anger by pounding her fists on Lance's chest while crying uncontrollably, as if trying to release all the grievances she had suffered during this time.
Lance let her vent.
After all, her punches were nothing more than tickles to him.
Deanna cried her heart out.
When she finally calmed down and realized she had been crying and making a scene in Lance's arms, she felt so embarrassed that she wished she could dig a hole in the ground to hide in.
Noticing that she had stopped crying, Lance looked down at her and asked with concern, "Do you feel better now?"
Deanna turned her head away and remained silent, pressing her lips together.
The truth was she didn't know what to say.
Seeing this, Lance thought she was still angry. He sighed and apologized again. "Alright, don't be mad anymore. I know I said something wrong this morning."
"It was your fault!" Deanna glared at him. "Even though you're the father of my child, you have no right to interfere with my social life. Just because you're the father doesn't mean I can't have male friends!"
Lance looked helpless but didn't argue. "You're right. But right now, the important thing is to go back. We can talk about everything else once we're back, okay?"
After saying that, he took off his coat and draped it over Deanna's shoulders.
Feeling the warmth from his coat, Deanna's face showed a hint of awkwardness but she said nothing more.
With Lance's help, she stood up.
Lance helped her straighten out her clothes.