Joan did not give any chance for Larry to contact her. Even her phone was switched off.
The young man that the old lady mentioned must be Dustin.
But, where could they have gone? Larry racked his brains but nothing came up.
After he got into his car, Larry dialed another number urgently.
“Caspian, find out where Joan’s parents live! Be quick!”
Larry barked his order into the phone anxiously.
“Yes, sir. I’ll get to it immediately.”
Caspian replied swiftly before hanging up.
Larry could only wait in his car apprehensively.
After ten excruciating minutes, Larry received an address on his phone.
He read the address and stepped on the gas, heading straight for Zaprington.
He drove like a madman all the way. In a little over an hour, he was at the doorstep of where Joan’s parents lived.
“Mr. Watts, I’m Larry! May I know where Joan is?” asked Larry.
Joan had mentioned Larry’s name while talking to her parents previously. As such, Mr. Watts recognized that his name was familiar and didn’t think much about it.
“Young lad, didn’t Joan tell you that she was going to A Nation today?” Mr. Watts asked in a friendly tone.
“A Nation? Why is she going there?”
Larry felt as if he was hit by a bolt of lightning. If Joan went to A Nation, would I still have any chance of finding her?
“It’s not in my place to tell you why. But I can tell you that her flight is scheduled for three in the afternoon. I don’t think you can make it in time to see her.”
Lifting his wrist to glance at his watch, Larry’s stomach dropped when he noticed that it was almost half-past two.
“Mr. Watts, can you please give me Joan’s number?”
He was frantic. He couldn’t let Joan leave. I’m not letting her go! I need to be with her for the rest of my life!
After getting her current phone number, Larry hastily bade goodbye to Mr. Watts and started rushing over to Zaprington airport.
Joan, please wait for me!
Larry threw the speed limit to the wind. Luckily, the airport was located in the suburbs of Zaprington, so there wasn’t much traffic. Still, a lot of car owners had to stomp on their emergency brakes to avoid him. This earned him lots of profane cursing and swearing.
“You crazy a*shole! Are you trying to kill yourself driving like that?”
“What a lunatic!”
He wasn’t the least bothered by the insults. His sole focus now was to get to Joan as fast as possible.
With his left hand gripping the steering wheel, his right hand reached for his phone to dial Joan’s number.
In the meantime, Joan and Dustin were waiting to board the plane.
When she saw the unfamiliar number on her phone, she was puzzled. Only a few people know about my new number, so who could this be?
“Hello?”
She decided to take the call.
“Joan, it’s Larry! Where are you now?”
He was ecstatic to finally hear Joan’s voice.
Larry? Joan was stunned. How did he get my number?
“Larry, I’m leaving. I am going to a place where you won’t be around. I hope you will be happy. No, you must live a happy life.”
She tried her best not to cry. She even willed herself to hate him with all her might. But when she heard his voice, she realized that she was about to leave him forever. Her heart ached as if a knife was plunged through it.
“No, Joan! Only you can give me happiness. Please wait for me at the airport. I beg you, please don’t go!” Larry pleaded desperately.
Joan could no longer hold back her tears.
This scene right now was a reenactment of what happened a few years ago. She remembered how he pleaded and begged her not to leave.
She still loved him deeply, but once again, she had to steel herself to leave him.
“Larry, this is our fate. We can’t go against what is destined for us!”
With that, Joan burst into tears. She felt it. The familiar feeling of her heart being ripped to pieces. The pain was so overwhelming that even breathing was a luxury.
“Joan, I’m almost there. Please, wait for me…”
A loud screech cut through, followed by the sound of a huge crash. Then, it was complete silence.
“Larry? Larry!”
Joan was panic-stricken. “Larry, answer me! What happened to you? Say something!”
Larry did not respond. Joan was petrified and completely blanked out. Her phone slipped from her rigid hand and made contact with the cool surface of the airport floor.
