Michael was still frozen in disbelief even after hanging up the phone.
As though sensing that Michael was in internal conflict with himself, Grady told him just now that he would send all the details through one of their secure chat channels. Michael agreed to it absently and ended the call.
Michael scrolled down all of the information that Grady had investigated for him about Hailey. Apparently, after going off the grid for fourteen years, she had managed to turn herself into a different person.
The woman in the photo who was staring back at him was so different from the girl he once knew years ago.
In the past, Hailey had long black hair. She used to grow it so long that it reached her waist.
But now, she had blonde hair that was cut short at a modest length, just a little below her shoulders. Her face had become mature over the years, having lost some of the baby fat from her cheeks. Her features had morphed from cute and smiley to serious and intelligent.
Her eyes were still the same, though. She still had those enchanting olive-green eyes that seemed to pierce into his soul.
Michael couldn’t stop staring at her employee ID photo. Back then, Hailey hated makeup and preferred a natural look, but now, she wore eyeshadow, eyeliner, and red lipstick which made her look even more mature. It seemed that she trimmed her eyebrows as well.
If he were to look at this photo without knowing anything at all, he never would’ve recognized her.
It looked like she had even changed her date of birth. Her family information was also different, which puzzled Michael greatly.
Apparently, she had a mother, but her father died before she was born.
What did this mean? From what he knew, the van Gowens were still alive and well. Hailey’s brothers were doing good, too.
So it was true that she wasn’t on good terms with her family at all?
Fourteen years ago, after graduating from high school, Hailey suddenly stopped everything. She refused to go to college and just walked out of her parents’ house when she turned eighteen, taking her hard-earned savings and a few bags with her.
By the time Michael found out, it was too late.
She left him a single letter addressed to his home, and that was the only thing he had left of her.
At the time, the media had portrayed her as a rebellious, ungrateful daughter who only used her family for money and education before running off with some random college guy. The van Gowens were facing bad publicity at the time, and Hailey’s parents refused to comment on the matter except for a single statement.
“We did everything for her, and we’ll still wait for her to come back.”
Michael leaned back against the couch, suddenly feeling drained. First the family dinner, and now this.
What on earth had happened to Hailey?
And…
Would she even recognize him now?
After all, Hailey wasn’t the only one who changed.
Michael changed as well.
When they were in high school, he used to dye his hair different colors. Some days he would go for blond. Sometimes he felt like having bright red hair or light brown hair. He even tried green hair and gray hair just for fun.
Hailey had scolded him a lot about it back then. Even though she was the student council president, she didn’t really have any power over him because their families were equal in power and it didn’t make sense to involve them in trivial matters.
So she just watched over him and pointed out his misdeeds, such as smoking on school grounds and bringing alcohol to school. Although Michael liked to rebel against everyone, he wasn’t the type to hit or curse at a girl, so he had no choice but to ignore her all the time.
It hadn’t been easy, but as time passed, his opinion of Hailey changed, and his heart softened for her each day no matter how much he tried to resist it.
At first, she was like a calm and polite authoritative figure who wanted to set things right at school, and that included him. As the months went by, she became more like a warm mother who gently reprimanded him.
And then she was like a friend who wanted to look out for him.
The only constant thing in life was change.
Just as their relationship had evolved slowly over time, it went without saying that a lot of things would change drastically in the span of fourteen years. He hadn’t really expected the two of them to look the same, but he hadn’t anticipated the change to be this big. Hailey seemed to have undergone a complete makeover.
Michael, on the other hand, became much more mature. Gone was the baby fat from his cheeks, replaced by masculine features and sharp edges. There were faint lines on his face from the stress and exhaustion of years of running the business, but the rest of his appearance was elegant and refined.
His hair remained uncolored for years, its original brown color intact. His style became a constant clean cut, his strands slicked back neatly. His eyes were a dark shade of honey, and flecks of amber would appear on his irises when reflected by the sunlight.
He didn’t look like the foolish teenager he once was, but if one looked closely, his features were similar enough to his former self. Most of the people here knew his name by now, and though he never mentioned his rebellious past, he wasn’t ashamed to talk about it when asked. The problem was that his family would prevent that from happening at all costs, so it wasn’t really something he could do freely.
Still, it was nearly impossible for Hailey not to seek him out, especially after hearing his name and reputation going around.
Which probably meant that she didn’t think their friendship was worth anything and that he was the only one who really cared.
The thought made his chest ache a little.
But he wasn’t going to give up. Not yet, and not anytime soon.
After all, he had made her a promise fourteen years ago.
-
“Wherever you go, and whenever you need me, I will do my best to find you.”