"Sarah?" I frowned as I reached for my phone.

"Hey, Sarah? What's going on?" I answered the call, confused by the unexpected call from her.

"El... this is bad! I don’t know what to do!" Sarah’s voice sounded panicked, which instantly made me worry too.

"Hey—what happened? What’s wrong?" I asked urgently. Sebastian immediately sat up straight. I knew he noticed the change in my expression.

"El, has your husband made any progress finding Sylvia?"

"Uh... not yet. Why?"

"The Big Boss just showed up. He said he’s running out of patience. He’s losing both time and money..." Sarah paused, and I felt my chest tighten. This was definitely something serious.

"Sarah? Hello? What about the Big Boss?" I asked, unable to hide my impatience. Hearing that name made Sebastian even more tense. From his expression alone, I knew he was just as anxious as I was.

"El, he gave me a deadline—two days. I told him I’ve done everything I could, even hired a few private investigators! But he didn’t care at all. Honestly, El, I think the real reason he’s looking for Sylvia… isn’t what we thought."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I heard it straight from his assistant. He said that ever since his boss saw you, he’s been interested in you."

"What?! Are you serious?"

"He made it clear—if Sylvia doesn’t show up in two days, he’s going to shut Wonderland down. I wouldn’t really mind that, El. You know I’ve been planning to close the place anyway. But what worries me is that he also threatened to reveal the real identities of everyone who’s ever worked at Wonderland. And that would ruin lives, El. A lot of them have families, reputations... I’ve worked hard to protect them."

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "I get it, Sarah. I really do. And now I’m even more uneasy, knowing that Sebastian’s father still won’t back down from this. I’ll talk to Sebastian. Maybe he has an idea or a solution."

"Keep me updated, okay? I’m so sorry about all this. It’s gotten way out of hand."

"It’s already happened, so let’s focus on solving it. Didn’t you say we need to stay calm before we take any action?"

After the call ended, I placed my phone back on the table and let it continue charging.

"What happened, El? What’s going on with your friend? And what did you mean by 'my father'?" Sebastian asked, concern etched across his face as he motioned for me to sit beside him again.

"Honey... I think we need to find Sylvia ASAP. Your father’s threatening to shut Wonderland down. And that’s not even the worst part. According to his assistant, he’s using Sylvia as an excuse. What he really wants is... me."

Sebastian’s jaw tightened, and I could see the anger flicker in his eyes. He ran a hand down his face. "Damn it. That man never learns."

"Please, don’t get emotional. If we lose our cool now, we won’t be able to think straight. We need a plan. Even if we can’t find Sylvia in time, we need a backup."

He ran his hand through his hair roughly. "El, listen to me. I think you should leave town for a while. You have no idea how insane my father gets when it comes to women he wants. He doesn’t care about family—not even his own wife and kids."

"Honey... even if I left, do you really think that would fix things? Wouldn't it just make your father even more furious?"

"El... I can’t risk anything happening to you!" He pulled me into his arms, pressing kisses into my hair. "You’re my wife. I have to protect you. If something bad happened to you... I’d never forgive myself."

"That’s exactly why I *won’t* run away. We’ll face this together. We’ll find a way to resolve this without sacrificing anyone else."

Sebastian sighed and held me tighter, like he was afraid to let go. "Alright. I’ll make sure the search for Sylvia is thorough. I’ll reach out to some of my other contacts. Hopefully, we’ll hear something good by tomorrow."

"And I want to be involved in the search, too," I said firmly. "Don’t keep anything from me."

Sebastian chuckled softly and pinched my nose playfully. "Bossy. Alright, alright—I won’t hide anything from you. I promise."

---

**Later that day…**

Amelie looked completely out of it during class. She hadn’t paid attention to a single lecture. I was sure it had something to do with her broken heart—courtesy of that jerk David.

"Mel, we *agreed* you weren’t going to let that player mess with your head anymore."

She lifted her head from the desk and looked at me. "I know. I really want to forget him. But my brain won’t let me. It’s like every time I try to block out his face, it just keeps coming back. And it’s not just about him…"

"Then what is it? You thinking about assignments? Food cravings? Come on, I’ll treat you to whatever you want."

Normally, the word *treat* would light her right up. But not today. She just sighed.

"El... last night I got a picture from someone."

"A picture?" I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

"Yeah. Of David’s new girlfriend. But there’s something weird about it." Amelie pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Here. Someone I usually get info from sent me this." She handed me the phone.

I took her phone, expecting nothing special—but the moment I saw the photo on the screen, my eyes widened in shock.

As my eyes scanned the image on the screen, I almost jumped out of my seat in shock.

Before I could say anything, Amelie spoke again—her voice softer this time.

"You know, El... I keep asking myself what I even saw in David. I mean, I thought he was kind, attentive... someone I could trust. But he fooled me. And it hurts. It really, really hurts."

I looked at her gently. "Mel, you loved him. It’s okay to feel hurt. But one thing I know for sure—you don’t deserve to keep suffering because of someone who lied to you."

"I just feel so stupid. I ignored the signs. I thought... maybe he actually cared."

"You’re not stupid. You’re just someone who loved honestly. He’s the one who messed up. And you’ll get through this. I’ve got your back."

Amelie smiled faintly, a trace of warmth returning to her eyes. "Thanks, El. I don’t say this enough, but... I’m really lucky to have you."

---