---
Morning sunlight crept through the curtains, softly landing on Lin Yue's sleeping face.
The chirping of birds outside the window was barely audible against the pounding of her heart.
Her eyes fluttered open slowly, but the moment she realized where she was—still curled up on the sofa in the living room—she sat up with a start.
Her heart dropped.
Ah Yan had not come back.
Her eyes darted to the clock on the wall.
It was past six.
Panic clawed at her chest.
Her fingers trembled as she reached for the blanket draped over her legs.
She remembered how she'd waited the entire night, dozing off while clinging to the hope he'd walk through the door at any moment.
But now, dawn had broken, and still no sign of him.
She could feel the tears threatening to fall.
She quickly wiped her eyes and stood up.
No, this wasn't the time to cry.
She needed answers.
She rushed to the bathroom to wash her face, change clothes, and head out.
---
The city was just starting to wake as she boarded the early bus.
The streets were foggy with morning mist, and her reflection in the window looked pale and anxious.
'Please let him be there,' she prayed over and over.
Within minutes, she was on the bus headed to the restaurant where Ah Yan worked.
Her fingers clenched her bag tightly as she sat stiffly, staring out the window but seeing nothing.
The bus jerked to a stop, and she quickly stepped off.
---
At the restaurant, the delivery riders were already bustling, preparing for the day's orders.
She scanned every face, her heart dropping lower with each unfamiliar uniformed man she passed.
He wasn't there.
Then...
Where was he?
Just as she was about to turn around, she spotted a familiar figure.
"Da Wei!" she called out.
The tall man turned around, startled. "Lin Yue?"
He jogged over, a friendly but confused smile on his face.
"Good morning! What are you doing here so early?"
"Da Wei..." she greeted, her voice trembling slightly. "Do you know where Ah Yan is?"
Da Wei's expression froze."What's wrong?"
"Ah Yan... He didn't come home yesterday."
Concern immediately showed on Da Wei's face.
"Come on," he said gently, taking her arm and leading her away from the others who had started to watch them curiously.
They stood near the back of the building, behind the delivery station.
Lin Yue could no longer hold back the storm within her.
"Ah Yan... he didn't come home last night. I—I waited... he never came. He left his phone too, I have no way to contact him. Do you know anything? Did he leave work as usual yesterday?"
Da Wei furrowed his brows. "He left around six yesterday. Everything seemed normal. He didn't say anything odd..." He paused, realizing how serious this was. "Maybe something came up. Don't panic yet."
"I don't know what to do... I'm scared something happened to him," she sobbed, tears falling freely now.
He looks at her sad face smeared with tears. He comforts her. "Maybe it's not serious. But— If he doesn't come back today, we'll go file a report, okay?"
Lin Yue nodded weakly.
She didn't want to imagine the worst, but something inside her said this wasn't just a delay. Something had happened.
He then tells her to go home and call him if he comes back.
She nodded weakly, her chest still heavy with dread.
"Thank you... I'll go home then."
She turned around and left, her steps hurried and her mind racing.
'Please be home', she prayed again and again. 'please'
She didn't know what else to do.
How will she live without him?
She had their baby now.
Where did he go?
Did something happen to him on his way home?
---
She took the bus home, her eyes blank, staring at her reflection in the glass.
The apartment was still cold when she stepped inside.
She stood at the entrance, staring into the space that had once felt warm with Ah Yan in it.
Now it felt like a hollow shell.
Dropping her bag, she slowly walked to the sofa and sat down.
The silence was louder than any noise.
She collapsed on the sofa, hugging herself tightly, sobbing.
Where are you, Ah Yan? What happened to you?
He said he was feeling uneasy... Like something bad was coming, she recalled.
Was this it?
Was this what he felt?
---
Suddenly, a soft ding broke the silence.
Ding!
Her eyes darted to the dining table where Ah Yan's phone lay.
The new message was from his workplace, a standard reminder.
She was about to put the phone down when her eyes caught sight of something strange.
A message from the bank.
Her brows furrowed. She had helped him set one up, yes, but he rarely used it.
She clicked on the message.
[Transaction Alert: Credit of KSH 3,000,000. Current balance: KSH 3,002,374]
Her breath hitched. "Three million?" she whispered, her hands shaking.
Where did he get such an amount?
She scrolled quickly, finding the transaction history.
The transfer had come in recently.
Less than a week ago.
It was real.
She sat there frozen, thoughts swirling like a storm.
Where did he get such an amount? Was he hiding something?
The only person who might know... was Da Wei.
---
She dialed his number with trembling hands. He picked up immediately.
"Lin Yue? Did he come back?"
"No... not yet... Da Wei, I saw something... Did you know anything about that? Did he sell something?"
There was a pause.
Then Da Wei sighed. "... Yes, he sold the watch."
"What watch?"
---