Tears burn my eyes as I listen to her, a thick lump of emotion clogging my throat.
“You wanted to shield Killian from the pain of the what if.”
I nod, my chin wobbling. “Yeah. But it’s so much more than that. When I realised, I was losing the baby, I was afraid and heartbroken. But I still planned to tell him. And then I woke up in the hospital, and I had this stranger telling me all of these things that I didn’t understand.”
I suck in a breath as my emotions topple over the edge, spilling down my cheeks. “There were complications after the surgery…”
Savannah squeezes my hand, cutting me off as I choke on a sob. “Daisy, you don’t need to explain yourself to me. I am here for you no matter what, okay?”
I nod, unable to find my voice as I openly cry in public.
Savannah puts an arm around me and pulls me into a hug, her hand smoothing over my back in a comforting gesture as I sniffle into her shoulder.
“You’re gonna be okay,” she reassures against my ear, and I close my eyes.
God,I really hope so.
CHAPTER 40
KILLIAN
“Should we call the police?” Bella asks, wiping another tear from her face.
“Already done that. She’s not a missing person until she’s been gone for at least forty-eight hours,” I mutter, swirling the whiskey tumbler in my hand and watching as the thick dark liquid spins against the glass. My voice sounds hollow to my own ears.
“Well, we can’t just sit here and do nothing, Killian.” Bella throws her hands up, her heels clacking against the wooden floor of Hunter’s front room as she begins to pace.
“There’s not much wecando, Bells. Daisy left of her own volition,” Noah says from the armchair, his cautious gaze flicking over to me.
I feel like I’m in a fishbowl. I can feel the eyes of every person in the room watching me, waiting for my next move. I’m not sure what they’re expecting, but I’m afraid they’regonna be sorely disappointed. The only thing I plan to do for the foreseeable is drink.
I want to drink until I can’t drink anymore. Until the pain in my chest is numb and my mind is free of all the dark thoughts threatening to swallow me whole.
I feel like I can’t breathe.
I feel like I could throw up.
The room around me is pure chaos. Daisy’s parents are beside themselves with worry for their daughter. My sister is pacing the room, chewing on her nails while throwing out random ideas every now and then. Hunter, Noah, Grayson and Rueben are on their phones, calling everyone we know to ask if anyone has seen my runaway bride. Mr and Mrs Calloway are in the kitchen, only making an appearance every now and then to make sure everyone is comfortable.
And I’m drowning in a sea of emotions I can’t even put a name to. Questions fly around my head relentlessly, but I don’t have the answers to a single one of them.
Why would she do this?
What happened between last night and this morning?
Where the hell is my wife?
I throw back the dark liquid in my glass, relishing the burn as it glides down my throat.
Slamming the now empty glass down on the coffee table, I reach for the bottle instead and stand from my seat.
I need to get out of here. I need to get away from all these people, from their pity-filled stares.
I half-walk, half-stumble to the front door, the whiskey creeping up on me and making my limbs heavy and push my way outside into the cool evening air.
I take several deep breaths, sucking air into my lungs for the first time in hours. Taking a seat on the top step of the porch, I pull my phone from the pocket of my suit trousers and dial Daisy’s number for the millionth time.
The phone rings.
