But Willa is right: she has to attend the event she agreed to, and I can't stop her. If I show up, our relationship will be questioned, which will add more stress. She doesn’t need that, so I pace the house, keeping busy with small tasks. While she gets ready, we text a few times. She sends a photo of a dress, revealing Harper's hidden details. I'm considering assembling furniture with Jesse and Madden, but since Willa will arrive early tomorrow, I leave it for us to do together.
As expected, around 4:30, she stops replying to my texts. The event is about to start. Still, her silence, no matter how anticipated, settles in my chest.
I keep refreshing social media, waiting for Willa’s photos, but see nothing. I check my phone and the emailed schedule, confirming her back entrance at 3:30 and red-carpet appearance at 4:45.
I check the charity's, Willa’s, Jackie's, and her mother’s feeds—still no photos. At 5:30, I send Willa a quick text, but she doesn’t answer.
Just before six, my phone rings. I grab it, almost dropping it, but my worry only grows when I see Jefferson’s name, not Willa’s.
“Hello?”
“Do you know where Willa is?” Jefferson asks without any introduction, and with his words, everything in my world stills. A voice calls Jefferson’s name from the background, and he mumbles something I don’t catch.
“No, why would I?” I ask, hesitantly, just in case it’s some kind of trick.
“She’s missing. No one knows where she is.” Cold washes over me. “She was waiting in the backroom for the red carpet, but when Jackie went to get her, she was gone. Her smashed phone was left, but her bag is missing.”
“What about Gabe?”
“Can’t find him either.”
I’m not sure whether Gabe’s absence is good or bad. Best case, he’s with her. Worst, something happened to both.
“Have you called the police?” I ask the obvious question.
“No, we don’t want to make a big deal out of it.”
“A woman is missing, and youdon’t want to make a big deal of it?”Anger replaces my fear, and I welcome it.
“Jackie thinks she’s throwing a temper tantrum because Chris met her at the dance studio she was at.”
My jaw goes tight, and I fight to remain calm,
“Being frustrated and disappointed for bringing press to a location she has repeatedly told everyone on her team she does not want press to follow her is not throwing a temper tantrum. Demanding answers from the people who made those decisions without her approval is good business, not a temper tantrum.”
He sighs as if he’s exasperated by me. “It’s good for the brand; Jackie agreed.”
‘Willa isn’t a brand, she’s a person. She’s allowed to have personal things.”
“Not when she’s part of a couple.”
I shake my head; it’s not worth debating now.
“What about Chris? Is he missing?”
“No.”
The word is so simple, so little explanation is needed, that it sets off an alarm.
“Has he seen her?”
There’s a moment of silence before he answers.
“He says he spoke to her shortly before she went missing.”
Everything freezes.
“About what?”
