Since that phone call was hung up, the phone hadn't rung again.
Rhys checked the screen several times. Aside from work group chats, there were only a few promotional text messages for the holiday season.
He had gone to Clara's parents' house twice more. He hadn't dared to ask about her directly, so he tried to beat around the bush, only to be met with cold shoulders again.
Her parents clearly didn't know about the miscarriage, nor did they know where Clara was.
Even Simon, who usually guarded her like a pitbull, had been unusually quiet.
Quiet enough to make Rhys restless.
In the past, when Clara threw a tantrum, the routine was always fixed.
She would ignore him, run off, post a vague complaint on social media visible only to him, or delete his fingerprint from the lock and change the code to his birthday backwards.
She would wait for him to coax her, and he would wait for her to give him an opening.
It was an unspoken agreement between them.
Once they went through the motions, everything would be fine.
The lock at Riverside Court beeped, and the door opened.
Rhys changed his shoes and habitually looked toward the living room sofa.
Still empty.
He was just about to go shower when the doorbell suddenly rang.
Rhys’s brow twitched.
Clara was back.
She liked to ring the doorbell to make him open the door. The moment it opened, she would cling to him like a koala.
He strode to the entrance and pulled the door open.
"Cla—"
The eager syllable died in his throat.
Instead of that vibrant, radiant figure, Veronica West stood there, supported by Margot.
"Why did you take so long?" Veronica complained, pushing past him to walk inside.


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