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"Get the car ready, we need to reach somewhere, now," Alice walked out of his office as soon as he could. His long steps halted a bit, but he gained his composure and left.
The unknown call, claiming they know where Alisha is, literally boomed in his senses.
At first, he didn't pick it up, seeing the unknown number, but after a few more calls, he answered, all pissed.
When he heard that the person on the call knew where Alisha was and how she was in the hospital, it took everything in him to not want to jump inside the phone. She made him feel so helpless, and now she was in the hospital.
Leaving aside the fact that she ran away from him - what rang inside his head was that she was hurt somewhere, and that was disturbing.
He wanted to punish her for running away, as soon as he got his hands on her. At least, that's what he thought before. Now, hearing about the potential pain or injury she had, which he didn't know about, was making him push out his animal instincts.
He sat in his car and told his driver to take him to the place Rish gave him.
If that guy was pulling some prank, Alice wouldn't shy away from showing him who he messed with.
This was the only hope he had after three whole days without any trace of Alisha. No matter how much he wanted to deny or ignore it, he couldn't do anything other than hold onto it.
Because some part of him couldn't deny that it could be true. To think about it, how a random person knew about Alisha's disappearance, how he even got his number, because even Alisha didn't have his number to tell anyone.
His blood really boiled thinking she was with a man, apparently all hurt. Not to deny, he was burning more with jealousy than he could count on.
‘At least you get some hope,’ his conscience remarked.
‘Yrue,’ Alice rubbed his fingers on his wrist. He just wanted to reach that place as soon as possible.
"Drive fast, I don't care, get me there within ten minutes," Alice commanded, even though it was a half-hour drive from his office. He didn't care how fast the driver needed to drive; he just wanted to reach there.
‘She was so close to my office, and I was so unaware,’ Alice's head hurt thinking about it.
Here he was, finding her in the whole country, and she was under his nose. What was she even doing inside the deep forest, which was wildly impossible to cross?
Did she want to escape so eagerly that she put herself in this situation? Alice asked himself.
Knowing the exact answer he wouldn't want to hear at all, she chose death over him, and here he could choose her above him. That's so sick, isn't it?
She made him go insane, and now she was in the hospital, when it should be him.
"Sir, we reached," the driver announced. Alice got out of his car to look around. He saw how silent this place was. How Alisha survived in the forest for three whole days was quite a shocking thing too.
‘Where is he?’ Alice mumbled as he roamed his eyes around to see Rish, his heart ready to explode his body with nervousness.
In his whole life, he had never felt this nervous, not like this, not the way he was feeling now, as if Alisha would slip away like sand, which he was trying to hold so desperately.
The hope that he thought was dying due to how he was not getting any information about Alisha, this small hint revived it all, and he just didn't want it to be a prank, no matter what; he certainly couldn't bear it all.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows, walking towards him. It was Rish.
Alice's face turned to confusion as he clearly remembered this guy as a staff member from the jewelry store where he bought his wedding ring with Alisha.
"Why do you know where Alisha is? Are you involved in something I don't know about?" Alice's mind raced with suspicion.
“Alice,” Rish spoke, as he looked at Alice who stared back with confusion.
Alice knew his confusion was valid because he hadn't expected to see him here.
Rish and Jackson had taken the short route in Jackson's car to reach here, which took much less time than it took for Maya, Alisha, Levi, and him to reach the pack, which he was glad about.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Alice lunged toward him, grabbing Rish's collar.
Rish was thinner compared to Alice, and smaller too, due to having fewer muscles.
“Leave him, what are you doing?” Jackson intervened, grabbing Alice's hands that were holding Rish.
Jackson was a bit shorter than Alice, being in his 50s, but compared to Rish, he still had huge muscles, having been the ex-beta of the pack.
Jackson's firm grip on Alice's hands made him pause, his eyes still fixed on Rish.
“What's going on here?” Jackson's voice was stern, commanding attention.
Alice took a step back, releasing Rish's collar but still eyeing him suspiciously.
“Jackson, calm down,” Rish calmly tried to soothe Jackson's agitation.
“Why are you here, Rish? And how do you know about Alisha?” Alice demanded, his voice tinged with urgency.
Rish straightened his collar, his expression serious. “I came here to tell you something important, Alice. Something about Alisha.”
Alice's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Alisha's name. “What about Alisha? Is she okay?”
Rish hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting between Alice and Jackson. “She's... she's alive, but she's in trouble.”
Alice felt a surge of relief mixed with fear. “What kind of trouble? Where is she?”
Rish took a deep breath, his voice shaking slightly. He didn't know what to tell him; he just didn't.
“You'll figure it out after you come with us, so let's go,” Jackson spoke authoritatively.
“And who are you? What's happening here?” Alice shouted in annoyance, feeling completely lost. This whole situation was over his head.
What trouble was Alisha in? What was Rish's relationship with her, and who the hell was this man, Jackson?