Chapter 300 We Must Find James!
Jennifer retreated to her room, the weight of James' rejection a heavy cloak upon her shoulders. Sleep was impossible. She craved solitude, a space to process the turmoil raging within her.
As the initial shock and hurt subsided, a chilling clarity began to dawn. James' behavior was all wrong. It was utterly out of character.
They had been together for five years. Jennifer knew James, knew the gentle rhythm of his heart, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. James was not prone to anger, let alone such a cold, calculated outburst.
And then there were the flashes of pain she had glimpsed in his eyes, the fleeting moments of vulnerability he had tried so hard to conceal. Her own distress had too blinded her to recognize them at the time.
Just yesterday, he had been his usual self, his touch gentle, his gaze warm. What could have caused such a drastic shift in such a short time?
Someone had gotten to him. Someone had planted seeds of doubt, of anger.
The realization struck her with the abruptness of lightning; Kaitlyn and Dennis had visited James! Had they poisoned his heart against her?
She had to get to the hospital, had to hear it from James himself.
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was Harmony.
"Jennifer, how could you let James discharge himself in his condition?" Harmony's voice was sharp with disapproval.
Jennifer's heart stuttered. "What? He's been discharged?"
"Yes, I came to the hospital, and he's gone."
A wave of dizziness washed over Jennifer.
"Jennifer, are you there? I'm coming over. I brought some special ointments for his scars."
"Harmony, listen to me," Jennifer interrupted, her voice tight with urgency. "If you see James, anywhere, stop him. Don't let him out of your sight. I'm on my way!"
"What's going on? I thought you arranged his discharge?" Harmony sounded confused.
"No! I'm at home. He was acting so strangely earlier. Just find him, Harmony, please! It's important!"
"He discharged himself? But why?"
"There's no time to explain. Just find him! If we don't, we might lose him forever!"
The urgency in Jennifer's voice, the tremor of fear, jolted Harmony into action. She hung up without another word and began making calls, mobilizing their friends to help search for James. But he had a head start, and with his skills, finding him would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Jennifer raced out of her room, her heart pounding against her ribs.
"Jennifer, I thought you were resting?" Kaitlyn asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
Jennifer stopped at the doorway, her gaze fixed on her mother. "Mom, tell me the truth. Did you and Dad go see James?"
Kaitlyn's eyes flickered, a flicker of guilt betraying her carefully crafted facade.
That was all the confirmation Jennifer needed. It all made sense now. James' sudden change of heart, his cruel words, it was all because of them.
"Mom! How could you?" she cried, her voice thick with betrayal. "He's hurt, vulnerable, and you... I can't believe you would do this!"
She didn't have time for explanations or accusations. Every second counted. She had to find James.
As the front door slammed shut behind her, Dennis emerged from his study, drawn by the commotion. "What was that about? Why is Jennifer so upset?"
Kaitlyn sighed, her face etched with worry. "James discharged himself. She found out we went to see him."
"Do you think... Do you think we made a mistake, Dennis?" Kaitlyn asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Dennis was silent for a moment, his face a mask of conflict. "I don't know, Kaitlyn. I honestly don't know. I just hope... I hope we haven't made things worse."
Jennifer raced to the hospital, pressing hard on the accelerator, disregarding traffic lights and overtaking vehicles. What should have been a twenty-minute drive took less than ten.
She spotted Harmony at the entrance, her shoulders slumped with defeat.
"Any luck?" Jennifer asked, her voice catching in her throat.
Harmony shook her head, her face etched with worry. "Nothing. He's gone."
Despair washed over Jennifer, cold and suffocating. She slammed her fist against her forehead. "It's my fault! I should have known something was wrong. I should have seen through his act. I'm so stupid!"
Harmony grabbed her hand as she raised it to strike herself again. "Jennifer, stop it! You're not stupid. You were just trying to be there for him."
"But why, Harmony? Why would he do this?" Jennifer whispered, her voice breaking.
"He didn't want to burden you," Harmony said softly. "He probably overheard your parents, saw the look in their eyes. He was trying to protect you from their judgment, from their disappointment."
Jennifer's eyes widened in realization. It was just like James, always putting her needs before his own, even when it meant breaking his own heart.
"We have to find him, Harmony," she said, her voice firm with newfound determination. "We have to bring him home."
They spent the next week searching tirelessly for James, exhausting every lead, every contact. They even involved the police, but it was like he had vanished into thin air.
Days merged into nights, each subsequent one becoming increasingly indistinct, characterized by exhaustion and a mounting sense of desolation. Jennifer was a stark contrast to her previous self, her complexion wan and ethereal, her eyes reddened from holding back tears. Harmony, too, was running on fumes, her usual cheerfulness replaced by a quiet determination.
Kaitlyn and Dennis tried to reach out to Jennifer, their guilt and worry growing with each passing day, but she pushed them away, her heart still raw with betrayal.
Meanwhile, James had found refuge in a small town miles away. He spent his days in quiet contemplation, his body slowly healing, the scars fading but not disappearing, a constant reminder of the fire and the life he had left behind.
One afternoon, as he strolled through the town square, a familiar face materialized before him. A face he thought he'd never see again.
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