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She glanced at the check in her hand, then up at the sky. “God…” she whispered, her eyes closing as she quickly prayed. “Please, shower me with more money. Send another ATM if you have to. I’m ready!”
***
"Ellie Madden!"
Sawyer’s furious voice echoed through the Stark house, sending the maids into a panic. All eyes turned to Ada.
"Mr. Stark is home early today?" one of them gasped.
"Ms. Ellie isn’t here. Who’s going to handle Mr. Stark now?" another whispered fearfully. "He seems furious!"
Ada held up a hand to silence them. "Stay here. I’ll go see what’s wrong," she said before rushing out.
She rushed out of the kitchen, her heart pounding as she found Sawyer striding through the hall, his face dark with anger.
"Where the hell is Ellie?" he snapped the moment he spotted her.
"Wait, Mr. Stark. I’ll check," Ada answered quickly, dashing toward Ellie’s bedroom. She checked the bathroom, the closet, every corner—nothing. When she returned moments later, her face was pale with panic. But when she opened Ellie’s closet, her stomach dropped.
Everything was gone.
Ada’s heart pounded as she rushed back to Sawyer. "Mr. Stark, Ms. Ellie is gone."
Sawyer narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, gone?"
"I checked everywhere. Ms. Ellie isn’t here. Not just that—none of her things are here either. I think… she left you."
The words barely left her lips before Sawyer flung his coat across the floor, fury radiating off him in waves.
"Mr. Stark," Ada tried carefully, suppressing a nervous chuckle. She hadn't seen him this angry in a long time. "I think Ms. Ellie is upset because Ms. Olivia came back. She must have felt wronged, especially after being forced to leave the restaurant while you stayed back with Ms. Olivia."
Sawyer’s darkened gaze snapped to Ada, disbelief and irritation flashing in his eyes.
"Then she should terminate the damn agreement if she’s angry! Why the hell is she running like a fool?!" His voice was like a crack of thunder, but then his sharp gaze landed on Ada. "And how do you even know I forced her to leave the restaurant?"
Ada bit her lip. ‘Obviously, Henry told me all about it. You and Ms. Ellie don’t exactly make it easy for us to manage both of you unless we know what you’re up to. If it were left to you two to handle your fights, Henry and I would probably end up hanging from a tree—because neither of you could agree on the method to kill us.’ She thought it but wisely kept quiet.
"Mr. Stark, that’s not important, is it?!" Ada quickly changed the subject, grabbing the coat off the ground. She nearly groaned, mentally slapping herself for slipping up in front of Sawyer.
She then turned swiftly to face him, stepping closer. "Mr. Stark, don’t you know how deeply Ms. Ellie loves you? Her feelings for you are unbreakable. She would never leave your side or walk away from this relationship so easily. But this time, I think she must have felt really wronged."
Ada’s voice softened with sadness. "With Ms. Olivia coming back, and you not standing by her side, telling her to leave without you in front of the woman you love, I think—" her voice dropped to a whisper, "Ms. Ellie must be crying somewhere on a dark street right now. Who knows if she even ate dinner or not."
Sawyer’s scowl deepened. His mind flashed back to earlier. ‘I didn’t even let her eat at the restaurant earlier. If she was already upset enough to leave the house, she definitely wouldn’t have touched the food I sent either. That stupid woman!’ his agitation grew uncontrollably, ‘Roaming around the streets hungry at night!’
His anger wavered, replaced by something foreign. He exhaled sharply and sank onto the couch, rubbing his forehead. "I didn’t expect her to fall in love with me so easily after signing that temporary girlfriend agreement."
Ada nodded solemnly, leaning in with a serious expression. "Mr. Stark, you are charming, rich, and incredibly smart. How could she not fall for you? What girl could resist? And Ms. Ellie, she’s such an emotional person. She takes care of you, loves you unconditionally. Everyone knows that. So how could she not be angry after seeing you with another woman?"
Sawyer’s lips quirked into a proud smirk. He lifted a finger to his forehead, pushing back his hair with a hidden smile. "I get it. You’re right." He sighed, shaking his head. "Obviously. How could I have ever thought she wouldn’t fall for me? This is my fault."
Ada stepped closer, placing the coat beside him on the couch. Her voice turned serious. "Mr. Stark, Ms. Ellie loves you so much. But given her timid and emotional nature, now that she’s left the house—and your side—she’s no longer under your protection. What if she gets bullied or hurt?"
She put on a worried expression, looking at Sawyer with deep concern. "So many people were jealous of her because she was with you. Now that she’s left, what if they take advantage of that and try to hurt her?"
Sawyer shot to his feet, his proud expression vanishing into sheer worry.
"That damn woman!" he snapped, but this time, his voice was laced with urgency instead of anger. "Ada, find Ellie right now! Search everywhere. I don’t care what it takes—just find her and bring her back."