Page 58 of A Mutually Beneficial Proposal

I want to find her, grab dinner, and tell her everything, because the last thing I want is for her to think I’ve purposely lied.

When I get to the room, everything is quiet and my chest aches. I head to the bedroom, hoping to find Ella there, but the bed is empty. I look further and notice her bag that was on the chair this morning is no longer there.

Stepping into the bathroom, I find her toothbrush is gone as well. I open the drawers and only see my belongings within them.

“What the fuck?” I mutter.

I grab my phone and call her. No ringing, only straight to voicemail.

My breath comes in shallow gasps while I leave her a voicemail. “Ella, it’s Owen. What happened? Where are you? Please call me as soon as you get this.”

I call Robert next. “Hello, Mr. Porter. How can I help you?”

“Have you seen Ella Danes?” I ask.

“No, sir, I haven’t. Would you like me to put you on hold and ask Rosa?”

“Yes,” I say a little too harshly.

The line goes quiet, and I wait for what feels like forever.

“Rosa states she saw Ms. Danes getting into a taxi with her bag not too long ago, Sir.”

My hand tightens around the phone, and the other turns into a fist at my side. “But her flight isn’t until tomorrow late morning.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

I end the call with an abrupt goodbye. I have to find her. She must have gone to another hotel to wait out her departure time. Only I don’t understand why.

Then it occurs to me. Ella could have seen me with Natalie while we were waiting for Jack. It wasn’t like we were groping each other, but holding Natalie like I had been wouldn’t have seemed innocent to Ella, given I’d failed to man up and tell her the whole situation sooner. Not after all she’s been through.

“Fuck!” I shout to the empty room.

I don’t know how I’m going to find Ella, but I’ll be at the airport well before her flight tomorrow if I can’t find her in any of the hotels. I’m not letting her leave this island without knowing the truth. Even if she doesn’t believe my words, I know I need to do everything I can to make this right.

If I don’t, the regret just might drown me.