The following day.
The couple was done eating breakfast, Caroline was cleaning the table and washing the dirty dishes on the kitchen sink while Mike was sipping his coffee.
"Sweetie, I'm going to meet some clients for the whole day. You can go with me... or if you don't want to go with me... just do whatever you want..." he said.
"I'm going to my house and stay there. I want to see and talk to my mother and my siblings. Is that okay with you?" she asked him.
Mike nods his head. "Yes, of course!"
"I'll be staying there until evening. You can drop by there at night after you are done with your meetings if you want," she said.
"Alright...I'll go straight there tonight and pick you up," he replied.
"Okay...that's settled then," she said.
Mike finished drinking his coffee and put it on the sink. "I'm going to take a shower and then go my way. Are you sure, you don't want to go with me?" he asked her again.
Caroline smiled and kissed his cheeks. "You go ahead. I'll do the laundry first before going to my house," she said.
"Okay," Mike said and left the kitchen.
Caroline was left alone in the kitchen. She already finished cleaning everything.
She sat on the chair and contemplated what she's going to do next.
Tomorrow...her husband would go to Davao City. She will have three days to herself. But she must leave before Mike will come back from his trip. She will spend the rest of her days in her mother Thelma and siblings' presence.
Then she will write a letter to her mother and her sister Catherine so that they won't get worried about her to lessen the negative impact of her disappearance.
By the time she disappeared...she doesn't want them to feel worried to death just like what happened to them when Catherine disappeared without a trace.
She knows it's kind of crazy...but she wants it that way.
It's her way of damaged control.
She reached for her phone wanting to call her sister...
She placed a call to Catherine.
She waited while the phone was ringing and the voice of her sister appeared online.
"Hello Car..."
"Sis...I'm going to my house in Eastwood Subdivision today afternoon. I will spend the rest of my day there. If you are not busy, you can join us anytime," she told her.
"Okay...no problem. I'll be there," Catherine answered.
"See you later, sis. Gotta go, I'll do my laundry first," she said.
"Bye sis!" Catherine said and ended the call at her end.
A few minutes later.
Mike went to the kitchen and kissed his wife's forehead. "I'll go now...sweetie," he said.
"Take care, hubby! Drive safely," she responded with a sweet smile.
Mike sauntered towards the door and took his leave.
Caroline went to the bedroom and gather the laundry basket. She went to the small room next to the pool area and prepare her laundry there, good thing the washing machine was also equipped with a dryer.
She loaded her laundry...while waiting...she was planning in her mind what will be her exact move.
One hour later...Caroline was done drying the laundry.
She folded the clothes for ironing. She will take a bath first before ironing them, then go to her house in Eastview Subdivision.
She went to the bedroom, entered the bathroom, and took a shower.
After done showering, she began ironing the clothes.
One hour later, she was done with ironing. After hanging all the clothes in the closet...she made a letter for her mother and her sister Catherine...done writing the letter...she began dressing up.
A few minutes later.
Caroline was already hiring a taxi cab outside the building...going to Eastview Subdivision. She left her car at her house.
After thirty minutes of traveling.
She arrived at her house. "Hello Mother dear!" she greeted her mother cheerfully.
Thelma was currently tending to the plants in the veranda, she opened the gate.
"Daughter, why are you riding a taxi? Where's your husband?" Thelma asked.
"He is currently working right now. I will stay here until the evening, he will drop by at night and we will go home together," she explained.
"Okay..." Thelma said and continue tending to the plants.
Caroline entered the house and went upstairs to her bedroom.
She lies down on the bed for a few minutes and closed her eyes.
A few minutes later, she got up from the bed and rummaged on her phone. She placed a call for Allison.
Her call was answered promptly. She heard Allison's voice echoed on the other line.
"Girl...wazz up?" Allison asked.
"I need your help one of these days. I already had a plan when to disappear," Caroline said.
"That's good! I'll be glad to help you in any way I can. Tell me when?" Allison inquired eagerly.
"Probably two days from now. It's still tentative...but definitely, my disappearance will occur within this week," Caroline answered.
"That's great. I will provide a gate away car for you. All you need to do is tell me the exact address where to get you..."
"Okay. I'll call you again before the day I'll vanish," Caroline said concluding their conversation.
"Bye Caroline. If you need anything, I'm just a phone call away," Allison offered and went silent at the other end.
Caroline stared at her phone with a trembling hand.
Her days are numbered.
The things she dreaded are finally going to happen for real.
She went to the closet, open the drawers and unzip the traveling bag, then she put the clothes she needed in the bag. She grabbed a few of baby Cathy's dresses and put them inside the bag as well.
She will leave her ATM Card to her mother as well the other not so important stuff behind....she doesn't need them when she already starts living in Alex's mansion.
She will bring her cellphone with her because it contains all the videos and photos of her daughter, her family, and her husband. She needed those photos to keep her sanity intact while hiding away.
When the going gets tough...she will have happy memories to keep her company...to remind her that she needs to keep going so that she will attain her real happiness one day.
She fished out the two letters from her shoulder bag, she put them inside a small brown envelope.
She went back to the closet and buries the envelopes beneath the old clothes that she no longer uses.
Done...
She went back to bed and power on her tablet.
She missed her daughter so much. She logs in to her messenger wanting to see baby Cathy even for a few minutes.
She was lucky because Clara was online...she typed a message. "Hello, auntie...how's baby Cathy?"
Clara was typing on the message box.
"She's fine and doing well...how are you Caroline?" asked Clara.
"I'm fine...can I see baby Cathy...Auntie? I missed her so much!" she immediately declared her intention to see baby Cathy.
Clara replied right away. "Yes...of course. I will put baby Cathy on live video so that you can see her... wait for a second..."
"Thanks, Auntie," Caroline said excitedly.
The video window was already established and Caroline saw her daughter watching and listening to her favorite nursery rhymes on TV.
Caroline was feeling happy seeing her daughter again, she feels a painful longing in her heart. She wanted to cry.
"Oh my baby!" she exclaimed in happiness.
Tears sprung from her eyes, rolling down her face, but she quickly wiped them away.
This is not the time to cry and get emotional. She just wanted to see her daughter for a few minutes without interruption.
"Caroline...you want to talk to your daughter?" Clara asked her.
Caroline shook her head. "No need, Auntie. It's enough that I see her today, maybe some other time..." she refused Clara's offer.
She was afraid that if her daughter sees her, Cathy will start throwing tantrums and Clara might have a hard time pacifying Cathy.
It's good that her daughter was settling well in Thailand under Clara and Hector's care. She doesn't want to destroy that fragile bond they were trying to establish...after all she's going to disappear...no need to destroy their peace.
Caroline was watching her baby daughter in tears.
The door to her bedroom opened...
"I'm here now, sis!" Catherine announced her presence loudly.
Prompting Caroline to wipe her wet face immediately with the back of her hand.
Caroline looked at her sister. "Did you bring my niece and nephew?" she asked.
Catherine nods her head. "Of course!" she answered. "What are you watching on your tab? Why are you crying?" she asked curiously and went to the bed and took a peek at the tablet.
"I'm watching baby Cathy on the video while she's listening and watching her favorite nursery rhymes," Caroline replied.
"Oh, I see... so how's baby Cathy doing there in Thailand?" Catherine inquired.
"She's doing fine," answered Caroline.
"That's fantastic!" Catherine said. She rubbed her sister's back consoling her. She's a mother also and she knows how painful it is for a mother to be living apart from her children. She suffered so much pain and torture when she was kidnapped for almost a year and not able to see and hold baby James in her arms.
Caroline typed a message to Clara. "I'm done watching the video, Auntie. Thank you very much. You can turn it off now," she said.
The video was turned off.
"Bye Auntie, please take care of baby Cathy for me," Caroline said.
"Yes, I will. Take care of yourself," Clara said and left the chatbox.
Caroline turns off the tablet and put it back in the bedside table, she faced her sister.
"So...sis...what dishes we will order for dinner? Since it's c.u.mbersome to prepare dishes and cook," asked the smiling Catherine. "But if you want to cook...let's cook," she suggested.
Caroline shook her head. "Nah, I'm not in the mood for cooking right now. Let's see the menu list of your favorite restaurant and order in advance," she suggested.
"Alright!" Catherine opened the food delivery app on her cellphone and they began choosing different types of dishes.
Fifteen minutes later.
They managed to order four different dishes and one dessert for their dinner menu.
The sisters exited the bedroom and went downstairs to join the rest of the family in the living room.