Chapter 219 - 219: Did You Miss Me?

It had been a week since James convinced Elle to be on his side and offered her the power of Skull Gang but in exchange, she needed to stay away from Erick.

James's offer and her concerns with Erick- these were the things which were kept bothering her mind. 

If she was just someone who only thinks of power and money then she wouldn't think twice and she would already say yes to James's proposal. 

James promised to give and allow her to use Skull Gang for her protection that what he meant by saying he will make Skull Gang her safe haven.

If other people were in her place then they would think that James's offer was very tempting and advantageous for her.

At that moment, Elle hadn't given him her response. James told her to take her time and think about it carefully. He would be waiting for her answer after a week. Today was the time she should give him her answer. 

However, Elle felt like not going anywhere today nor meeting anyone. She was currently in her hide-out, sulking in her room.

On the other hand, Phantom was the one who was taking care of Charles. He would also be discharged from the hospital one of these days. 

Phantom was just waiting for the right opportunity to discuss with Charles about leaving City Z for a while since it was Elle's request. She just hoped that Charles wouldn't suspect them of anything and he would just agree with Phantom's suggestion.

"I wonder how Erick is doing right now," Elle mumbled to herself as she kept staring at her ceiling blankly. She was still lying on her bed.

"I miss him so much," she said as she hugged her pillow tightly, wishing that it was Erick.

Then suddenly she remembered something. She sat up and searched for her phone. She didn't turn it on for a week and its battery was still empty. She sighed deeply before she decided to charge her phone.

Still undecided of what she should do that day, Elle slumped her body back to her bed as she closed her eyes.

'Alright, Elle. Sleep for a while. Once you wake up you will know what to do.'

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*** At XXX Crime Investigation Headquarters ***

Erick hadn't heard any news yet about Elle for a week. Even his colleagues could notice that something was troubling him. They were not used to seeing him in low spirits. He was very silent and kept on spacing out in his office.

They could feel the sullen aura surrounding him. It was really affecting even their working environment. They didn't know how to confront him. His team was just relying on Bryan just to make sure if their Chief was just doing fine.

It was only Bryan who knew the reason why Erick was acting like that. Of course, Elle was the main reason. He was very careful every time he would talk to Erick, avoiding the topic regarding Elle. But Bryan always made sure to cheer him up once in a while by talking to him about other stuff.

But his colleagues couldn't help but to discuss within themselves and talk about their Chief.

"Hey, what's wrong with Chief Lee? He seemed like a very different person for these past few days." June brought it up to the team.

"He looks very problematic. Something is weighing on his mind." April also shared her thoughts. Their eyes were staring at the closed door of Erick's office.

"This is the first time I saw him acting like this. Do you know anything about this, Bryan?" Rose turned to Bryan who was just feigning an ignorance, pretending that he was busy doing something with his computer.

The three of them frowned when they didn't hear any response from him.

"I think he knew something but he was just keeping his mouth shut," Rose whispered to April, hinting her to ask him by herself.

April just rolled her eyes at Rose before she replied "Don't look at me like that. Even if I ask him he will not talk. His loyalty is still reserved for Erick."

Rose just heaved a sigh of frustration. She was really curious. "I wonder if it was related to the person he asked me to track the location at midnight. It happened one week ago." Rose mumbled which gathered the attention of June and April.

"Who could be that person?" they both asked her.

Rose just shrugged at them. "I also don't have any idea. I wanted to ask him but seeing his mood I couldn't bring that topic up with Chief."

"Hey! Back to work. Stop gossiping." Bryan suddenly spoke up. 

He stood up as he approached April. "Let's go. We still need to investigate the relationship between Vello and De Dios. Chief assigned this task to us. Let's see if we can find their connection with Jefferson Gong.

April just nodded before she followed Bryan. They were still looking for clues and evidence that could connect the dots between those three people.

Meanwhile, inside Erick's office, he was still feeling down. Every day that had passed without hearing anything about Elle was really great torture for him.

He was absentmindedly looking at his phone screen, wishing that Elle would turn on her phone.

'I wonder if she is also thinking of me. Wifey, I miss you so much. Please come back to me.'

Feeling so helpless and desperate, Erick tried sending her messages. He was hoping that she would be able to read it and find her way back to him. He kept sending her one message after another.

[ Elle, where are you? ]

[ Wifey... I miss you so much! Did you miss me too? ]

[ Bryan was bullying me. Please defend me. He said I really messed up since my wife left me just two days after our marriage. ]

[ I won't judge you. Please come back! Let's talk this out. ]

[ Elle, I am sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. ]

[ Elle, do you hate me? ]

[ Elle… ]

[ Wifey…]

Erick was still typing text messages when suddenly his phone rang. Someone was calling him. His worry deepened when he saw the name of the caller. After several rings, Erick finally answered it.

"Hello, Mom.���

"Son. I just want to tell you that your father and I are now on the way to your place." Sarah's excited voice could be heard from the other line.

'D*mn! I forgot about their visit. Today is the day that they promised to visit us because they wanted to help us with our wedding preparation. How would I explain Elle's disappearance to them.' Erick massaged his temples. It seemed that his stress level suddenly increased at this moment.

"Ok, Mom. Just wait for me in the house. You have my spare key right?" Erick simply replied.

He thought to himself that he would just come up with an excuse or good alibi to cover-up for Elle's disappearance in the meantime.

"Yes, son. Alright. See you later. I am excited to see you and my daughter-in-law, Elle. I miss you both." Sarah said cheerfully at him using her sweet and loving voice.

"Me too Mom. See you." Erick replied before he hung up the phone.

After the call, he put down his phone and immediately buried his face using his both hands. Everything was not going well on his side. He wondered when things would go back to normal. But it seemed that things would never be the same as how they used to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was already dark when Erick left their headquarters. He assumed that his parents were already at home. He drove his car in an unhurried manner. 

He was preparing himself to lie at his parents so that they wouldn't be disappointed. He knew that they were looking forward to seeing the husband and wife together but this was impossible as of this moment.

He couldn't tell his parents the truth. He was afraid that once they found out about Elle's identity, they would go against their relationship. He couldn't afford it.

Despite her identity, Erick knew that he truly loves her. He couldn't let go of her no matter what. He still wanted her to stick with him. Those days without Elle, he realized how important she was in his life. 

She seemed like a sun that gives lights in his world. Without her, his world was so dark, he felt so empty. She was the missing piece in his life. Without her, he would never feel complete ever again.

He didn't want to think about the consequences. All he wanted right now was to see her again. But he also knew it was just his wishful thinking.

And finally, after that long drive, he reached his home. He could see the light inside the house, indicating that his parents were also there. He took a deep breath before he entered the house.

He didn't see his parents in the living room but he heard some movements from the kitchen.

'I guess they are busy preparing for our dinner.' he thought to himself.

He paused for a moment, gathering himself. 'Let's do this Erick.' he told himself before he put on a bright smile on his face as he walked towards the kitchen.

It was Sarah who noticed his presence first. Her lips immediately curled up into a gentle smile upon seeing her son.

"Oh Dear, You are here. Why it took you so long to arrive?" Sarah softly mumbled as she wrapped her arms around Erick to give him a quick hug.

"Sorry, Mom. It was because of the traffic." he lied as he smiled at her apologetically.

After releasing his son from that hug, Sarah went back to the dining table as she helped her husband in arranging the foods on the table.

"Oh, where's my sweet daughter-in-law, Elle? Son, call her so that we can eat our dinner already." Sarah told Erick enthusiastically.

Erick became silent after his mother mentioned Elle. There was a gleam of sadness in his eyes but he was able to conceal it in an instant.

"Mom… about Elle-"

Erick was not able to finish his words when he was interrupted by someone who suddenly hugged him from behind. He automatically froze on his spot.

'These soft hands, this warmth, this scent… these are very familiar to me. D*mn! It felt the same when Elle was with me.'

Meanwhile, Raymond and Sarah were staring at his direction who were both smiling sweetly. It seemed like they were enjoying the scene unfolding in front of them. 

Erick was looking at his parents, confusion was written all over his face.

Then suddenly he heard the familiar voice that he was missing for the whole week now.

"I am back hubby. Did you miss me?"