Fati finally stopped before her apartment building, leaving the hospital directly behind her, yet her shattered heart refused to grant her permission to step inside, nor would it allow her to so much as glance toward the hospital that had long served as her professional and spiritual sanctuary. Her chest felt entirely hollow, saved only by her wandering, fragmented thoughts, as her body trembled with a desperate desire to vanish... to quietly depart from her life, her future, and everyone around her.
She yearned to run far away from her grandfather, from Jaguar, and even from her closest friend to escape her entire world. She was not merely fleeing those who inflicted pain upon her, but even those who loved her; she was fleeing her own exhaustion and weakness. She no longer possessed the slightest desire to summon the "strong Fati" who had fought life for so long; the strength she had held onto for years had rendered itself nothing more than a shattered armor, pressing ruthlessly against her back and weighing her down with a burden she could no longer carry.
Fati turned around with aimless steps, drifting away from the building's entrance without a destination, gradually sinking into the darkness of the city as its lights slowly dimmed... wandering into the unknown, utterly oblivious to what lay ahead.
All along the way, Jaguar repeatedly tried to call Fati's phone, but he was continuously met with the same automated voice stating her phone was switched off. In those agonizing moments, Jaguar realized with a bitter dread that if he failed to reach her immediately, Fati would stand at the ultimate crossroads between them and she would choose to walk away without hesitation.
He had come to know her far too well; he understood her moods, memorized her thoughts, and recognized her exact way of grieving... she did not argue, nor did she scream; she simply abandoned everything and fled. She no longer held onto anyone, nor did she possess any desire to fight for her place in the lives of those she loved she had reached a point where their very presence no longer mattered to her!
Jaguar bit his lip in agonizing regret... My God, how terribly late he was! If only he had not allowed that woman's hand to touch his! If only he had shoved Miranda away before Fati ever caught sight of her! If only he had walked straight to Fati, filling her with a reassuring gaze to promise her he would return to her side, instead of walking away and leaving her to watch him head to the terrace to confront Miranda only for her to see them standing so painfully close!
Breathing with severe difficulty, feeling as though his chest were suffocating, Jaguar pressed his foot hard against the accelerator, slicing through the city streets in a desperate race against time to reach his beloved.
Then a sudden thought struck him; he raised his phone to call the driver transporting her, but the driver failed to answer his repeated attempts... Fati had strictly instructed the driver not to answer a single call until they arrived safely at the building!
Jaguar rushed outside, descending into the street with hurried steps, only for his eyes to fall upon his car stopped right in the middle of the road, its door still swung wide open! In the sheer terror of his panic and fear over Fati's disappearance, he had completely forgotten to close the vehicle door when he leaped out!
He lunged toward the car, snatched his phone resting in its holder, and immediately dialed the driver's number. The instant the line connected, he demanded in a desperate, thunderous tone:
- Where are you?
The driver replied respectfully,
- Sir... I am currently on my way back to the mansion after dropping off the madam
Jaguar breathed heavily, his chest heaving as he fought fiercely to suppress the raging volcano of anger within him; he had no wish to unleash his wrath upon this innocent driver. He then forced a calm voice that barely masked his underlying panic:
- And where exactly did you drop her off?
- Right in front of her apartment building... across from the hospital, sir,
The driver answered clearly.
At that moment, Jaguar lost the last remaining thread of his patience, asking in a sharp voice choked with despair:
- And why didn't you answer my repeated calls?
The driver's voice trembled with genuine fear, fully aware that his job and livelihood were hanging precariously by a thread. He stammered apologetically:
- Sir... I swear to you, the madam explicitly commanded me not to answer calls from anyone while she was in the car... and I simply could not disobey her orders
His mind refused to comprehend that he had lost her once more; he began turning frantically in every direction like a man possessed, scanning the dark street with vacant, searching eyes. He charged into the hospital entrance, sprinting through the corridors and questioning everyone in sheer panic. Yet every person confirmed with certainty that they had not seen her, especially since her official leave had begun and no one was to contact her in the coming days. Refusing to lose hope, he rushed to her office and clinic, hoping she might have slipped inside unnoticed... but her clinic was firmly locked, wrapped in total, haunting silence!
Only then... did his heart plummet into an abyss, as the bitter truth crushed him Fati had vanished from his life once again! Just as she had done six years ago... except this time, her disappearance left behind a scorched heart, writhing in agony and bordering on absolute destruction from the sheer pain of losing her again!
Suddenly, the ringing of his phone pierced the fog of his despair. He looked down to see his grandfather's name on the screen. For the very first time in his life, his grandfather spoke without his usual cold, commanding tone; his voice was instead trembling, fearful, and shaken. He no longer knew which terrified him more: Jaguar, who had exploded at him with fierce fury an hour ago, or Fati, who had left the mansion deeply wounded and enraged.
His grandfather asked in a tense voice,
- Jaguar... have you met with Fati?! I keep trying to call her, but her phone is switched off
Jaguar closed his eyes, speaking in a hollow, lifeless whisper devoid of all hope, carrying the weight of infinite regret:
- No, Grandfather... she has vanished. She has left us all this time... and she will never return.
A heavy silence descended before Jaguar suddenly remembered, asking in a sharp voice choked with bitter disappointment:
- Grandfather... just tell me, why did Fati leave so abruptly?! What happened inside in my absence?
His grandfather hesitated weakly, speaking in a tone filled with confusion and ignorance:
- I honestly do not know what enraged her to such an extent! Was it because I requested her to toss her toy into the trash?! Or was it because my friend Mac Miranda's father mocked her, claiming she was merely a child playing with dolls and unworthy of you?! Or perhaps it was because he smoked cigarettes right before her... and you know she is a physician who places great importance on health and safety?
Jaguar roared in utter outrage, cutting him off with ruthless force that vibrated through the receiver:
- Stop, Grandfather!... Stop! All these insults occurred directly before your eyes and you did not raise a finger to defend her?! A complete stranger ridicules your own granddaughter inside your own home, and you failed to protect her or stand as her shield?
Jaguar paused briefly, his eyes staring blankly into the distance as the memory of the old maid's words resurfaced recounting how his grandfather had once cast his daughter "Rosie" back to her husband's home, and how she wept endlessly only to meet her tragic fate there.
Jaguar continued in a tone drenched in agony and burning blame:
- Were you not the very one who drove her mother away back then, forcing her back to her husband's house only to meet her tragic death?! What is wrong with you, Grandfather?! Why do you never stand by those of your own blood, endlessly choosing the side of your foreign friends over your own family?
At that agonizing moment, Jaguar's heart constricted as he recalled the pain of Fati's very first visit to that accursed mansion when her head was violently struck against the table, and the days proved so harsh to her inside this exact place. He spoke in profound sorrow, his voice torn with grief:
- Think just once, Grandfather, of poor Fati! She fought her own trauma and resisted all her fears just to return to the very mansion that was the cause of her humiliation, where she was struck the very first time she stepped inside! Why must we relentlessly treat every girl in our family as though she means nothing, merely to appease and flatter the strangers around us?
A heavy silence descended, suffocating with regret, before Jaguar breathed heavily, struggling to control his ragged breathing:
- Grandfather... I cannot continue speaking with you right now. I desperately need to search for her before it is too late
He lowered the phone and ended the call, bitterly cursing in utter agony that dark hour when he took her by the hand and dragged her back to that mansion once again.