How to be loved

36 - That I did!

HOW TO BE LOVED

36 – That I did!

Freen's POV

Nissa drove me to the mansion, her expression a mix of concern and curiosity. The tension in the car was palpable as I replayed the events of the gala in my mind. I couldn't shake the feeling of dread settling in my stomach. Becky had left, and I needed to find her.

When we arrived at the mansion, I rushed out of the car before Nissa could even turn off the engine. "Becky!" I called, my voice echoing through the empty foyer. I dashed through the grand hall, searching for Becky with mounting anxiety. The silence was deafening.

Oscar, the butler assigned to us, appeared from around the corner. "Lady Freen, how may I assist you?" he asked, his voice calm and steady.

"Is Becky home?" I asked breathlessly, my heart racing in my chest.

"Not yet," he replied, his brow creasing with concern. "Is something wrong?"

Nissa stepped into the mansion behind me, her face filled with worry, but she remained quiet.

My anxiety only grew. "Do you know where she might be?" I asked both Oscar and Nissa, my voice edged with desperation.

"I'm not sure, Miss Freen," Nissa said. "She didn't say where she was going after the gala. But I can help you look."

Oscar seemed to hesitate for a moment, then spoke. "Was she upset by any chance, Lady Freen? Because... there is a place she often goes when she needs to escape."

My heart leaped at his words. "Where? Tell me where, Oscar."

"There's a spot by the cliffs near the garden, overlooking the water. It's her quiet place, where she goes when she needs time alone," he explained. "She's gone there many times before."

Without another word, I dashed outside, my heart pounding in my chest. I needed to find her—to see her, to hold her, to explain everything. The moonlit path leading toward the cliffs felt endless, but I pushed forward, driven by the fear of losing her.

When I finally reached the cliffs, there she was—sitting on the edge, her arms wrapped around her knees, staring out at the waves crashing below. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her, so vulnerable and lost in her thoughts.

"Becky," I called softly, stepping closer.

She didn't turn around immediately, but I saw her shoulders tense at the sound of my voice. I took a deep breath and moved closer, carefully kneeling beside her.

"I've been looking for you," I whispered, my voice trembling with emotion.

I stood there beside her, feeling the weight of the night settling over us. The wind howled, icy and relentless, as it whipped around us, pulling at our clothes and stinging our skin. Becky stood like a statue, her eyes locked on the horizon where the vast ocean met the inky night sky. The waves below crashed violently against the cliffside, their fury matching the tempest that roared inside me. A chasm had formed between us, one that had been widening over the past few weeks, and it felt like an unbridgeable gap.

But I couldn't walk away, not now.

"Becky," I started softly, my voice almost lost in the wind, desperate to pierce the thick silence between us. She didn't move, her gaze distant, her face expressionless. But I saw it—the way her fingers dug into her knees, knuckles turning white from the tension she couldn't hide. I sat down beside her, though the space between us felt more like a canyon than the mere inches that separated our bodies.