Fated Encounters

Chapter 19

Patrick had never known a silence as loud as the one Angela left behind. Days passed, yet the emptiness in the house clung to him like a suffocating fog. Every corner, every step reminded him of her absence, and the quiet moments were the worst. It was in those moments when he realized that he had taken her presence for granted—her quiet grace, her laugh, the warmth she brought into his life. He missed her, and it stung deeper than anything he had ever felt.

He couldn’t stay still. Not with the gnawing guilt eating at him. The moment he had read her note, something inside him had snapped. He had stood frozen for what felt like hours, the weight of her words pressing down on him: “I’ll never be enough for you.” Those words had haunted him since. He knew he’d been blind, caught up in his confusion, too wrapped up in his past to see what was right in front of him.

Rex was the first to sense his unease. The dog stayed close to him, alert and pacing as if he knew something had shifted, but even Rex seemed to be searching for her. He missed Angela too. Patrick could see it in the way Rex would sniff the places she used to sit or linger by her door, hoping she’d return. But she never did.

And that was when Patrick knew he had to go after her.

The search started at the last place they’d been together—the forest where he had first laid eyes on her. It was there, in the soft light filtering through the trees, that she had seemed otherworldly, her presence almost ethereal. He had thought it was a sign then, that she was meant to be part of his life. But now, standing in the same spot, all he felt was a deep, aching emptiness.

“Rex, find her,” Patrick murmured, his voice rough with desperation.

Rex’s ears perked up at the command, and he trotted forward, nose to the ground. But after several hours of searching, of following old trails and revisiting every place they had shared, Patrick found nothing. No sign of her. No trace of where she could have gone.

Days passed, and still, Angela remained elusive. Patrick visited every place they’d been together—the diner where they had shared awkward conversations, the hidden spots in the city where they had sought refuge, and even the campus where he had first watched her from a distance. But each location felt more hollow than the last.

Every time he returned home without finding her, the weight of his mistake settled heavier in his chest. Rex was losing his usual sharpness, too. The dog would often sit by the door, whining softly, as if expecting her to walk through it at any moment. He missed her just as much as Patrick did. He missed the way she would scratch behind his ears, the way she whispered sweet words to him when she thought Patrick wasn’t listening. She had given Rex so much attention, and now, like Patrick, he was lost without her.

Patrick knelt down one evening, rubbing the back of Rex’s neck as the dog let out a soft whine. “I know, buddy. I miss her too.”

The days blurred together as Patrick kept searching, refusing to give up. He couldn’t shake the memories—the way her eyes lit up when she smiled, the way she’d tuck her hair behind her ear when she was nervous. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her, and every time he opened them, the harsh reality hit him that she wasn’t there.

His guilt deepened with every passing day. He hadn’t just lost Angela. He had pushed her away. He hadn’t realized what she meant to him until it was too late, and now all he had were empty rooms and a heart full of regrets.

Patrick took Rex out again, revisiting the place they had gone for their first mission together. The shadows of the tall trees loomed overhead, and the wind rustled through the branches, eerily reminding him of that first encounter. He remembered how she had stood quietly, watching him with those piercing eyes that saw through him even then. She had been patient with him, always waiting, always offering her understanding without asking for anything in return.

But he had taken it all for granted.

As they moved through the woods, Rex barked at nothing in particular, his frustration clear. He, too, was missing the one person who seemed to understand him without words. Patrick sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked down at his loyal companion.

“I messed up, didn’t I?” Patrick muttered.

Rex let out a low growl, as if in agreement.

It had been over a week now, and Patrick still hadn’t found a single clue as to where Angela had gone. She had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the faint memory of her touch and the haunting echo of her note. He replayed their last conversation over and over in his mind, wondering if there was something he could have said to make her stay, something that could have changed the outcome.

But he knew the truth.

He had hurt her. He had made her believe she wasn’t enough, and now, she was gone. The realization crushed him, and for the first time in his life, Patrick didn’t know how to fix what was broken.

Rex nudged him gently, sensing his distress. Patrick knelt beside the dog, burying his face in Rex’s fur for comfort. “I need to find her, Rex. I need to make this right.”

The dog licked his hand, offering silent support.

Patrick stood up, determination hardening in his chest. He wasn’t going to stop. He wasn’t going to let her slip away like this, not when he finally realized what he had lost. Angela wasn’t just someone he needed to find because of his fading powers. She was more than that. She was the one who had always been there, the one who had given him more than he ever deserved.

He had to find her, not for his powers or for any mission—but because he couldn’t imagine his life without her anymore.

With renewed purpose, Patrick set off again, this time with a new resolve burning in his chest. He would find Angela, no matter how long it took, and he would tell her the truth: that she had always been enough for him—more than enough. He just hadn’t realized it until it was almost too late.