Page 12 of He Doesn't Deserve You

“Could you please connect me with room 4101?”

“Certainly, one moment, please,” the woman said.

A moment later, the phone in room 4101 began to ring. After six rings, the woman from the desk came back on the line. “I’m sorry, sir. It seems there is no one in the room. Would you like to leave a message?”

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, what is the message?”

“Please call Gabriel. It’s important.”

“Sir, are you sure you have the right room number? According to my computer, room 4101 is unoccupied.”

“Yes, that’s the correct room number. Can you tell me when they checked out?”

“Saturday.”

“Okay, thank you.”

When Gabriel hung up, he immediately texted Sydney, letting her know that the hotel had informed him that Emily had checked out on Saturday. Desperation mounting, he redialed Emily’s number and left a frantic voicemail.

“Em, it’s me,” Gabriel began, “I know you’re mad at me. We don’t have to talk about things right now. I’ll wait until you’re ready.” He paused, taking a shaky breath. “Please, just call or text to let me know you’re okay. I’m really worried about you.”

His mind raced for anything that might convince her. “Ava misses you. She keeps asking when you’re coming home, and I don’t know what to tell her.” His voice cracked with emotion. “I love you—please come home. Okay, that’s it. Bye.”

After accepting that Emily wasn’t coming home, Gabriel called Agnes to plead for her help. Agnes answered right away, surprised that Mr. Anderson was calling so late.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Agnes. I’m sorry for calling so late. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, it’s fine. Is everything okay, Mr. Anderson?” she asked, her curiosity piqued because Gabriel rarely called her.

Gabriel cleared his throat, his voice tinged with unease. “I was wondering if you could come over earlier tomorrow morning. Mrs. Anderson isn’t home yet. I could use some help getting the kids off to school. Would that be possible?”

“I thought she was coming home tonight?”

“Yeah, something’s come up. Can you help?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Anderson. I wish I could, but I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow morning.”

“Darn,” Gabriel said, his disappointment evident. “Thanks anyway. I’ll figure something out.”

7

At the stroke of midnight, Roman made his way through the living room toward the front door.

“Do you have the key?” Emily’s voice startled him, causing him to jump.

He spun around, surprised to see Emily sitting on the couch in the dark. “What are you doing up?” he asked.

“I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to see you off.”

“Yes, I have the key.”

“And you remember the security code?”

“Yes.”

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