Macie couldn’t help but feel a wave of exhaustion wash over her. The fact that she had been married to someone like Edward for two years was almostughable. If people knew, they’d probably mock her for it.


    Alice returned with the beers. Upon noticing the look on her friend’s face, she asked, “May, what’s wrong?


    <b>“</b>Nothing. I’m just annoyed by some idiot telemarketer,” Macie replied with a forced smile.


    She couldn’t believe that she’d even bothered to read through Edward’s messages. It was like poking a wound just to see if it still hurt. 1


    “I told you to let me yell at him. You’re too nice just to block him outright,” Alice said as she sat down.


    “I did block him, and I deleted him too. But reading those messages still pissed me off,” Macie admitted. <fn14a0> ??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? FιndNovel</fn14a0>


    They clinked their beer bottles, and Macie tossed her phone aside, determined not to pick it up again.


    While Macie calmly ignored the chaos, Edward was on the verge of losing his mind. He was infuriated by Macie’sck of response.


    “Fine, Macie! Do you think I’m just making empty threats? You think I’m someone you can mess with?” Edward ranted to himself.


    He immediately called Nathan and barked orders to track Macie down. Nathan listened to Edward’s furious tirade on the other end of the line, then hung up and muttered, “You brought this on yourself. Now your wife’s gone, and you’re panicking.” 1


    He opened his chat with Macie and sent her a message, only to be met with a ring red exmation mark.


    Nathan was at a loss for words. Her phone number was unreachable, and she’d deleted him from all her social media ounts. Nathan had a sinking feeling that Macie was serious this time.


    He sent a detailed message to Edward, asking for the exact time Macie had left so he could narrow down the search. He workedte into the night, but by 11:00 pm, he still had no leads.


    Back at home, Edward hadn’t changed his clothes, eaten dinner, or even bothered to fix his disheveled hair. He looked like aplete mess, slumped on the couch in a state of utter frustration.


    Just then, Sharon returned home. She had lied to Edward earlier, saying that she’d be backte due to rehearsals, and now she had to keep up the act.


    As soon as Sharon spotted Edward on the couch, she immediately approached him. She cooed, “Edward.”


    However, Edward didn’t respond. She sat beside him, reaching out to wrap her arm around his<b>, </b>only for him to yank it away.


    “Edward, I…” Sharon was taken aback, but when she saw the look on his face, her concern turned to shock.


    Edward’s eyes were hollow and unfocused, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. There was no life or spark in them.


    “Edward, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me. What happened?” Sharon asked worriedly.


    Finally, Edward seemed to snap out of his daze. When he realized who was sitting next to him, it was as if he’d found hisst lifeline. He grabbed her arm tightly, his voice desperate and demanding.


    “You’re friends with Macie. You must know where she went, right? Where is she renting? What’s her new phone number? Have you been in touch with her? And that senior of hers–do you know him? What’s his


    name?


    “I’ll make sure he spends the rest of his life rotting in prison!” Edward gritted his teeth in rage.


    Sharon was caught off guard by the barrage of questions. It dawned on her that Edward must have found out that Macie had left. But had he seen the divorce papers?


    “Edward, you’re hurting me,” Sharon whimpered, tears welling up.


    It was true. Edward’s grip was crushing as if he wanted to break her arm.


    Hearing her plea, Edward regained his senses and released her arm.