Chapter 3 Disappearance

"You naughty girl." Nick smiled helplessly, but his eyes were full of affection.

The little bird was finally safe in its nest. But Summer suddenly lost her footing. "Ahhh! Nick!" She screamed as she fell head first.

Nick widened his arms and rushed to catch her in his arms. As he caught her, he fell backwards on the ground.

He felt pain his right arm as he had a broken bone. A falling branched pierced through his earlobe and blood began to gush out of the wound. "I'm sorry, Nick..." She cried in his arms. It was painful for her to see him injured.

"Silly girl." His face was pale. "I am glad you are fine. At least I won't have to get my ear pierced in the future. You will have to buy me an ear stud."

Tears blurred her eyes. The ear stud she had bought for him was shining in front of her. She reached out her hand and gently touched his earlobe. She called out the name in the bottom of her heart: Nick.

She felt someone grasp her wrist. Feeling the painful grip, she woke up. The ear stud she saw in her dream was still the same, but the person who wore it no longer loved her.

He narrowed his eyes and smelled her breath, catching the strong stench of alcohol. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you drinking to celebrate that you finally got what you wanted?"

Trying to bear the pain, she cynically laughed. "Yes. Would you like a glass of wine? To celebrate my failed marriage escape?"

He pinched her chin all of a sudden. She looked up into his angry eyes. Nick gritted his teeth and spat, "Don't be so sentimental! You came up with this trick because you knew that with the power of my family, even if you escape to the ends of the earth, we can still find you. You were only play hard to get. Do you think I will be fooled by you?"

Tears welled up in her eyes. She smiled and said, "It turns out that I'm so intelligent. I didn't know it until now. I'm flattered. At that time, I was just worried that I might fall and die. That would have made the stock prices of your hotel drop by the daily limit."

He glanced around, but stopped when he saw the paintings that were scattered all over the floor.

"Mr. An..." Someone rushed to the door. "Something bad has happened. Rain is missing!"

Nick stood up immediately. "What? Go and find her!" He pulled his wife up from the floor. He grabbed her by the neck and roared, "What did you say to my daughter?" He gritted his teeth and spat, "Do you think that your child will be my only child after you drive Rain away? Do you think that I will love you and your child? Summer, dream on!"

She felt his hand loosen, but she could barely see any trace of emotions on his face. At that moment, she really hoped that he would strangle her to death. That way, she wouldn't have to face the bitter reality.

When he awkwardly loosened his grip, he said, "When I find Rain, I'll settle accounts with you!"

Her body feebly drooped at the edge of the table, but she gritted her teeth and stood up. "I am coming with you! I might know where she went."

"Stop pretending to be kind." He already ran out of the room.

Stubbornly, she stumbled and closely followed him. She awkwardly lifted the hems of the wedding dress, and placed her swollen feet in the exquisite high-heeled wedding shoes. Every step she took was painful. She gritted her teeth and took off her shoes. Instead of waiting for her, Nick strode into the pouring rain.

Her heart ached, but not for herself. Rain was only five years old and couldn't speak at all. The weather was terrible. She couldn't imagine what would happen to her. She saw Nick get into the car and quickly tried to catch up with him. Along the way, her wedding dress caused her to trip and fall on the ground.

The gorgeous white wedding gown was soaked by the rain. Although she was dressed like an elegant swan, she was still the ugly duckling. When she rolled up the hemlines of her dress, her knees and palms were in burning in pain.

The windshield wipers of Nick's car clacked back and forth. She struggled to get up and slowly tried to approach his car. He silently stared at her in the rearview mirror. He used to love her dearly and now, she was even the mother of his child, but...

He gritted his teeth, kicked open the door, and pulled her into the back seat. "That's enough. If you want to waste my time, I'm sorry. You will be disappointed! Now tell me where you think she might go!"

Summer's teeth chattered from being out in the cold. She had no strength left to argue with him anymore. "Kindergarten. She must have gone to the drawing studio in the kindergarten. Trust me..."

He narrowed his eyes at her and bellowed, "You better not lie to me!" He turned around and stepped on the gas. He threw his black suit jacket at her, hitting her in the face.

She held the jacket, which was still warm. "Put it on!" he said coldly. "There are many ways to torture you. However, I don't want you to freeze to death in my car!"

The heat in the vehicle slowly warmed the air. Summer tightly held the jacket against her chest, trembling. The familiar fragrance flowed into her nose, and her tears slowly dropped on the jacket. "Rain, please stay safe..." she whimpered and prayed.

"Yes, you'd better pray. Otherwise..." The man in front of her gripped the steering wheel so hard that his hands began to turn pale. Otherwise, how could he face Rain's mother, the woman he loved so much?

When the car stopped at the gate of the kindergarten, it was dark inside. "How could Rain be in here alone?" Nick asked.

"It's possible." Summer got out of the car. "She knows how to take the free bus. She knows the way coming here. Last time she ran away, she ended up coming here as well. She loves drawing very much. I'm sure she will definitely be here." It seemed more like she was persuading herself, rather than Nick.

The deaf security guard had already fallen asleep. Summer rolled up the hemlines of her dress and began to climb the door railing. Rain was thin, so she could easily get through the railing. However, Summer was not as thin and couldn't get through it.

Suddenly, she felt her strapless wedding dress being lifted from behind. She couldn't help but scream. When she turned around, her eyes met his. He quickly jumped over the railing, with her in his hand. She pitifully stumbled forward and covered her breast with one hand. She was afraid that the gown would drop on the spot.

"Rain, Rain..." Summer helplessly called out. "I'm Miss Lin. It's me. Can you please answer me? I'll draw with you. I'll..."

She suddenly heard something being knocked over from the studio. She quickly ran towards the direction where the sound came from. "She must be in there! Rain, Rain!"