After scanning the room, I realized Emma wasn't there.
"Is she here? Emma went downstairs about ten minutes ago. She said she'd be right back, but she hasn't returned yet..." Olivia didn't finish her sentence before a thought struck her.
Emma said she was going downstairs, didn't she?
I'd been so caught up chatting with Mia that I hadn't paid attention to the time. It had been a while now. Why hadn't she come back up?
"Went out? What does she need to go out for at this hour?" Liam felt a strange sense of dread creeping into his chest. His fists clenched involuntarily.
"To meet a friend... Don't worry, Liam. I'll call her." Olivia tried to sound reassuring, though her own voice wavered with unease.
She reached into her bag for her phone, ready to dial.
Mia's sharp eyes caught sight of Emma's phone on the dressing table from across the room. "Olivia, don't bother calling. Emma didn't take her phone with her."
Olivia and Liam both followed Mia's gaze. There it was, sitting right on the vanity.
Liam's brow furrowed deeply, a hint of anger creeping into his tone. The air around him seemed to thicken. "Who did she go to see?"
Olivia was startled by his intensity. She stammered out two words, "Elijah Clark."
She shot a helpless glance at Mia, who could only shake her head in response.
At that moment, only one thought echoed in Olivia's mind: Was Emma about to run out on her own wedding?
And the fire?
Wow, this plot was twisting faster than she could keep up.
If that was the case, it was even more dramatic than any soap opera.
Running away was one thing, but Emma wasn't marrying just any man. She was marrying the prince of a city.
Olivia stole another look at Liam's face. His eyes were bloodshot, sharp as blades, as if they could pierce right through her.
Could Liam be misunderstanding the situation?
Did he see Elijah as a rival?
Olivia blinked twice, not daring to step in front of Liam.
Actually... when she thought about it, Elijah really could be considered a rival.
After all these years, how could someone as sharp as Olivia not see that?
What could she do?
Panic seized Olivia in an instant.
Just as she was about to speak, a young saleswoman from the bridal shop came upstairs, grumbling to her colleagues. "What terrible luck. I almost couldn't get through the door just now. So many cars, so many people..."
"What happened? Traffic jam?" one of them asked with concern.
"No, I heard there was an accident. There's such a crowd I couldn't even squeeze through..."
Hearing this conversation.
The three of them froze, their bodies tensing as they exchanged blank looks.
Liam stood stunned, his cold eyes suddenly widening. A wave of panic surged from the depths of his heart. Could it be...
No. She would be fine.
At that moment, only that thought occupied his mind—not Emma herself.
By the time Olivia and Mia came to their senses, Liam's figure had already disappeared from sight.
Liam sprinted all the way to the intersection in front of the bridal shop. He fought back every anxious thought, forcing himself to stay calm as he pushed through the crowd toward the center of the accident.
In that moment, fear gripped him.
What if...
He couldn't even bear to imagine that cruel scene.
But the closer he got, the more nervous he became, overhearing fragments of conversation.
"I heard it was a young girl... very pretty..."
"Yeah, the driver who hit her ran off. What can anyone do?"
"She didn't have her phone or bag. How can they contact her family?"
"..."
The onlookers buzzed with speculation. Liam only caught the words "didn't have her phone or bag..." and felt his mind go blank.
He couldn't hold back any longer. He shoved through the crowd in front of him, pushing with all his strength to reach the front.
And then, a figure he knew better than anyone came into view.
The sight before him made Liam's heart ache as if it were bleeding. He had never felt this way before—so desperate, so utterly devastated.
She was unconscious, lying in a pool of blood. Blood stained her forehead and her knees.
Many people stood nearby. Though someone had called for an ambulance, it hadn't arrived yet.
They couldn't wait any longer. If they did, something terrible would happen.
Liam didn't even have time to think. He tore off his jacket and gently draped it over Emma's upper body.
By then, Olivia and Mia had also rushed to the scene.
The sight in front of them was terrifying. "What happened to Emma? What happened..." Olivia's voice broke as tears streamed down her face.
She looked up and saw Liam, silent, his sharp eyes flashing with a fierce light, his strong arms trembling slightly.
"Move aside!" Liam roared, his voice startling everyone around him. The crowd instinctively parted to make way for him.
Liam cradled Emma in his arms and ran toward his car.
From a distance, Ethan saw Liam's figure in the rearview mirror.
Then he noticed something was wrong with the expression on Liam's face. Taking a closer look, he could clearly see the injured woman—wasn't that Emma?
Ethan got out of the car and opened the door. He looked at Liam, who was in a panic. Before he could speak, he heard Liam's low voice, urgent and strained. "To the hospital. As fast as you can."
Ethan closed the car door and glanced back at Olivia and Mia, who had been left behind by Liam. Without hesitation, he got in and started the engine.
The white Maybach disappeared down the road.
Along the way, Ethan pressed the accelerator to the floor. The roar of the engine cut through the peaceful city.
Liam kept looking down at the woman in his arms. Every cell in his body trembled uncontrollably. Each heartbeat felt like it was suffocating him.
He gently pressed his hand over the wound on Emma's forehead, trying to stop the bleeding.
But it didn't seem to help at all.
His heart remained tense, never relaxing for a moment. Emma was still unconscious, her brows tightly furrowed.
Liam held her cold left hand tightly in his right. At that moment, he wanted to say so much. He wanted to call her name.
But when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.
All he could do was bring her cold fingers to his lips and gently kiss the joints of her hand.
You have to be okay!