Chapter 445 She Walks Away, Bright as Day

• Mr. Casper didn’t want Rhea Wood wandering all over the place. But she rarely asked to buy anything. The one time she mentioned clothes, he couldn’t bring himself to say no. And they’d made up. The baby was fine now. They should go back to how they were. Rhea pretended not to notice his hesitation. Her big eyes locked on him. “Casper, what’s wrong? Any problem? I’m pregnant—my belly’s getting bigger. Some clothes just don’t fit.” Mr. Casper said softly, “No problem. Where do you want to go?” He agreed, and Rhea knew he would. Aside from a few things he insisted on, he said yes to most of what she wanted. Mirage had already sent tons of maternity clothes, but Rhea said they didn’t fit and wanted new ones. Of course Mr. Casper wouldn’t make her settle. Rhea lit up. “Let’s head to the pedestrian street. It’s lively there. Jinyu said the clothes look great.” Mr. Casper indulged her. “Okay.” Sean Wilson drove, and they went to the pedestrian street. It’s called pedestrian for a reason—only walking, no cars allowed. They parked at the entrance. Mr. Casper got out with Rhea. She slung on her cute little backpack. He frowned. “Why carry stuff? Just leave it in the car.” Rhea shook her head, dead serious. “This backpack goes with the outfit. The bag makes the whole look work. Casper, now that my belly’s big… am I ugly?” Rhea usually didn’t care about pretty or ugly, and she’d never ask those typical questions—if I get old, what then? If I get ugly, will you hate me? Hearing her now, Mr. Casper spoke right away. “No. You’re gorgeous, always.” Fine. If she wanted the bag, she could carry it. It wasn’t heavy anyway. Rhea’s heart tightened. She felt a pang. She was lying so easily now, playing him without even blinking. She pulled herself out of that gloomy mood fast. She wasn’t trying to fool him on purpose—she just wanted things to be better for both of them. They headed into the pedestrian street. Sean Wilson thought about Grandpa’s reminder—keep an extra eye on Mr. Casper—so he followed instead of waiting in the car. The place was packed, which Mr. Casper hated. But Rhea was happy, so he kept quiet. She tried on clothes, thrilled. “Casper, is this one pretty?” “Pretty.” “How about this?” “Also pretty.” “Casper, don’t be so wishy-washy. Which one is actually good?” “Buy them all.” Rhea sighed and picked one herself. She browsed carefully, and after buying two outfits, she drifted toward the snack stalls. “Casper, I want roasted chestnuts.” “Casper, get me a candied hawthorn skewer.” “Casper, I want milk tea!” Mr. Casper stood in the middle of the street with milk tea in hand—but Rhea was gone. He figured she’d gone into a shop nearby to get something and waited with the milk tea. He waited. No sign of her. He pulled out his phone and called her. “Hello, the number you dialed has been powered off…” His face went cold in a heartbeat. He yanked Sean Wilson off the curb, voice like a blade. “Where’s Rhea?” Chestnuts scattered all over the ground from Sean’s hands. He blinked, slow and honest. “Huh? Wasn’t Mrs. Frost with you getting milk tea? Why’d you come back alone?” There were tons of people at the milk tea stand deeper in the street. She’d said she didn’t want to squeeze through the crowd and sent Mr. Casper to buy it alone. His mind raced. Maybe she’d followed behind and got hurt in the crowd and sat down somewhere? Or did something happen? He’d been through too many dark messes. When someone vanished, his first thought was kidnapping. Someone trying to use Rhea against him. The milk tea slipped from his hand. The cup burst. Tea splashed everywhere. “Find her!” Sean Wilson was still confused, then he snapped to it—Mrs. Frost was missing—and dropped everything to search. By then, Rhea had already left the pedestrian street and was in a taxi heading for the train station. She watched the view roll by, candied hawthorn in hand. She bit down. The sour hit hard—her heart ached with it. Her eyes burned red. The station was forty minutes away. Rhea turned off her phone and zoned out, clutching the candy. Twenty minutes slid by. She figured Mr. Casper must be tearing the city apart looking for her. He probably thought she was in trouble. He’d be freaking out. Traffic slowed up ahead. Rhea saw they were checking cars. No idea what they were looking for—just asking people to roll down windows so they could look inside. The taxi rolled up with the flow, stopped, and lowered the window for inspection. Rhea understood. Mr. Casper was looking for her and thought she’d been taken. She’d put on a jacket that hid her baby bump. Her hair was short now. She held the candy stick, nibbling like some simple high school kid—nothing about her screamed “danger.” Five minutes after she left, she’d cut her hair with a single snip. Long hair wasn’t practical when pregnant. Her waist-length hair was chopped in one go; neat, ear-length hair tucked behind her ears, her whole face in the open. If she used to be gentle and pure, now she was all sunshine and youth. They passed the checkpoint without trouble and kept going. Thirty minutes later, they were close to the station. Rhea pictured Mr. Casper losing it by now, not finding her this long. Forty minutes later, they arrived. Right then, the driver’s radio played a missing-person announcement. It was about her, of course. Rhea looked up at the blue sky and white clouds and suddenly smiled bright as a spark. Short hair suited her. One smile—it lit her up, clean and sharp. She acted like she hadn’t heard a thing. She slung her little backpack and walked into the train station with a spring in her step. The bag held just a few things: the baby’s checkup records, a household registration booklet, an ID card, a bank card, and some cash. She didn’t go to the airport. She didn’t take a bullet train. She bought a slow-train ticket. An old green car—no one uses those as real transportation anymore. The only reason this route still exists is for people to sightsee and feel the old days. No one would guess Rhea would leave on that green train. Mr. Casper wouldn’t either.