A sense of panic engulfed everyone upon reading Kaye's distressing message. Despite numerous attempts, her phone remained stubbornly off.
"Track the taxi she took! Find her immediately!" Mikhail's command echoed urgently as his men dashed out of his office in a desperate search.
"Damn it!" Mikhail cursed, his own anxiety bubbling to the surface. There had to be a reason for Kaye's sudden disappearance; they couldn't afford to lose her again.
"W-What's happening? S-She visited earlier, and she looked so happy. H-How did this happen?" Troy's voice trembled with fear and confusion.
"Is this the reason she cooked for us and visited us? To bid her final goodbye? No! I won't accept this!" Haru's frustration resonated, each word carrying the weight of disbelief.
"Kaye... Why..." Tristan's soft whisper conveyed the collective anguish filling the room.
Mikhail's fists clenched; he refused to let history repeat itself. He grabbed his car keys with determination; he would find her himself. The rest comprehended his action and joined the search to find her, united in their resolve.
But as weeks dragged on, Kaye remained missing, and the sense of desperation intensified.
"Kaye... Where are you?!" Raon's anguished cry reverberated in their bar counter, a shattered glass of alcohol on the floor symbolizing the depth of his despair.
Seated on the floor, he wept, devastated by Kaye's inexplicable disappearance. Her broken phone had been discovered on the road. The taxi driver's testimony revealed that Kaye had requested to be dropped off at the bridge, but he had no further information about what happened to her afterward. The absence of CCTV footage at that location left them in the dark about what transpired next.
An unsettling notion brushed across Raon's mind, a thought he hesitated to entertain. He desperately hoped that Kaye hadn't taken the drastic step his mind dared to consider.
"No, Kaye... You wouldn't, right?" He questioned while gazing at her photograph.
On the actual day before she went missing, Kaye also messaged Tin and Rubie. The moment they learned of Kaye's disappearance, tears streamed down their faces, and throughout the night, they fervently prayed for her safe return. Their company also organized a collective prayer, a somber plea for Kaye's well-being. Kaye's parents, informed of their daughter's disappearance, were shattered. The idea that their beloved daughter had gone missing was inconceivable. The situation became even more heart-wrenching when they discovered Kaye's letter in her room.
After reading it, both her mom and dad were overcome with sorrow, shedding copious tears, and the emotional toll was so overwhelming that they had to be rushed to the hospital.
"Kaye... Why did it come to this? What was your reason? You should have shared your troubles with us." Raon's tears continued to flow as he remained at the bar counter, lost in a sea of despair.
In their respective rooms, the others, drowning in alcohol and sorrow, clung to the hope of Kaye's return.
The next day, Tin approached Mikhail to confess, the memory of Kaye's situation prompting her to believe it might be the reason for her disappearance. Unaware of Kaye's multiple husbands, Tin, who only knew Mikhail, sought contact with him through Kurtis, Kaye's previous suitor. They convened in a nearby cafe.
With a tense atmosphere, Tin revealed the pregnancy result to them. Mikhail's shock resonated as he angrily punched the table, and Kurtis stared at the report with disbelief.
So, this was the cause of Kaye's disappearance? Because she's pregnant?
"I believe the father was Timothy," Tin confessed.
Mikhail struggled to contain his anger; Timothy, once again, was at the center of Kaye's troubles. Not only did he coerce her into marriage, but he also impregnated her! The mere thought of that man fueled an overwhelming rage within him. He was seething with anger, a boiling turmoil of emotions. He strongly wanted to murder that man.
When they returned home, they shared their findings with the others. As expected, the revelation left everyone in a state of shock.
"She should have told us... We would have understood. It's not her fault," Tristan mourned.
Haru, fueled by frustration, tore the report. "I want to see that asshole!"
They decided to confront Timothy, heading to the rehab center where he was undergoing rehabilitation, with the exception of Mikhail; if he sees him, he might kill him.
"What do you mean, Kaye disappeared?" Timothy's expression shifted to worry.
In a fit of anger, Haru landed a punch on his face. "Because of you, Kaye left again! I will never forgive you! Go die!" Haru's blows were relentless until Tristan and Kurtis intervened.
Haru seethed with anger, struggling to break free from Tristan and Kurtis. He was adamant about not ceasing his assault on Timothy until his face became unrecognizable.
"You should be the one who went missing, not her! And we wouldn't care even if you die!" Haru's cry echoed with bitterness. "But why did it have to be her?"
Timothy attempted to rise from the ground, bearing the physical toll of Haru's punches, yet his primary concern lay with what had transpired with Kaye. Seeing how frustrated they are, it was evident that something terrible had occurred to her, and he was desperate to know the details.
"T-Tell me... What happened?" Timothy pleaded for an explanation, confusion etched on his face.
They refrained from informing him that she's pregnant with his child. He had no right to know, and he would never find out.
"Tsk. He doesn't know where she is. Why do we have to waste our time here?" Kurtis dismissed Timothy's ignorance as they started to walk away.
"W-Wait! Please tell me what happened to her!" Timothy attempted to chase them, but the staff stopped him, leaving him in the dark about Kaye's whereabouts.
They headed to the bridge where Kaye was last seen, finding Mikhail and Raon standing there, their eyes filled with sadness as they watched the sunset.
"Everything will be alright, won't it? She'll be found, right?" Troy asked, tears streaming down his face.
Shin clenched his fists, haunted by the regret that he should have stopped Kaye from leaving that time. Distracted by the kiss, he let her go, and this burden weighed heavily on him.
As darkness enveloped the scene, they all returned home. The mansion, once vibrant, now echoed with sadness; no one dared to summon the courage to smile or laugh. The prevailing emotions were sadness, depression, and devastation.
After three long months, Mikhail received a call from Kira, prompting a swift return to the bridge. As they arrived, a chaotic scene unfolded with police and Fuentebella members in disarray.
"What's going on?" Mikhail urgently inquired of Kira.
"Sir, I got a report, and they said they found a body floating under the bridge," Kira reported, tension evident in his voice.
Their hearts raced, a dreadful suspicion lingering in the air. Mikhail rushed to the covered corpse, unveiling a face unrecognizable due to decomposition, yet the clothes were unmistakably Kaye's.
Mikhail collapsed to the ground in profound shock. "N-No... No!"
It couldn't be true. She couldn't be her.
Mikhail struggled to find words, Raon and the others standing in stunned silence as tears streamed down their faces. A physical examination confirmed the heartbreaking truth—the lifeless body was indeed Kaye's.
Her parents, shattered, burst into tears, unable to accept the harsh reality of Kaye's death. The news devastated her husbands, their worlds crumbling under the weight of the tragic revelation. The incomprehensible grief enveloped them all.
Reports indicated that she had jumped from the bridge, taking her own life.
Why? Why did Kaye have to take her own life?
The bridge, once a symbol of connection, now stood as a haunting reminder of the unbearable pain that led to this tragic end.
.
.
....
At the funeral, everyone appeared dazed with swollen eyes. None of her husbands or friends dared to leave Kaye's side. Her parents, unaware of her marriages, believed them to be mere friends. The exception was Mikhail, who had confessed to being her lover, having been consumed with the duty of searching for her and remaining by her side until the funeral.
Following Kaye's burial, Mikhail lingered at her grave for hours, tears flowing freely. The pain of Kaye's death in his world was excruciating; it left him deeply depressed, almost forgetting his responsibilities as an emperor. In his desperation, he even followed her into her world, only to witness Kaye's demise once again.
"Why, Kaye? Why do you keep tormenting me? What have I done wrong to suffer like this? You knew how much I loved you, right? We were supposed to build our own family in this world, weren't we? So why did you have to leave us again?" The rain poured down, but Mikhail remained unaffected, soaked and lost in grief.
Raon sighed and stepped out of the car, holding an umbrella.
"If you stay like this, Kaye won't be happy," he gently said to Mikhail, who remained unresponsive.
"Let's go home," Raon urged.
But Mikhail remained unresponsive. Raon's expression grew more serious.
"So, will you really stay like this?" Raon inquired.
Mikhail stood up abruptly, wordlessly launching a punch at Raon. "You speak as if nothing tragic happened!"
The men witnessed them fighting and hurriedly stepped out of their cars to intervene.
Raon gritted his teeth, his frustration and sorrow etched on his face. "Do you think my heart isn't shattered? It has been just as painful for me too! Every night, the torment of not being able to save my wife engulfs me! You're not the only one suffering here; all of us are in pain!"
Raon's voice echoed as he lay on the ground, Mikhail atop him, gripping his collar tightly.
"If you choose to dwell in this darkness, neglecting yourself, then go ahead! Forget about your own well-being! But don't forget that Kaye will never be happy about this, even in heaven!" Raon pushed him away, rising from the ground with a heavy heart.
Tristan stepped forward to help Mikhail stand properly. "Let's go home," he muttered.
Forced to leave, they returned home, faces heavy with sorrow.
Every day, Mikhail visited Kaye's grave, bringing her favorite red roses. He couldn't accept that she was gone. Every night, the weight of guilt haunted him as he blamed himself for not noticing Kaye's actions that fateful day. The pain of loss echoed in the silent moments, capturing the poignant essence of his grief.