The next morning, super early, Dean woke up with a groan. "Ugh," he thought, looking over to see Laura wasn't beside him. He bit his lip and slapped his cheeks to wake up. He got out of bed and got ready for work.
After getting ready, he walked to Laila's room and opened the door. He stared at the empty bed, covered in still, sad-looking dolls. Dean quietly closed the door and slowly walked out the front door.
When he got to the office, Dean's head felt heavy and his mind was blank. He ignored the employees saying "good morning" and kept walking toward his office. As soon as he walked in, he saw a handsome guy in a suit sitting casually at his desk. The guy looked over at Dean, who was standing at the doorway, after hearing the door open.
"Morning, Dean. Why do you look so grumpy?" the guy asked casually.
"What do you need, Alex? It's early for you to be here," Dean replied, walking around his desk and sitting down.
Dean looked at the guy. This was Alex Morgan, two years younger than Dean. He was the vice director, and the son of the company owner, competing with Dean for the director position. But even though he had a high title, he mostly just wandered around the office and flirted with the female employees.
He always came in late, which is why Dean was confused; it was really unusual for him to be there so early, even earlier than Dean, and waiting in his office.
"So, Dean, I need you to sign this," Alex said, handing Dean a paper.
Dean took the paper and read it. It was an invoice to get funds from accounting to pay for project expenses that had already been paid. Dean read the details, but he was shocked by the amount.
"Huh? That's huge! Does this project really need this much money? Did you check it out, Alex?" Dean asked.
"Of course, I did. I gave you the breakdown, right? That's why I'm here, to get your signature so the money can be released, because there's a lot that still needs to be paid," Alex said.
"But a lot of these amounts look inflated," Dean said, pointing to some items on the list.
"Yeah, I was confused at first too, but I checked with the team on site and spoke to the person in charge. The problem is a sudden price increase from the overseas factory. We already imported it, and they sent a bill that's almost double the original price," Alex explained.
"Ugh, really? Fine," Dean said, believing him, especially since he was already a mess because Laura and Laila had left him.
After Dean signed it, Alex immediately looked happy and stood up. He turned around and walked toward the door.
"Thanks, Dean. My work's done now. Say hi to your wife and kid," Alex said, opening the door.
"Yeah, no problem," Dean mumbled, still feeling a bit out of it and like Alex was subtly making fun of him.
He looked out the window and saw Alex stop at Silvia's desk, leaning close to her ear. Silvia then laughed softly and whispered something back to Alex.
"Huh, they're close, I guess," Dean thought.
Suddenly, Dean remembered something. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. He took out a crumpled letter from inside, opened it, and his eyes went straight to the debt amount at the bottom.
"Hmm... is that the same amount as the project funds just now? Ah, maybe it's just my imagination," Dean thought, his mind still blank and his heart still a mess.
He stood up and walked to the door, opening it. Alex, who was still at Silvia's desk, quickly left, charming Silvia, who also seemed happy with Alex's flirting. Dean walked over to Silvia and gave her the letter.
"Please give this back to the police station," Dean said.
"Okay, sir," Silvia replied, taking the letter.
"Are you close with Alex, Silvia?" Dean asked.
"Oh, not really, sir. Sometimes he just likes to chat with me," Silvia answered.
"Oh, I see. Well, the meeting today is canceled. I want to go home early today; I don't feel well," Dean said.
"Oh, okay, sir. I hope you feel better soon," Silvia said.
"Yeah, thanks, Silvia," Dean replied.
After that, he went back into his office and sat down. He spun his chair around and pulled his smartphone out of his pocket. He saw "My Wife Laura" on the screen and pressed the button. "The number you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please try again later."
Dean's fingers danced across his smartphone screen, typing a message to his wife. He apologized over and over, and asked her to at least send a picture of their daughter. After he was done typing and got no reply, he threw his smartphone onto the desk with a clatter. His fingers immediately rubbed his forehead, then went down to his eyes, because he felt so tired.
*****
Two days later, Dean took some time off and went to his in-laws' house to pick up his wife and daughter, and also to apologize to his in-laws for causing them trouble. When he arrived and got out of the car, Dean saw a big, fancy car parked in his in-laws' driveway.
"Whose car is that?" Dean wondered.
But just as his hand was about to touch the gate of his in-laws' house, someone yelled "Hey!" from inside. Dean turned and saw a man who looked about 36 or 37 years old, with a potbelly, a mustache, and several blue tattoos on his arms, standing at the door. This was Laura's older brother, who sometimes borrowed money from Dean and had a bad attitude.
"Mark?" Dean asked.
"What do you want here, Dean?" Mark yelled.
"I want to pick up Laura and apologize to her. Can I come in, brother?" Dean asked politely.
"Laura and your kid Laila aren't here. They're at the villa with my mom and dad. You should just go home, Laura doesn't want to see you," Mark replied.
"Villa? Whose is it, brother?" Dean asked.
"It's mine, obviously," Mark said sharply.
"Around when will they come home, brother?" Dean asked.
"Oh, I don't know, don't ask me. Looks like Laura plans to stay at the villa. Just go," Mark said gruffly.
"Okay, brother. Whose car is this, though?" Dean asked, pointing to the fancy car in the driveway.
"It's my car! Why? Do you think I can't buy a car like that, huh? Just because you're a director, don't look down on me, the unemployed guy! I got lucky yesterday; I can spend my money on whatever I want," Mark said angrily.
"Sorry, brother, I was just asking. I'll get going now," Dean said, starting to feel annoyed.
"Yeah, go on, and don't come back."
With a bang, Mark went inside, slamming the door hard. Dean, furious, clenched his fists, but he couldn't do anything, because despite his behavior, Mark was still his brother-in-law. With heavy steps, he walked back to his car and drove away from Laura's parents' house.
"Never heard of an unemployed person buying a luxury car like that. Lucky break? More like robbery. He can't even pay his water bill and usually asks me for money. I'm really curious whose car that is," Dean thought to himself.
Even with his curiosity, Dean tried to think positively. Maybe it was true that Mark had a sudden stroke of luck and could buy a car like that. Dean sighed. His heart really ached. He really wanted to see his daughter, Laila. That night, when he got near his house, his heart still hoped someone would be there, but when he arrived, his house was completely dark. Dean rested his forehead on the steering wheel.
"When are you coming home, Laila, my baby," Dean whispered.