chapter 1

Four months of desolate silence had crept by since Liam vanished from my life, leaving behind only shattered dreams and a hollow ache within my chest. It wasn't as if I had wronged him, broken the vows of our love, or shattered the trust we had so painstakingly built over the years. No, the cruel hand of fate had dealt us a different blow. Liam's inability to bear children, a fact that had never diminished my love for him, had become an unbearable weight for him to carry. The constant pressure from my family, their biting words and disappointed gazes, had taken its toll on his fragile heart.

I remembered the countless nights I had held him close, whispering words of reassurance into his ear, promising him that our love was enough, that the absence of children would never diminish the love we shared. But perhaps, in the end, those words had fallen on deaf ears. Maybe he had never truly believed me, never trusted that our love could overcome any obstacle.

The memories of Liam's beautiful, honey-colored eyes, often hidden behind a veil of his fiery red curls, haunted me. His shy, quiet nature, his aversion to conflict, and his innocent heart, all of these things I missed with a desperation that threatened to consume me whole.

My days had become a monotonous routine, a mere existence devoid of purpose or passion. I went through the motions, waking up, going to work, and returning home, all without any sense of direction or belonging. The only thing that drove me forward was the hope of finding Liam, of reuniting with the love of my life.

I had hired secret investigators to track him down, but every lead had ended in disappointment, every door closed, every window shuttered. The pain of losing him had become a palpable, living thing, a constant reminder of what I had lost.

Four years of love, laughter, and adventure had been reduced to nothing more than a distant memory, a bittersweet reminder of what could never be again. My love for Liam still burned bright, a flame that refused to be extinguished, but it was a love that now brought only pain, a reminder of all that I had lost. Liam, my love, I miss you, I hurt for you, and I long for the day when we might be reunited once more.

I gazed lovingly at the faded photograph on my office desk, the one I had taken of Liam on our first date. He was laughing, his face smeared with chocolate ice cream, his lips curled up in a carefree smile. I had captured the moment without him even realizing it, and it had become one of my most treasured possessions. Liam had always been self-conscious about the picture, claiming it was ugly and embarrassing, but to me, it was a snapshot of his adorable, playful side.

As I sat there, lost in thought, my office door swung open and my friend Damien strode in, a determined look on his face. "Mark, I want to take you out," he announced, his voice firm and unyielding. "And I'm not requesting, I'm telling you. We're going out tonight at 8 pm." I looked up at him, wanting to protest, but Damien wasn't one to be swayed once he had made up his mind. His eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint, and I knew I was in for a night out, whether I liked it or not.