His Heart Beat for Her, So I Left Chapter 04

His Heart Beat for Her, So I Left Chapter 04

Jacob’s POV 

On Cecilia’s birthday, I went with her to watch a 

play, just as I had promised. But my mind was 

miles away the whole time. I kept pulling out my 

phone and opening my chat with Serena. 

The last messages were from the day she ran 

away. 

For ten years, Serena had messaged me every 

single day–sharing what she ate for every meal, 

or sending pictures of clouds in the sky. But this 

time, two whole days had passed. Not a word 

from her. 

“Jacob. Hello?” 

I finally snapped out of it and looked at Cecilia. 

“What’s up?” 

“The play is finished.” 

“Oh, right. C’mon, I’ll drive you home.” 

I stood up. Cecilia paused, the smile fading slightly from her face, but she still followed me 

quietly out of the theater. 

“Jacob, there’s no one home at my place…” She bit her lip, her cheeks flushing. 

I paid it no mind. I opened the passenger door, 

took out the gift I had prepared for her, and handed it over. 

“I’m having my mating ceremony next week. You should come.” 

“…Mating ceremony?” 

“Yeah.” 

“It’s the girl I brought to the reunion.” 

Cecilia was quiet for a long time. When she finally spoke, her voice sounded strained. “What about 

me?” 

“Being mated isn’t a life sentence.” I laughed. 

“Come on, let’s get you home.” 

In the end, I only dropped her off at the entrance of 

her building. Stepping inside would only stir up 

trouble between us. 

I dialed Serena’s number. 

“We’re sorry, you have reached a number that has 

been disconnected or is no longer in service.” 

No answer. I shrugged it off and called her mother. 

“Margaret, has Serena gone back to the old pack? 

Make sure she’s not late for the mating ceremony the day after tomorrow.” 

The line fell quiet for a beat. 

“…I’ll see to it.” 

“Thanks.” 

The Day of the Mating Ceremony 

I put on my ceremony suit and sat in the wedding 

car, leaning lazily against the window. The 

groomsmen lingered outside the hotel for a long 

time. I frowned and got out of the car. 

“Why aren’t you heading inside? I gave you the 

room number–806.” 

“Jacob…” One of them had a grim look on his face. 

“There’s no one in room 806. The bride isn’t here.” 

I let out a scoff. I just figured Serena was still 

pouting over our fight. 

“Hold on. I’ll give her mom a call.” 

The call connected. 

“Hello, Margret? Where do we need to pick up 

Serena?” 

But Serena’s mother asked me back, “Isn’t she with 

you? The bridal suite’s empty. I figured you’d 

already picked her up.” 

The smile froze on my face. My phone slipped 

from my hand and hit the ground, the screen 

shattering into pieces. 

I stared at the broken phone on the floor. For a few 

seconds, my mind drew a total blank. 

The groomsmen looked at each other. No one 

dared to say a word. 

“Jacob… should we try calling her one more time?” 

I bent down and picked up the phone. The screen 

was cracked like a spiderweb, but it still turned on. 

I swiped a few times. The touchscreen wasn’t 

working. I couldn’t get into my contacts. 

“Give me your phone.” I held out my hand, unable. 

to hide my frustration. 

The groomsman quickly handed over his phone. I stared blankly at the keypad. That was when I 

realized: after ten years with Serena, I had never 

memorized her phone number. Because she was 

always the one to contact me. 

I huffed in irritation and tossed the phone back. I 

leaned against the wedding car. My hands were 

trembling slightly. 

Why was I shaking? 

Where could Serena go? 

She had been with me for ten years. Her circle was small. The old pack, her parents‘ house, her 

friends‘ places, our own home. That was it. She’d 

never dare run off alone. 

I pulled out a pack of cigarettes from my pocket. 

and lit one. I let the nicotine calm the turmoil 

swirling inside me. 

Soon after, Serena’s parents rushed over. When they heard that their daughter had disappeared, her mother burst into tears. 

“I wish we hadn’t pushed her so hard! Serena… Serena, where have you gone?” 

I put out my cigarette. I borrowed her mother’s phone and called Serena. 

This time, it went straight to voicemail. There was 

only one short message in the text history. 

[Mom, I’m going away for a while. Don’t worry about me.] 

“Did you two have a falling–out?” Serena’s father 

asked anxiously. 

“No,” I said. “Just a little spat.” 

I scrolled through the contacts. 

“Then where could she be?” 

“She’s probably with a friend. I’ll check around.” 

I called every one of Serena’s friends. 

“Serena? Haven’t heard from her lately.” 

“She hasn’t stopped by. What’s going on?” 

“Wait a minute! Jacob, you’re Serena’s guy? And 

you two are tying the knot today? You kept this 

totally under wraps!” 

I didn’t have the energy to explain. I hung up and 

called the next person. 

I finished calling everyone. 

No one had seen her. 

“Cancel the ceremony for now.” 

I went home. I stood in the empty house, and an unfamiliar hollow ache settled in my chest. 

She had actually left. 

I walked into the master bedroom, sat down at the 

computer, and opened the social media platform 

she used the most. I remembered that Serena had 

a secret account. Maybe I could find some clues 

there.