Joshua gripped Ste''s hand gently. "Star, I''ll go crazy. I''ll really, truly go crazy."


    Their eyes met for a long moment before Ste leaned in and, as if giving a goodnight kiss, gently kissed his forehead.


    "Go to sleep, Joshua."


    His body had truly reached its limit. Soothed by Ste''s presence, Joshua finally drifted off to sleep. He had wanted to take the sofa, but Ste had stopped him.


    In truth, Ste wasn''t tired at all; she felt perfectly alert. She didn''t sleep but instead sat in a chair, quietly reading a book.


    Joshua still didn''t sleep for long. When he woke up and saw Ste was still there, he finally epted that he wasn''t dreaming. Ste was really back.


    After a journey of eighteen hours, Ste was finally back in Solmaris.


    Arge group was waiting at the airport. Neville, Haynes, Antoney, and Foreman were all there.


    Now that Ste and Joshua were together, everyone else managed to restrain their emotions, despite their worry for her. The only exception was Foreman, who could barely conceal his agitation.


    He took a few steps forward, his breathing quickening. "Star, have you... have you been okay?"


    Ste had already learned from Abby that Foreman had contributed a great deal to the search, barely sleeping at all. People have their biases, and although Foreman had done things that were infuriating, he had never hurt Ste. Because of that, Abby''s anger toward him had subsided.


    Ste nodded gently, her tone polite. "I''m fine. Thank you for your help this time."


    "Star, you don''t have to be so formal," Foreman said quickly. "We''ve known each other for years. It was only right for me to help."


    Ste didn''t say anything more, simply turning to thank Neville and Haynes as well. Anthony was like a brother to her, so she skipped the formalities and gave him a knowing nod.


    They all drove back together. In the car, Abby whispered to Ste, "I arranged for Haynes, Foreman, and Antoney to stay at one of your properties. Since everyone was looking for you, I figured it would be more convenient for them to live together and exchange information Neville has his own ce, but he''s beening over every day. I didn''t take them to your house with Joshua. That''s a space for the two of you."


    Ste smiled. "That was very thoughtful of you, Abby."


    "So, where are we heading now?" Abby asked.


    Having just returned, Ste had a lot to deal with and needed plenty of rest, so returning to the Williams family was out of the question for now. With Haynes and the others still around, she didn''t feel like bringing them to the house she shared with Joshua Let''s go back to the ce you arranged," she decided.


    She nced at Joshua, who was in the passenger seat on a call, and whispered, "Is Joshua staying there too?"


    Abby shook her head. "I saved a room for him, but he never stayed there once. I was the one who ryed all the messages to him."


    ??


    Abby understood his feelings. It was bad enough that Ste was missing. Having to face her ex-husband and a suitor who would even betray his friend every day might have been thest straw.


    About forty minutester, the car pulled up to Ste''s vi.


    Everyone was curious about what Ste had been through, but they had learned


    from Abby that Leonard had kidnapped her because he was in love with her.