People online had a lot to say about Tessa being the dance lead for five straight years.


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    As the head of the Dance Association, Grace was told by the higher–ups to dig into whether Tessa had pulled any shady moves during her time as dance lead.


    Now Grace was suddenly swamped with work.


    Meanwhile, Xylia’spany was thrown into chaos thanks to the flood of online criticism. She’d been busy putting out fires and trying to get things under control these past few days.


    The trip Xylia and Noelle had nned to Norhill had to be put on the back burner for now.


    After a few days, Xylia finally started to get a handle on things at work–the chaos was settling down, little by little.


    Xylia let out a long sigh of relief, thinking to herself, ‘Finally, I can catch my breath.‘


    “Joshua, I can’t take it anymore. I have to go out for a proper meal tonight!” Xylia said, her exhaustion showing through.


    Joshua was sitting on the sofa, holding Xylia’sptop and looking over some proposals for her.


    Hearing her, he turned toward Xylia, who was slumped in her office chair. There was a faint bluish tint under her eyes, and after just a few days, her face had grown noticeably thinner.


    Joshua felt a sharp pang in his chest, like something was tugging at his heart.


    He set aside what he was working on and said to Xylia, “What do you want to eat? I’ll make a reservation right


    now.”


    Xylia said she wanted to hit up the Datonese ce they’d gone to before.


    Joshua called up right away and booked a table.


    Normally, you had to reserve a spot at that restaurant a week ahead of time, but since it was owned by the Garcia Group, Joshua was the boss–he could waltz in whenever he felt like it.


    The moment Xylia thought about what they’d be having for dinner, her eyes started to sparkle.


    She immediately shot to her feet, grabbed Joshua’s hand, and pulled him toward the door.


    “We’re going now!” she called out, her excitement obvious.


    It was already ten PM, and everyone else in the office had already clocked out.


    After locking up, Xylia urged Joshua to start the car at once–she just couldn’t wait to head out.


    Good thing the Datonese restaurant stays opente–from 2 PM all the way until 2 AM.


    They showed up around eleven.


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    Xylia already knew exactly what she wanted to eat, so while they were on their way, she grabbed Joshua’s phone and texted their order straight to the manager. That way, their dinner would be waiting for them as soon as they walked in.


    Since they were eating sote, this was definitely ate–night treat.


    Joshua watched Xylia happily devouring her food, but he couldn’t help nagging her gently.


    “Don’t stuff yourself just because it’ste. Let’s take a walk afterwards to help you digest, and hey, tomorrow’s the weekend–you can sleep in as much as you want.”


    “Got it,” Xylia replied, still chewing.


    Joshua was fussing over her again.


    Xylia was acting like an overgrown kid–her mouth said “I know, I know,” but she didn’t slow down for a second, happily munching away.


    Joshua almost chimed in again, but stopped himself. He just quietly piled more food onto his own te, hoping Xylia wouldn’t start binge–eating out of protest.


    After dinner, Xylia felt perfectly satisfied–not too full, not still hungry, just right.


    She leaned back in her chair, content, gazing out the window at the tranquil garden outside.


    She felt her worries begin to fade, her heart gradually growing calm.


    All those troubles were swept away by time, and atst, the dust from the chaos settled for good.


    Her name had finally been cleared, and her studio was back on track, running smoothly.


    ‘Everything’s finally good again, Xylia thought, a sense of peace washing over her.


    Joshua caught the small smile on Xylia’s lips and the way she’d finally rxed. He couldn’t help but feel happy for her too.


    He knew this was it–Xylia had truly moved on from her past, finally embracing her new life.


    The next morning, Xylia was jolted awake by the sharp ring of her phone.


    Groggily, she fumbled for her phone on the nightstand, but before she could grab it, Joshua pulled her into his arms. The ringtone cut off, reced by Joshua’s gentle voice in her ear.


    “Just a spam call. Go back to sleep,” he said gently.


    Joshua gently rubbed her back, and Xylia was out like a light in no time.


    Once Xylia’s breathing had settled, peaceful and gentle against him, Joshua finally nced at her phone


    screen.


    <b>8:33 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>25 </b>


    After cutting off the call, he quickly set her phone to silent, making sure not to disturb her sleep.


    But that same number was still relentlessly calling, refusing to give up.


    96


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    Joshua carefully disentangled himself from Xylia, stepped out of the bedroom, and lowered his voice as he picked up the call.


    “Hello?” he murmured.


    The caller was clearly caught off guard when a guy picked up Xylia’s phone.


    After some rustling noises on the other end, they finally asked, “Wait, is this Xylia’s number?”


    “Yeah, it’s Joshua,” he replied.


    “Oh, Mr. Garcia!” Chase Bell sounded relieved, then couldn’t help but joke, “Well, look at you–haven’t seen you in over half a year and you’re already shacked up with Xylia?”


    Joshua was always distant with outsiders; even though he knew Chase Bell was Xylia’s mentor, and Xylia had been rmended to Chase by him.


    Still, whenever another man called Xylia, Joshua couldn’t help feeling a stab of jealousy inside.


    He wasn’t up for small talk with Chase.


    “What do you want with Xylia?” Joshua asked coldly, skipping any pleasantries.


    Chase Bell suddenly remembered why he’d called. “Right–Xylia opened her own studio, didn’t she? I’ve been keeping tabs on the international scene these days, and I wanted to chat with her about going for a more luxury vibe. There’s an international fashion design contest happening here in about three months, and with Xylia’s skills, she’d crush it for sure. Hope she’ll give it some thought.”


    “I’ll pass it on,” Joshua said curtly, not wasting another word.


    He hung up right away, not even giving Chase a chance to respond,


    Chase was left standing there, stunned. He hadn’t even finished his sentence!


    He quickly shot Xylia an email with all the details about thepetition and sent her a WhatsApp message.


    He left a message for her: “Xylia, I’ve already sent you all the steps for signing up for the international fashion contest to your inbox. Make sure to check it out.”


    Joshua saw the message but didn’t say anything. He just quietly put his phone away,


    He’d stayed up prettytest night, so he was still feeling groggy.


    Just as he was about to crawl back into bed and catch up on some sleep, his phone rang again.


    It was David calling.


    “Mr. Garcia, Ms. Coffey has gone missing overseas,” David said, his voice tense.


    Joshua’s brow furrowed, and his tone turned icy.


    “When did this happen?” he asked sharply.


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    “We just found out this morning. The school said she’s been missing for three days,” David replied.


    Joshua’s face grew even darker, his jaw set in a hard line.


    “Any clues?” he asked coldly.


    “The security footage shows Noelle packing up and leaving her ce by herself. No one knows where she went,” David said quickly.


    “Get hold of everyone over there. Start looking. Now,” Joshua snapped.


    After hanging up, Joshua had no intention of heading back to bed.


    Noelle was Nelson’s only sister–no way Joshua would ever let anything happen to her.


    He slipped back into the bedroom to change, nced over at Xylia sprawled on the bed, then softly called out to her.


    “Xylia, I’ve got to step out for a bit. Lunch is already taken care of–it’ll be delivered to you. Make sure you eat, alright?”


    Xylia, still mostly asleep, barely registered Joshua’s words. She just nodded sleepily, her eyes still shut.


    Seeing her like that, Joshua knew she hadn’t really heard him.


    He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, then quietly slipped out the door.


    As the apartment door clicked shut, the faint sound made Xylia stir, half–awake.


    She instinctively reached over, searching for Joshua–his warmth still lingered beside her.


    Her hand found the cozy spot where Joshua had slept, and she dozed off again, drifting into sleep without a


    care.


    At the Garcia Group, Joshua tracked down Aaron.


    The moment they locked eyes, they both knew what the other was thinking.


    * There was a tense silence between father and son, each reading the other’s thoughts without a word. *


    Aaron spoke first. “I’ve already had people looking into it. Noelle took her luggage and boarded a flight to


    Daltonia.”


    8:34 Thu, Sep 25


    Daltonia<i>. </i>


    :


    Joshua’s face turned grim; whatever he just thought of clearly wasn’t good news.


    “Who has she been in contact with these past few days?” Joshua asked, his voice low and tense.


    <b>96 </b>


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    “Not entirely sure,” Aaron sounded just as tense. “I looked into her call log, and there were two calls from Daltonia, but both numbers were disconnected.”