Chapter Twenty-two

My heartbeat once again lost on its track as soon as I heard Elaine's worried voice. I tried to keep calm and pulled some strength by looking at Celestine who was seriously staring at me, yet it didn't work.

"Don't tell me such kind of jokes. Not a good catch to me," I warned. 

"I'm not kidding, Yzabelle! I just left him for a while outside the ladies room but when I came back, he was already nowhere to be seen.

"I'm coming now. Locate him right away!" I replied in great frustrations before I ended the call. 

I was about to run when Celestine grabbed my arm. "Where are you going?" she inquired. "Emergency," I answered, short. Her eyebrows scrunched. "What emergency?"

"Ethan was lost. My baby was lost, I need to find him!" This time, I wasn't able to keep my nerves in comfort and started breaking down. The mall is wide and there are a lot of people inside. I am afraid of the thought that he might be bullied, abused or worst been kidnapped. 

"What?! Where? When? How?" Celestine snapped. 

"I don't know. I just have to find him." Neither I, don't know where exactly to start finding him. 

"Alright, go now. I will just follow you." I nodded right away as ordered. She understood my situation and she knew that she can't follow my pace with her swollen belly. 

I was in the middle of my bombarded thoughts and fast pounding chest when someone grabbed my arm in the entrance. I got startled by the swift move which made my heart leap. 

"What the—" I hadn't continued my words when my system recognized his presence. His blazing blue eyes met mine while his big hand was tightly gripping on me. 

"Where are you going?" he inquired, coldly but firmly. 

I stared at his hand on my arm before I shifted a glance to his rugged face. "You, where are you going?" I shot him the same question. 

He hissed and smirked. "Finding my lost son.

I was stunned for a moment before I recovered and lifted one side of my lips upwards. "You don't have a son, so get lost.

"Fvck that, Amber!" he yelled, I jolted. "We can easily find our son if you will set aside your pride! Just fvcking today, please! Just for the sake of our son!" he continued in frustration. 

Everyone was staring at us already. I gulped while realizing the scene but I didn't mind. What's important to me now is my son. So, I scanned the area, hoping to catch him in my sight. 

"What does he look like?

"Who was with him before he was lost?

"What's the color of his shirt? His height?

He was shooting me questions by questions but I didn't respond to any of those. I tried to pull my hand off him while half of my attention was around. 

"Come on, Amber. How could I help you finding our son who was lost in your company?" That was a slap in my face. I frowned and used all my strengths to withdraw my hand from him which I successfully did. 

"What the hell! Are you blaming me?!" I screeched. 

"And who must be blamed?" he responded. I was taken aback.

No one must be blamed except me. I am with him before he was lost. I am supposedly beside him anytime especially in this kind of place, I have the full responsibilities of him, but I lost him. If I can't find him right away, I will surely lose my sanity and blame myself forever. 

"Don't you dare follow me, Hernandez. Or else… I will sue you," I threatened but he still didn't back off . 

He pinched his nostrils in frustration then messed his hair and made a facepalm. "Just give me a fvcking clue on how to recognise my son!" he snapped that echoed around the halls. 

The guard started to step his foot to meddle with us but before he could do it, I raised my hand in the air to stop him. I heaved a deep breath and started to turn my back. "Find him on your own," I said. Just in time, he grabbed me back to face him. 

"Fvck! Can't you understand me? You will just simply tell me a word that would at least help me finding him in this wide crowded area. You're not a superhuman to find him all alone!" His voice was raised already as I could feel the anger in his tone. I heaved a sigh of surrender before I stared at him. 

"He wears blue, his eyes are black and his hair is spiky," I lied yet he nodded. "Alright, I will look for him on this side and you go on the other," he replied then instantly let go of my hand and run on the side he was saying. 

Half of my time was frozen as I was just standing all alone in the middle of the crowd. Rooted on my stand, unable to move. The horror that I was afraid of has already come. Blake will soon meet my son… he will get him from me… no, unless I would be the one who could find him first. And on that cue, I ran off to no specific direction. 

I looked for him on the second floor of the building, asking random people if they saw him but got no positive response. My sweat was streaming down from my forehead already and I started to think the worst. Until I reached the third floor and met Elaine. 

"Gosh, Elaine! Have you found him?" I immediately inquired. She shook her head and looked down. "No, I already went to the arcade and to the nearby area but I see none. I'm sorry, Yzabelle," she replied. 

"Damn it! Let's go back there. We can't give up this easy. We can't lose our hope. We can't just let him vanish. We can't…" This time, I wasn't able to hold back my tears. I was totally afraid and worried about my son. Ethan is still young and innocent, he knows nothing in this world. I can't let him just lose. 

Elaine wrapped his arms around me and started rubbing comforting circles around my back. "Hush, Yzabelle, we'll continue finding him. I will ask the guards to help us find him," she told me. 

I withdrew myself from her and wiped my wet face. "Please do it, we can't waste our time. The more time runs, the more I'm getting worried," I replied between my hiccups. She nodded immediately and started to step her foot in the opposite direction. 

A few seconds after, I heard a sound echoing around the mall followed by a female's voice. 

"Good morning, shoppers. Paging the attention of the child's parents…" My heart leaped. It must be Ethan. "He was wearing white polo shirt and his eyes were blue. Your son was brought in the information desk…" My eyes widened. "He said he was lost and…" I heard a pause, hoping that nothing wrong happened. "His name is Blake Ethan Hernandez II." And on that cue of confirmation, I ran as fast as I could. I must be the one who could reach him first! 

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