2

CHAPTER 2

It took some time, but he soon came to realize that she was pulling away.

He had initially assumed that she might be cheating or having second thoughts about their upcoming engagement.

However, one day he found a strange book in her handbag when she left him in bed, saying she had another meeting.

*A/N: They lived in the same apartment, an expensive one provided by her rich grandpa, of course.*

When he opened the book, he could not believe its contents.

They were the teachings of some group called the [Apotheosis Seekers].

The group... cult, believed that one could ascend to a higher realm where cultivation to become an Immortal or a god was possible.

"However, to ascend one must fall," he read; "Take the leap of faith when the father of the day and the mother of the night aligns with the lower realm as their border."

The more he read, the more his heart sank.

He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't.

"…and this meeting will be the last meeting."

He recalled what she had said before leaving.

*'The eclipse…'*

He pulled out his smartphone and immediately looked up the next eclipse. And the heavens were not smiling on him.

"It's t-today?!"

Not bothering to switch out of his pajamas, he ran out, slipped on his crocs, and made his way out on his motorcycle.

*Vroom!*

Based on the information in the book, he deduced that the jump must be from a high place. Perhaps, a tall building.

He called her driver and asked where he had taken his girlfriend to.

"Young Cassian, the young miss just entered the company's headquarters," said Mr. Harry, the driver.

"Mr. Harry, please do me a favor," he pleaded.

"I'll do whatever is within my capabilities, young Cassian," declared the bald man.

He asked the driver to make sure to delay Martha from leaving if she came down. He could use whatever excuse he felt was suitable.

"Oh? Are you preparing a surprise for the young miss?" Mr. Harry speculated.

"Ah… Um, yes," Cassian stuttered. "Something like that. It involves something surprising."

"I see. Then I shall do my best, young Cassian. Good luck."

"Thank you." Cassian hung up right after, returning his full attention to the road.

Time went by, and he finally arrived at the building that from below looked like it was chasing the skies.

He didn't waste time. After seeing Mr. Harry leaning against a certain red car in the VIP parking lot, he assumed she was still in the building.

Without stopping to greet the bald man with a blonde mustache in the gray suit, he made his way into the building, and with the ID card he was given, no one stopped him from going up the elevator.

*Ping!*

The elevator's doors slid open as he arrived on the floor on which the CEO's office was.

"Mr. Rush." As he arrived at the president's door, Martha's grandfather's private guard greeted him.

"Ms. Jamie." He returned her greeting before asking, "Is Martha in?"

"No," she said, causing him to knit his brows until she added, "She just went that way. Said she was going to catch her breath."

Following her line of sight, his eyes landed on the end of the hallway.

*"The stairs…"* His frown disappeared as his heart sank. *"Damn it!"*

While spitting an array of curses, he sprinted towards and up the stairs, finding himself on the rooftop of the skyscraper.

It was windy but not too windy, and the afternoon sun was still glaring down at the mortals.

"Hmm?" Sensing someone else's presence, a redhead in a white tracksuit and sneakers turned to see her boyfriend. "C-Cassian?" Her pupils shrank.

"Martha!" Cassian yelled as he ran towards her.

"W-what are you doing here?" The redhead's body trembled at his touch.

"You…" He frantically searched her body, checking if she was harmed in any way. "You're fine, right?"

"…Cassian." She placed her right hand on his cheek with a loving look in her eyes. "I'm okay. What has you so worried?"

He gulped as he inhaled and exhaled audibly while staring back into her brown eyes.

"Babe…" He couldn't speak further but for some reason, the words could not come out.

He began to have stupid thoughts;

*'What if it's a misunderstanding?'*

*'What if it isn't hers or it isn't what it looks like?'*

*'What if she gets upset thinking that I actually believed she would let herself get brainwashed into some cult?'*

*'I mean; the Martha I know is not that type of person. She would never…'*

"Babe, are you okay?" She asked, hints of concern in her tone.

"Y-yes. I'm fine, babe." He answered after managing to get out of his head. He firmly grabbed her right wrist and turned around, heading back to the stairs. "Come. I have something to show you."

Nah. He was lying. He just wanted to get her away from the rooftop.

His breathing was still a bit unstable but the nearer they were to the stairs; the calmer his heart got.

"Phew..." He sighed as he opened the door to the stairway. *'Crisis averted.'* He thought inwardly, relieved.

His relief did not last long though, as he felt a sudden pain at the back of his head. His vision started to go dark, and he fainted.

The next time he opened his eyes, he was in the hospital, and seated beside him was his girlfriend's grandfather's secretary.

"Mrs. Hot?"

The blonde, whose hair was packed into a ponytail and dressed in her usual navy blue skirt suit, had been dozing off.

"…Mm?" Hearing his voice, she was snapped out of her snoozing. "Young Cassian?"

As her vision cleared, she shot to her feet and ran out after spitting two words; "Stay put!"

While she was gone, he took in his surroundings. He seemed to be in a private room in the hospital.

It didn't take long for her to return with a bunch of people in tow.

Along with the green-eyed secretary came a male doctor, one male nurse, and one female nurse.

Esther, his girlfriend's half-sister, stopped at the door while a redhead Caucasian man and a brunette Eastern woman, who he recognized to be Martha's parents, came in.

Aside from them, there was also a man whose red hair had lost almost all color, turning gray, accompanied by someone he had met earlier; Ms. Jamie.

They were Martha and Esther's grandpa and his private guard respectively.

Before he knew it, he suddenly felt out of breath. He was being choked by the Eastern milf. She didn't even seem to realize she was choking him as rather than his neck, her hands were on the collar of his pajamas shirt.

"You! Boy! What happened?!" She inquired, her heightened emotions and internal turmoil laid bare. "Where is Martha

?! Where is my daughter?! My only child?! What did you do to her?!"