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Chapter 853  Suicide

She rolled over, expecting to find Harry beside her, but the space next to her was cool and empty. A slight frown creased her forehead, but it was quickly erased by the thrill of the day ahead.

Her suitcase, meticulously packed days ago, sat by the door like an eager puppy, brimming with anticipation for the adventures to come. She couldn\'t wait to see all that Harry had planned out for them.

Jade threw off the covers and hopped out of bed naked. Without giving much thought to it, she picked up Harry\'s nearest tshirt and put it on before padding out of the room and down the hallway.

Even before she got to the living room, she could hear the rhythmic click-clack of keyboard keys and the scent of freshly brewed coffee led her to the source – Harry.

There, hunched over his laptop at the dining table, was Harry. His brow furrowed in concentration. The sight brought a smile back to her face.

This hunched-over-laptop pose reminded her of her very first sleepover at his apartment (chapter 278). She had woken up this way to see him busy on his laptop.

Back then she had no idea that she was going to fall so helplessly in love with this amazing man. Or maybe that was when she started falling, she mused as she recalled how he had helped her organize all the evidence Cassidy had gathered, and then he had proceeded to make her coffee just the way she loved it. His attention to details had caught her attention then. Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

Sensing her presence, Harry glanced up, his eyes meeting hers. The frown melted away, and a lazy smile spread across his face, they type that could light up a room.

"Good morning, goddess," he said, his voice warm and husky. He held out a hand to her, and she readily took it, the familiar spark leaping between them.

"Good morning, you workaholic," she teased, as she let him pull her onto his lap "What\'s got you glued to your screen so early? Shouldn\'t you be packing or something? Our flight is in a few hours," she said as she picked up his mug of coffee and drank from it.

Harry chuckled, "I packed already. You made sure of it. But this can\'t wait. I\'m trying to finalize a couple of acquisitions in Husla. Thought it best to get it done before we leave."

Jade\'s smile faltered slightly. Husla. Henry. "Oh. By the way, did you receive a call in the middle of the night? Or was I dreaming?"

"I did. Tom called to let me know Henry showed up to get Mia."

"In the middle of the night?" Jade asked incredulously.

"Some time past three to be precise," Harry said and Jade scowled.

"I can\'t believe he is that mannerless. Who does he think he is to barge into someone\'s home at such an ungodly hour? Well, he is lucky Tom is cool," she said and frowned when Harry grinned.

"What?" She asked, and he chuckled.

"My fierce baby," he teased, and she giggled.

"I\'m being serious," she said, and he nodded.

"Me too," he said and she glanced at his laptop.

"So, what were you saying about finalizing an acquisition? Have you been able to acquire any of the companies? And how did it go with Mia?" She asked, but Harry closed his laptop and cupped her face in his hands.

"Hey," he said, his voice gentle. "Let\'s not dampen our spirits by talking about any of that this morning. We\'re finally leaving for our vacation, so today should be all about us. No work, no worries, just you and me. Forget about everything else. Let\'s focus on unwinding and having fun."

Jade leaned into his touch as she relaxed. He was right. Talking about Mia and Henry would dampen her spirit. Today was supposed to be about their vacation, a chance to create new memories, to solidify the bond they already shared.

"You are right," she said, a smile replacing the frown. "Let\'s just focus on us. Besides, I have all the plans laid out for our first day – beach, cocktails under the sunset, and then…" she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "dinner followed by a long walk on the beach… and maybe something else can follow under the stars."

Harry grinned his eyes twinkling. "Now that\'s the spirit! Sounds like a perfect plan," he said, his voice low and husky. "But maybe we can skip a few steps in between and jump to the last."

Jade laughed, a bubbly sound that filled the room, "Sure. We can do that but only if you can get the stars to show up in the sky during the day," Jade said and Harry chuckled.

"I believe the sun is a big star," Harry said and Jade giggled.

"By the way, are you going to tell me what you were thinking about earlier and why you were staring at me with a grin?" He asked, and Jade smiled.

"Seeing you seated here that way, sort of brought back memories of my first time here," she said, and Harry grinned.

"What did you remember?" He asked curiously.

"You stayed up to help me work on the evidence I received from Cassidy. I was so touched. And then you touched me even more when you remembered just how I like my coffee," Jade said with a soft smile.

"Well, that\'s not exactly what I remember," Harry said, and her brow shot up.

"What do you remember?" Jade asked with interest.

"I remember not being able to sleep that night because the love of my life was sleeping a couple of feet away…"

"Oh, please. You slept quite well at the hotel and we were under the same roof," Jade cut in.

"It\'s not the same. Then, we were in a hotel. Now, you were in my house, sleeping on my bed. It felt more personal. I kept thinking about how to promote you from guest to host," he said, and Jade giggled.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Since I was unable to sleep, I decided to do something more productive by helping you sort out your evidence. And then you woke up and walked in, looking all innocent and sexy and I just had to offer you coffee so I could go catch my breath," he said and she grinned.

"I had that much effect on you, huh?" She asked, and Harry shrugged.

"Well, dreams do come through after all. Now you\'ve got what you wanted," she said and he shook his head.

"Not quite. It\'s not official yet," Harry said and Jade smiled.

"Have you been thinking about my proposal?" Harry asked and she bobbed her head.

"I told you already. The answer would be the same if you ask me today or in five months," she said and Harry cocked an eyebrow.

"And what will the answer be? No?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Of course. Why would I want to marry a man that treats me so good and makes me so happy? Nah. I can\'t get married to you. I\'d rather stay single or maybe just date you," Jade said dryly, and Harry chuckled.

"Alright. I won\'t bother proposing then. Let\'s just keep dating," Harry said and Jade scowled at him making him laugh the more.

"Too bad you\'re going to be stuck with girlfriend benefits all your life. You know,

"You know what? I\'m not going to get mad at you. Nah. I won\'t do that," Jade said as she rose.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked, missing the feel of her body against his.

"Did you forget that you were busy before I got here? Finish up what you\'re doing while I make a couple of phone calls. Pre-baecation calls," she said with a wink.

"Baecation?" He asked and she grinned.

"You are my bae. Bae plus vacation is baecation," she said and Harry chuckled.

"Then love plus vacation will be location?" He joked and she shook her head as she giggled.

"Jonas, leave me alone and finish up whatever you are doing. I\'m not going to let you take this laptop with you when we leave," she warned before walking away.

Away from there, Lucy stared blankly at the computer screen, the words blurring before her eyes. Her mind was far from the unfinished report demanding her attention.

The morning\'s events still echoed in her head and left a churning unease in her stomach. She couldn\'t help feeling so worried about Mia, especially after all they had heard Henry say to her.

Would Mia really be okay? Lucy mused, and then tried to push away the worry, forcing herself to focus on the report kn front of her. Work, logic, routine– anything to drown out the unsettling thoughts.

The shrill ring of her phone startled her. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was her mother. With a sigh, she answered.

"Hi Mom."

"Have you seen the news?" Her mother\'s voice held a tremor of worry.

"News? What news? I haven\'t seen anything. what\'s going on?" Dread coiled in Lucy\'s gut.

"Oh, Lucy," her mother\'s voice choked up, "it\'s Rachel… they are saying she… she committed suicide. They found her this morning."

The phone almost slipped from Lucy\'s grasp. "Rachel? No, that can\'t be right." Denial clawed at her throat, squeezing the air from her lungs.

Suicide? Rachel? She had been in her office just three days ago. How could she have committed suicide? It was impossible. But the cold knot of dread tightening in her chest spoke a different truth.

"It\'s all over the news, honey. They found her…" Her mother\'s voice broke down into sobs.

"Oh my God, Mom," Lucy breathed, her voice barely a whisper. Her mind reeled, picturing Rachel\'s tear-streaked face, the raw desperation in her eyes. Had she missed something? Could she have done something different?

"This is so terrible, Lucy," Janet said just as Andrew walked into the bedroom.

"For Christ\'s sake, Jane, I asked you not to call her yet. She is at the office," Lucy heard her father\'s voice in the background.

"I had to before she sees it anywhere. And Lucas. We have to tell him," Janet said, and Lucy shut her eyes, not wanting to imagine how Lucas would feel about this.

Even though he had ended things with her, she was someone he loved and had loved with for years. Death always hit differently.

"No. We don\'t have to tell him anything. She was his ex. He ended things with her and left. He doesn\'t need to know that she took her life," Andrew said, annoyed as he took the phone from his wife.

"Didn\'t you see the letter she left? She did it because she said she couldn\'t leave without Lucas!" Janet pointed out.

"That was probably just an excuse. Her family is going through a tough time and Lucas is the reason she takes her life?" Andrew asked and then took a deep breath.

"Hey, Princess. Don\'t worry about…"

"She was here three days ago. She came to see me," Lucy cut in tearfully.

"About what?"

"She wanted me to help her resolve things with Lucas. She said she couldn\'t live without him. She begged. She pleaded. I was harsh, dad. I threw her out of my office without even accepting her apology," Lucy cried.

"It\'s not your fault, baby. Anyone would have done what you did considering all she did…"

"I could have been kinder. Maybe if I had been kinder and shown a little mercy, she wouldn\'t have had to do that," Lucy cried as a flood of guilt washed over her.

"Kinder? What could you have done differently? Promise to put in a good word with Lucas? Give her Tyler\'s number or address so she goes see Lucas? Hug her and say you\'ve forgiven and forgotten?" Her father asked as she cried.

"I don\'t know. I don\'t know what I could have done, but I know she might not have done this had I not been so harsh," Lucy said and her mother who was listening sighed.

"Why did she have to do something like this and write about Lucas in her letter?" Janet asked in frustration.

Lucy hung up, not knowing what else to say, and immediately she went online to find the news of Rachel\'s suicide.

It didn\'t take her long to see it since it was a trending subject, and according to the details, she had left her handbag with the suicide letter in it and jumped off a bridge.

The letter which was short and to the point, read;

[Life has nothing more to offer me. I have lost it all. My love and my family. I can\'t keep living this way. I don\'t want to live a day more without Lucas. I love you, Lucas. I hope you forgive me now.]