"Where ... where is she now?" Nicolae asked in a choked voice. He must exert all his sanity to not break down and cry in front of Mrs. Carter.

The middle-aged woman shook her head sadly. "She was buried yesterday by the social service. We could not find any of her other friends or relatives, and her mother is dead ..."

"Do you know where she is buried?" Nicolae asked again.

Mrs. Carter nodded. She then wrote an address on the paper and handed it to the young man. "You can go here ..."

Nicolae could no longer speak, so he just nodded to express his gratitude. He listlessly accepted the paper from Mrs. Carter and read the contents. The young man then excused himself and walked with weak steps back to his car.

As soon as he got into the car and closed the door, Nicolae buried his face in the wheel and cried silently.

Why was he so stupid and didn't recognize his own feelings? Why did it take so long and the encouragement of so many people for him to realize that he actually loved Marie?

Now he lost the girl and their child.

He cried until his tears dried.

***

The girl looked very attractive even though she tried to disguise her appearance with a long coat and scarf covering part of her face. A pair of big-framed sunglasses hid her attractive slanted eyes well.

Marie examined the boarding pass in her hand and scrutinized her surroundings carefully. On the boarding pass was the name Marielle Sakaguchi. She took a deep breath and pulled out her cellphone to call someone.

"Hi, Sanna ... I'm leaving soon." The girl spoke on the telephone. "There was no flight delay at all. I will arrive on schedule. Do you still want to pick me up?"

"Of course. Why are you even asking? How could I let my friend go alone to Paris without me picking her up? Julian has helped me prepare a welcoming party for you. You and my niece can calm down here ..." Sanna responded enthusiastically. "I can't wait to see you! I miss you so much!"

"I miss you so much too ..." Marie paused for a moment, trying to hold the sorrow in her heart. In this world, she no longer had anyone but Sanna. Three months ago, her mother had died after suffering for a long time. Sanna was already moving to France to be with her new boyfriend and could not come to be with Marie.

But at that time, Marie was not alone. There was a kind-hearted young man who stayed with her. Nicolae accompanied Marie in her mother's last days and comforted Marie after her mother died and was cremated. The man was even willing to be her fake husband to help Marie's mother die peacefully.

Marie had fallen in love with him. He was the first man in her lonely life. However, unfortunately, the man was in love with another woman, and even had two children with her.

Marie felt hopeless after Nicolae left that day with Altair and Vega. The young man insisted on leaving for Europe even though Marie had canceled all flights to Italy, his main destination.

She realized, Nicolae did not have the same feelings as her because he preferred to come to another woman's birthday, the woman he loved, the mother of his children ... rather than waiting in Singapore until another flight was available. Yet, at that time, Marie had headed to the airport to meet him.

"All right. Happy flying. You should rest along the journey. As soon as you land, contact me directly," Sanna said happily. "See you later."

"See you later," Marie answered with a smile and hung up the phone. After storing her cellphone in her coat pocket, the girl walked nonchalantly to the Gate C18 where the plane would depart.

She only carried a small backpack on her shoulder. Basically, the girl didn't have many many worldly possessions. She left her life in Singapore, she left for France almost without taking anything with her.

All of her possessions now were in digital form, for practicality. She even gave up some of her personal belongings to be left in her apartment to dispel police suspicions, should anyone want to investigate 'her death'.

Marie got a fresh corpse from the government coroner's office thanks to her connections. She managed to arrange an accident with the help of a mafia group that had hired her services in the past. For her, it was not at all difficult to falsify the victim's data, so the police establish her as the victim of a single traffic accident that occurred two days ago.

Marie still had a few hours before the police came to her apartment and look for information. She stayed at a hotel while preparing for her departure to Paris. While waiting for her flight, she removed every trace that connected Goose to Marie Lu.

Everything was settled right before she left for the airport and prepared to start a new life in France. She and her baby would retreat for several years and avoid attracting any attention. She had enough money to live comfortably for several years until she needed to go back to work.

"I can't risk it when the bad guys go after Goose," Marie murmured softly. She heard the boarding call from the gate she was heading to, and her steps became faster. She could not wait to leave this country.

Marie ordered business class tickets and was waiting in the line of passengers who boarded first. Shortly before stepping into the gate, she turned and looked at the big airport with a heart filled with sadness.

I will never come back here, she thought despondently.

Marie did not realize that when she was walking into the plane, a very sad man walked into the door of her apartment on Robertson Road. Nicolae paid the building manager to open the girl's apartment by claiming to be her boyfriend.

Because of Nicolae's seemingly sincere attitude and the money he gave, the building manager gladly escorted Nicolae into Marie's apartment and waited for him in the living room while Nicolae went around and surveyed the whole apartment.

He remembered three months ago when he walked in, accompanying Marie after the death of her mother. He still remembered all the objects in the apartment that were named by the girl.

The chair was Edgar, the washing machine was called Lilith, the potted plant was called Emma ... and many more. Everything was still there.

Nicolae's c.h.e.s.t felt suffocated as he stepped into the bedroom and saw Marie's cold bed. Three months ago, the place felt so warm when they made love passionately.

Nicolae remembered how much fun it was sitting and chatting with the girl, and how beautiful was their m.a.k.i.n.g. .l.o.v.e all morning. He could almost smell her scent left in her room.

He cursed himself again for being late in realizing his feelings for the girl. Why was he so unlucky in this life?

Finally, he could open his heart and fall in love again ... but he was already too late.

When he realized that he had fallen in love with Marie ... the girl had gone forever.