Married a Secret Billionaire by Breaking Wave

Lina’s eyes were downcast, and she did not respond.

Zuko remained silent as well, sitting quietly on the side.

“Bro, Pammy!” Toph appeared quite aggrieved. “Do you really have to be this unforgiving? I genuinely came here

today to apologize.”

Chris pinched Toph from behind, prompting him to quickly blurt out, “I shouldn’t have acted so thoughtlessly. I

shouldn’t have repeatedly caused trouble for Lena, and I definitely shouldn’t have… Shouldn’t have caused such a

scene at Uncle Nicholas’ place!

“I’m sorry!”

With that, Toph slapped his legs together, stood at attention, and performed a formal 90-degree bow!

Zuko looked at him and smiled faintly.

“If it weren’t for Chris dragging you here, would you have even come?”

Toph scratched his head bashfully.

Chris was not just anyone. Only under his militarized pressure did Toph obediently come to apologize.

“Even though Chris gave me a bit of a lesson…” Toph began to explain, “I genuinely came here to apologize!

Actually, I do regret the quarrel with Lena. After all, she’s a girl, and arguing with her was ungentlemanly!”

Just as he finished speaking, he tried to look fawningly at Lina.

“Besides, Lena saved Grandma Janine! It did feel a little ungrateful of me to treat her that way, right, Pammy?”

“Alright, we’re all family!” Chris laughed. “Look at Mr. Toph Hamerton here. Have you ever seen him so humble?

Let’s turn the page on this incident, okay?”

Zuko wanted to say something but just patted Chris’ shoulder instead.

Chris continued. “Is Lena still at the Thompsons’? If so, we can go there now. Toph said he wants to admit his

mistakes to her in person, haha!”

“Chris!” Toph shot him a look with an awkward chuckle.

“Hold on!” Zuko stopped them. “Lena… isn’t at the Thompsons’ anymore.”

“What?”

“She left.” Lina stood up and said calmly. “She left a letter for me and disappeared. I’m searching for her.”

Toph exclaimed while Chris stood frozen in place.

“Well, then I’ll help you both find her!” Toph said. “Bro, where have you looked?”

“We’ve searched everywhere we could think of.” Zuko sighed lightly. “Places where she used to work, like the bar

and small restaurant, even the cheap place she used to rent. We’ve checked them all, but there’s no sign of her.”

“Did she leave any message?”

Zuko showed Toph the letter.

Toph’s face went blank, and his grip on the letter tightened slightly.

He did not act impulsively this time. After a moment of silence, he murmured, “Lena is eccentric but genuinely

treats Pammy well. I can’t completely favor my mother-in-law in this…”

“Mother-in-law, huh?” Zuko gave him a sidelong glance.

“She’s Renee’s mother, after all. What do you expect me to do?”

“Alright.” Zuko waved his hand. “Let’s not talk about her. Finding Lena is more important.”

“Oh, right!” Toph suddenly had an idea and looked at Lina. “Pammy, did you notice anything unique about Lena

during the time you spent with her?”

“Hmm?”

Toph slapped his thigh. “What kind of best friend are you? This girl doesn’t follow the usual path. Can’t you see it?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Toph.

“So, we shouldn’t search for her using conventional methods!” Toph shrugged. “All the places you’ve looked are

where she usually goes, but think about it. Would she go to those places if she genuinely didn’t want you to find

her?”

Zuko and Lina exchanged glances as realization struck them.

“Go on!”

“Well…” Toph scratched his head. “That’s about all I can think of.”

They were at a loss for words.

“But we can think along these lines!” Toph tried to salvage the situation. “For example, Pammy, you two are close.

Did you ever share any secrets or talk about future plans? Did she ever mention a place she wanted to go when

you exchange secrets?”

Lina furrowed her brow.

A memory suddenly flashed in Chris’ mind. It was from the picnic they had.

–

The two of them seemed out of place amidst the group’s liveliness, sitting quietly by a small river. They still did not

say much when they eventually joined the group.

Later, Chris handed a skewer of grilled meat to Lena. She thanked him, and he replied courteously, “You’re

welcome.”

That was when they began to grow closer.

Lena had asked him, “Were you in the Special Forces?”

Proudly, he smiled. “I was a sniper in the Special Forces.”

“Oh… will you go back to the military in the future?”

“I probably will. I signed up for the international peacekeeping forces. If the country needs me, I won’t hesitate.”

“That’s great… I’m starting to feel like joining the army, too.”

“A girl like you—” Chris stopped. He knew Lena would not like being referred to that way.

He then changed it to: “A girl like you would do great in the forces!”

Lena rarely smiled, but she did then. “Where was your unit?”

“In the west.” Chris gestured. “Got to keep going west.”

“West of Centrolis?”

“How could it be so close?” Chris laughed. “You’d have to keep going west after getting out of Centrolis, quite a

distance.”

“I’ll definitely go there.”

–

Chris snapped out of his daydream, recalling that conversation vividly. When Lena had spoken, her face had shown

determination. Back then, he believed her words were hasty, but now…

In a sudden frenzy, Chris dashed out of the door like a crazed person.

“Hey, where’s he off to?” The other three hurried to follow.

However, he swiftly vanished into the distance.

Toph asked, “Is he off to look for Lena?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“But how’s he gonna find her like that?”

Lina spoke gently. “Lenny might have shared something special with him.”

–

Chris did not know if what he was doing was right or wrong. He quickly packed his belongings, got in the car, and

drove west.

–

He had already left Centrolis for some time, but there was still no sign of Lena.

Frustration was gnawing at him. He parked the car on the roadside. The evening had arrived, the sun casting a red

hue across the sky, and birds were fluttering, ready to head home.

But the person he awaited hadn’t shown up.

Could he still give her a ride back?

Chris ignited a cigarette and inhaled deeply.

Regret washed over him, his heart as heavy as a boulder. If he had known she’d vanish like this one day, he would

have…

He slammed the car door a couple of times, the scent of nicotine filling the small space.