The CEO's Painted Skin 174 Dying Inside

John woke up the next day feeling totally wretched inside. The throbbing pain in his heart caused by Catherine's running away doesn't lessen a bit. He was hoping the dull pain would go away as the passing of the day cause as long he didn't find Catherine he would forever be thinking about her whereabouts. The strong need to see her, hear her voice, see her addicting smile is making him crazy! His situation was likened to a drug addict who suddenly got withdrawal symptoms after stopping from taking drugs and it's making him miserable.

He craved Catherine's presence the more with every second the passes by...

He checked out his phone regularly waiting and expecting for her call and messages that never comes.

There is a little break from his suffering though, when he is inside his office he can focus his mind on some other things that require his detailed attention. He would then find himself pausing in the middle of his work and then his mind would think of her automatically filling his head with beautiful images of her face imagining her talking to him and see her smiling lovingly at him...then he will be back to work again. She was disturbing his work even if she was a thousand miles away from him but it's the kind of disturbance that he welcomes dearly as if those thoughts of her can help him survive another day.

He doesn't have any choice though...

Her memories will forever haunt his waking hour.

Every ticking of the clock on the wall not knowing her location was like a decade long passing, the time is dragging and torturing him to no ends.

Who is with her right now?

Is she meeting new friends?

Meeting new men in her life?

He knew he was thinking absurdly, it's just 48 hours since she was gone, but he knows that Catherine is an attractive woman, she is like a beautiful flower that bees will always find attractive. She got this alluring charm and beauty that drives men to her side whether they like it or not and he was not an exemption to the rule.

He was totally smitten with her beauty, her whole personality. She completely becomes his entire world, he built his happiness around her and now that she's gone that happiness was crumbling and crashing down on him in full force.

He loves her so much and it hurts so bad, just thinking about her and all the memories they shared together killed him over and over again, the painful truth that he can no longer touch and kiss her is mental torture at it's worst!

The deep longing of his heart is killing him inside. She was like the air that he breaths if he can't have her back in his life soon, he will slowly die of depression and heartbreak.

Dammit, he needs her back!

This will be the first day that George will be scouting for Catherine whereabouts anywhere in Quezon city, but the prospect of finding her with that kind of method is bleak! One person trying to find a woman in the middle of a densely populated city is a big joke!

He could run some ads in newspapers, in radio, in other types of media to find her, that would be easy it all just requires money which he is more than willing to spend, but that would really make her even angrier and she might run away farther to someplace that he could no longer follow like applying for work abroad or going to another far distance places within the country such as in Visayas or Mindanao.

He knows her personality too well...

He needs to find her quietly without alarming her and capture her back with less resistance from her. The only people that could lead him to her is her family or Grace!

That's it!

More than anyone else Catherine is closer to Grace!

Grace can lead him to Catherine!

With that realization in mind, he now had an idea who is the person to focus and pester in locating Catherine's whereabouts.

He called Ramon to his office.

"Good afternoon, Boss!" greeted Ramon.

He just nods his head in response.

"I want you to buy 1 sack of rice and some grocery, then bring them into Catherine's house. Supply them grocery twice a month, that would be once every two weeks and 1 sack of rice once a month as well. Supplying them groceries is a message meant for Catherine, to remind her that even if I can't reach her I am always thinking of her through her family."

Ramon smiled. "Nice idea, Boss!"

"Actually I'm aiming for Grace's cooperation, one day she will lead me to her cousin's side. If Grace can see my good intention and I'm being consistent with it, then one day she might pity me and reveal Catherine's location," explained John.

"How about George, Boss? Will he continue finding Catherine?"

"Yes of course! Grace won't let her guard down so easily, her loyalty will always be on her cousin's side since they are blood relative. It might take a long time before Grace will finally reveal to me her cousin's whereabouts. Much better if George can find Catherine faster..."

"Okay. Shall I do it today or tomorrow?" asked Ramon.

"Tomorrow afternoon, you have to ask your wife what are the basic items and necessities needed to feed a whole family for the entire week. Double each item so that it can last for two weeks. I don't want to do it once a week because it sounds like an overkill..."

Ramon nodded agreeing with his Boss point of view.

"Here's the money for tomorrow's groceries, keep the change," John give Ramon the money. "You can go now, Ramon," he said.

"Okie Dokie, Boss!" answered Ramon. He rose to his feet and exited his employer's office.

John smiled a little bit for the first time since Catherine fled.

He will wait after one or two days before he will start pestering Grace. He will make it not so obvious so that he can gain her trust slowly.

Chapter end