Saskia was only able to fall asleep when it was already dawn. She had turned off her cell phone completely, because the only people who mattered to her were under the same roof with her. She would just sleep in, after all, no one was expecting her anyway.

Mihai had decided not to tell the lord about taking Sia to her relatives. However, if Lionel approached him about where she was, he would not lie to him. Mihai also had an uneasy feeling that he might not see Saskia again for some time.

Lionel sat alone the next morning, lost in thought, at his long table, trying to eat breakfast. He didn't really want to enjoy the delicacies. Again and again he looked at the clock, until he decided that it was enough for him. He would go to the guest room now and if he had to drag Sassy out of there. But he would demand an answer to his burning question from her!

Upset, he rose and left the rest of the food. He had lost his appetite anyway. Quickly he climbed the few stairs and hurried to the guest room. Standing in front of it, he knocked a few times until he finally ran out of patience and simply opened the door. "Saskia, what's all this about..." he spoke in an upset tone. Actually he wanted to say more, but when he saw that the room was empty, the words stuck in his throat.

"What is all this really about?" he muttered to himself and stepped further into the room. He let his gaze glide over all the furnishings, but he didn't see any of her things anymore. As he walked toward the bed, he spotted the small black jewel case. Lionel took it from the nightstand and opened it carefully. The beautiful lion necklace was lying on the velvet upholstery.

Lionel was really confused, he didn't understand all this. Saskia and her belongings were gone. Only the gift from him to her had remained, which astonished him. He closed the jewelry box again and let it slide into his jacket pocket. He would keep it in his vault, safe was safe.

Still he didn't know what to make of it, but stubborn as ever, he tried to shake it off and went to his office. What on earth was he going to do with his co-worker, since she was supposed to be here to work. He couldn't let her just disappear and leave him in the dark.

He would give her the rest of the day, after which he would have to act, because an unexcused absence from work was definitely grounds for dismissal. But he could not and did not want to think that far ahead! He hoped that Saskia would come to her senses, in the evening he would try to call her.

Saskia only woke up when the sun, which was shining today for once, was high in the sky. Her mood, however, did not match the weather at all and it seemed to her rather as if the sun was laughing at her. Yawning loudly, she turned to the side again, but decided to get up after a short while. As she stared at the old clock on the wall, she realized that it was really late and almost noon.

Feverishly she thought about what she should do next. She really needed to think. What could be better than walking alone in the fresh air and sorting out her thoughts? She would eat something first and then take a big walk around the lonely and sleepy area of Wolferton.

Saskia had finally picked herself up, put on something comfortable and made her way downstairs to the kitchen. As she walked downstairs, she smelled something delicious that Melly was cooking.

Sia had had lunch with the family, put on her sneakers and was about to start her more than necessary walk. She went behind the stable, directly onto a dirt road, towards the sea. The fresh air did her incredible good and she immediately felt a little more liberated.

But her thoughts didn't stay relaxed for long, when she remembered that she still needed a solution for her job. Lionel would certainly not tolerate her behavior. She thought back and forth for a long time and tried to play through different variants in her head. But in the end, it was only one solution that she found passable, even if it would mean going back to job hunting.

Saskia emerged from her heavy thoughts. Only now did she realize that she had now arrived at the sheep shelter, by the sea. She stepped closer and walked to the back area to get to the hay and straw storage. Slowly she opened the old wooden door and squeezed through the small crack. She took a deep breath of the familiar smell and dropped into the large pile of hay.

Sia quickly closed her eyes so that she wouldn't get the swirling dust in them. She lay there for a long time, reviewing everything over and over again.

Saskia still loved Lionel, even though she felt betrayed by him. But he had never promised her anything. On the contrary, he had still pointed out to her that he could not guarantee her anything. But the heart said something else and it hurt terribly.

Yes! Yes, she would quit. The only solution her wounded heart could accept at the moment. She didn't want to live in that shithole in London anymore anyway. She would give up that residence immediately, she didn't want to put a single penny more in there. She had already saved quite a bit, she could use that now as a buffer until she would find a suitable job here in the country. Even if it meant that her dream would take much longer to come true. By now, she didn't care about any of that. If need be, she could live with Sam and his family longer, they had plenty of room.

Hours must have passed before Saskia decided to slowly make her way back. She had told the family that it would take longer, but it was already beginning to dawn.

As soon as she would be back, she would pull out her notebook and mail the notice. For her, it was done. She would send it to Human Resources though, Lionel would find out soon enough through that.