Chapter 9
Anna, holding her temporary ID, hurried to the airport.
The moment the plane took off, everything was in the past.
After landing in France, she took on a new identity as the owner of a seaside guesthouse.
Meanwhile, Jonathan was nearly losing his mind,
Let’s rewind a few hours earlier.
After dropping Isabella off at home, she still wouldn’t let go of him.
“Jonathan, since you’re already here, why don’t you come upstairs and take a look?” she said, tracing circles on his palm with a flirtatious smile.
Jonathan hesitated, feeling an inexplicable sense of panic rise in him.
“I can’t right now. Go upstairs and go home. I still need to go back and be with Anna,” he said, gently pushing Isabella’s hand away, remembering the promise he made to Anna earlier.
It had been a long time since he had properly spent time with her. Otherwise, she’d get upset.
Thinking of this, Jonathan’s lips curled into a slight, contented smile.
- But Isabella wasn’t done. She wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly.
“Jonathan, didn’t you want to see me wear that outfit? You’ve already brought me home. If you don’t look now, I won’t wear it next time!” she teased, her hands reaching under his shirt
Jonathan’s expression grew colder. “No, I promised Anna,” he said firmly.
But after several more advances from Isabella, he finally gave in.
A few hours later, he straightened his clothes, making sure there were no wrinkles before heading home.
“Anna, I’m back. Sorry for the delay…” he began, but his words trailed off as soon as he
entered the house.
Something felt off.
The villa was eerily quiet. Anna wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
The small cakes in the trash bin were perfectly intact, as if they had never been touched.
A wave of panic surged through Jonathan as he instinctively started searching the living room.
It was as if he was waiting for Anna to suddenly appear in front of him.
“Anna…” he called her name again and again, but the panic in his chest kept growing.
Chapter 9
An impossible thought slowly began to take shape in his mind.
Had Anna left him?
He couldn’t believe it!
“Anna, are you joking with me? Come out, let’s open the gifts from half a month ago like we planned!” Jonathan pleaded.
“I’m sorry for this morning, I was busy with work. Please forgive me,” he continued, his steps hurried as he looked around, hoping to find Anna hiding somewhere.
It was then that he noticed something that made his heart skip a beat–things in the villa seemed to be missing.
Where were their photos? All of them, gone.
Even their wedding pictures were nowhere to be found.
Jonathan felt his sanity slipping. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
All their photos were gone.
Without thinking, he rushed to the backyard of the villa. The spot where the cherry tree had once stood was now just flat ground.
There was no sign of the tree ever having been there.
The housekeeper was planting flowers and plants on the bare land, filling in the empty space.
“Who told you to plant flowers here? Where did the cherry tree go?” Jonathan snapped, his voice tinged with an underlying tension.
The housekeepers, confused, answered nervously.
ALE
3
“Mr. Jonathan, three days ago, Mrs. Anna said she wanted to remove the cherry tree and have it burned. Since you always spoil her, we just followed her orders…”
The housekeepers exchanged uneasy glances, feeling the tension in the air.
“What? Burned it?” Jonathan stepped back, as if struck by lightning. His legs nearly gave out
beneath him.
Chapter 10
