Chapter 240 Surprised Anneliese
40
+10 Free Coins
“Wait!” Jonathan’s phone burst into sound, one alert colliding with the next, until the noise swelled into a relentless stream that refused to stop.
Anneliese’s lashes quivered as she looked up. Her voice carried both dread and disbelief. “You didn’t already send it, did you?”
Jonathan angled his head and stretched the phone toward her. “I did. Do you want to see?”
Each shrill ping scraped across her nerves until her scalp tingled. The constant noise wrapped around her like a net, and she thought her whole body might crawl out of her skin.
She had told herself she was ready for this, but he had not hesitated. He had made it public without the slightest pause.
Pressed by the silent force of his gaze, she finally reached out and took the phone.
The screen was still open to WhatsApp. The group where he had dropped the photo now flashed with so many messages that the counter had frozen at ninety–nine plus.
But that was not what stole her attention.
Her
eyes
landed on a pinned chat.
The name read “Crybaby.”
Her breath caught because the picture was hers.
It made no sense. How could Jonathan pin her, and worse, call her something so teasing, so private?
She didn’t even remember breaking down in front of him.
She leaned closer, eyes narrowing as if the truth would change if she looked harder. But the photo was unmistakable.
It was her own picture with Meatloaf. No one else in the world could have had it.
Jonathan leaned in, his voice a low current against her silence.
“What is it?”
Anneliese raised a shaking hand and pointed at the screen. “That’s me, isn’t it?”
1/3
15:35 Tue, Sep 16
Chapter 240 Surprised Anneliese
:
40
+10 Free Coins
Her gaze
lifted, and she found his dark eyes locked on her. Her chest stumbled as though his stare had reached inside and taken her breath away.
“Who else would it be?” His voice rose at the end, effortless, like the truth had always been carved in stone.
A restless heat spread through her chest. She froze, her thoughts tangled.
“You… did you just pin me a moment ago?” Her words cracked softer than she meant.
It was the only answer she could cling to.
Because if he had already pinned her before today, then the truth could only mean one thing. He really wanted her.
The thought struck like a storm, scattering her heartbeat until it thrashed against her ribs without rhythm.
Jonathan studied her trembling lashes, the shadows in his eyes thickening.
“Yes.” His voice carried weight, though he buried the real answer deep inside himself.
The marriage license was already enough for her to process today. If she learned too much too soon, she might slip right out of reach. And he’d gone through too much to win her just to see her run away.
Anneliese drew a long breath, but the knot in her chest only tightened.
She pulled out her phone. “I’ll pin you too.”
Jonathan didn’t blink.
His stare stayed fixed, sharp as if he meant to watch her until it was done.
She unlocked her screen. His eyes fell without intention, sliding over her WhatsApp.
The top pin was her grandmother.
Below it sat another, a glowing red candy marked “Sweets.” Probably Jessica.
That much he could accept, but the chat beneath was not him.
Nor the one after.
He searched, his gaze tracing downward, and still his face was missing. The list blurred with
2/3
15:35 Tue, Sep 16
Chapter 240 Surprised Anneliese
:
40
+10 Free Coins
men’s icons.
If she wanted him at the top, she would have to pull him up herself. The thought cut deep.
“Quite a crowd of friends you’ve got,” he said, the words thin and sharp as ice.
The sound slithered down her spine, and her neck prickled cold.
She rushed, dragging his chat to the top. Her voice tumbled out in a rush.
“I’ve been buried in the lab. I’ve had to talk about experiments with my professor and a few of the guys from the program. I don’t usually message this many people.”
She often reached out to mentors in Westrough when she hit a wall, and since she and Jonathan met in person nearly every day, she rarely messaged him. That was why his chat had sunk so far down.
She didn’t even know why she was saying all this, but something inside her refused to let him think she leaned on other men. She refused to let him think that she had many close male friends.
Jonathan watched in silence as his name slid to the top. The cold mask on his face slowly eased
away.
Then his voice pressed close, steady and unyielding. “Change the name.”
She had saved him as “Mr. Fullbuster.” Better than nothing, but not by much.
Her head tilted up. “Change it to what?”
Jonathan arched his brow, his silence heavy, leaving the decision in her hands.
Her chest pulled tight. When he wanted something, the weight of his presence was hard to resist.
Her lips parted, but the words tangled. She couldn’t bring herself to write “Hubby.”
Not while his stare pinned her like this. Her courage faltered.
Her thoughts spun, and instead of deciding, she pushed back at him.
