Chapter 267 Worried Friend
Chapter 267 Worried Friend
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The doctor examined Anneliese with calm precision, then gave a gentle nod of reassurance. He told her there was nothing to worry about and urged her to rest before stepping quietly out of the room.
Anneliese turned her gaze toward Jessica, and a strange sense of familiarity washed over her like a tide.
The last time her body had given out, it had been Jonathan who pulled her back from the edge.
So, the silhouette she had seen before she lost consciousness truly belonged to him.
Her lips parted, but before a single word could leave her mouth, Jessica burst forward, her voice quick and sharp, spilling answers as if she had been holding them back too long.
“I thought you had already gone back to Baytree. I didn’t even realize you were missing until Mr. Fullbuster called me and asked where you were. That’s when I learned you never even got on the plane.
“The Whites are absolute monsters. They tried to cover everything up by sending someone in your car straight onto the highway toward Baytree, just to fool anyone who might come looking. No wonder the search went in the wrong direction at first.
“Thank God Mr. Fullbuster came back when he did. Annie, I mean it, whether this marriage started out as convenient or not, he has proved himself more dependable than anyone. You really should think about making Mr. Fullbuster yours for real.”
Anneliese’s throat tightened, her words trapped, but before she could reply, the door swung
open.
Jonathan walked inside with Zion trailing close behind. He had traded his disheveled clothes for a crisp gray–and–black checkered shirt, a smooth black silk tie, and a tailored black suit jacket. A small silver airplane pin gleamed against his lapel, catching the light with polished precision. He looked sharp, commanding, every detail immaculate,
The contrast from before was striking. Where his shirt had been wrinkled and damp, now he stood collected, a picture of control.
But this was who he usually was. He lived with discipline and order.
Still, when Anneliese remembered that his earlier state of ruin had been caused by her alone, her face burned.
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Chapter 267 Worried Friend
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Her eyes flicked up and collided with his shadowed stare. Her breath snagged in her throat, and she turned away in panic.
“You two should talk,” Jessica said firmly as she pressed her hand on Anneliese’s shoulder. She gave Jonathan a pointed nod.
She wanted this more than anyone, for the two of them to find common ground, to make something real.
Anneliese had signed that marriage license partly out of loyalty to her.
She had never admitted it, but Jessica carried guilt heavy as stone in her heart.
She would not feel at peace unless Anneliese found true happiness.
And from what she had seen, Jonathan deserved at least a chance to earn it.
“Mr. Harland, I have some questions for you,” Jessica said as she guided Zion out, leaving the two alone.
Anneliese kept her eyes lowered, but then a tall shadow swept across her bed. His presence loomed, impossible to ignore.
Her lips trembled. She pressed her fingertips together, then lifted her face to meet him.
“So, why’d you cut your trip short?”
Jonathan studied the pale lines of her face, his gaze dark and unreadable.
Relief struck him like a flood. If he had waited for her to reach out, he would never have found her in time.
“My wife went missing. Of course, I had to cut it short.”
Her heart twisted at his words.
The way he spoke her title made her pulse stumble, and her lashes fluttered like she might hide from him.
But when she tried to lower her head, his fingers caught her chin and tilted it upward.
Her startled eyes locked with his. His gaze swirled like black water, deep and endless, dragging her down. His face filled her vision, sharp and devastatingly handsome.
He bent down and pressed his mouth to hers without a word.
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Chapter 267 Worried Friend
Anneliese’s eyes widened, her thoughts scattering like broken glass.
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It felt like he had stolen everything–her sight, her strength, even the rhythm of her own
heart.
All that remained was the soft heat of his lips, the wet press of the kiss, the pull of his breath against hers as it grew deeper and more urgent.
He kissed her lightly at first, testing, tasting, and when she didn’t resist, he pulled back just a fraction.
But the moment her lips trembled with a breath, he tightened his grip on her jaw and claimed her harder.
His mouth forced past hers, his kiss fierce, his tongue demanding, swallowing every sound she might have made.
She never noticed when her eyes closed, only that her body turned weightless, her lips tingling, her mind drowning in a haze.
Her hearing returned with clarity, and in that moment, she caught the thunder of a heartbeat pounding like drums in her ears, tangled with ragged breaths and the slick sound of their kiss.
Heat burned through her veins. The world spun.
A soft knock came against the door.
Jonathan finally pulled away, his chest rising heavy, his breath hoarse.
Zion’s calm voice slipped through from the hall. “Mr. Fullbuster, the time is almost gone.”
“I heard you,” Jonathan answered, his voice rough and strained. The silence outside told her Zion had stepped back.
Jonathan lowered his gaze, and his eyes fell on the girl trembling in his arms.
She looked stunned, dazed beyond reason. From where he stood, he could see her smooth forehead, the flushed corners of her eyes, and the shimmer of a tear clinging to her lashes. Her small frame shook as if she might break.
She looked frightened.
But she could not know that he was shaken too.
The moment he had stormed into that basement and seen her crumpled against the wall
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…
Chapter 267 Worried Friend
without a sound, his control had shattered like glass.
She was already his rightful wife, and he no longer wished to hold anything back.
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12:11 Thu, Sep 18
Chapter 268 No Holding Back
