Meet Me Where the Oak Tree Grows novel Chapter 61

"Jonah secretly intercepted those messages. So when the mission was wrapping up, your dad saw Jonah and immediately pegged him as a cop. Truth is, he just wanted revenge, but things accidentally fell into place.

"After his cover was blown, he made sure we got out safely, but he never made it out himself."

I leaned against the wall, feeling as if all the air had been knocked out of me. My mind was blank, struggling to process how reality could be so absurd and cruel.

"What about my dad now?" I asked.

"He's dead, succumbed to his addiction."

I couldn't decide whether to laugh at the irony of his fate or cry for my Jonah, who was wronged by the world. Or perhaps, it was myself I should blame for dragging him into this mess.

After a long silence, he asked hesitantly, "Has she been okay all these years?"

Then, with a bitter laugh, he added, "Thank goodness I didn't mess up her life back then. I'm just a wreck now."

"Two years ago, she had a car accident and ended up in a coma. Her family had been pressuring her to marry, and in a drunken haze, she drove up a mountain, crashing down with her car. She was always waiting for you."

In that empty hospital room, two souls, discarded by the world, shared the truths they longed for while piercing each other's hearts with painful revelations.

I went home and slept for two days, clinging to the hope it was all just a nightmare that would fade upon waking. But waking up only brought the same harsh reality.

"This is Jonah’s ashes, along with his belongings. His will requested that these be given to his fiancée—Miss Lana."

I stood there, stunned.

Among his belongings were hundreds of sketches of me and a diamond ring. When I thought I hadn't kept up with him, I realized he'd been watching over me all along.

I couldn't help but tremble, a faint, bitter smile forming at the corners of my lips.