Eight Years of Maybe One Day of I Do—Bride Swapped Deal With It novel Chapter 88

Chapter 10

Derek sank into his desk chair like someone had cut his strings.

Annie had seen the articles. That had to be it. She’d gotten upset and left.

But all her stuff was still here-clothes, makeup, every little keepsake they’d picked up traveling together over the years.

People didn’t abandon their entire lives over one bad news cycle.

She’d probably just needed space. Gone somewhere to think.

Annie didn’t really go out much without him.

She had exactly one close friend-Lily. So she was either there or at her parents’ place.

Derek was back in his car and halfway across town before he’d fully processed the decision.

Twenty minutes later he was pounding on Lily’s door hard enough to wake her neighbors.

She opened it about two inches, her expression flat. “She’s not here.”

The door shut in his face before he could respond.

He tried the doorman. The parking attendant. Nobody had seen Annie.

His chest felt like something was tightening around it, making it hard to breathe properly.

One option left.

Annie’s parents lived in a gated estate on the north side.

She almost never visited-her family was the kind of cold old-money dynasty where affection was considered vulgar. But he was out of ideas.

When he arrived just after midnight, the house was dark. The butler who answered looked genuinely alarmed to see Derek standing there alone.

It took nearly half an hour of confused back-and-forth-voices gradually getting loud enough to wake the whole household-before Derek finally accepted what they were telling him.

Annie hadn’t come home.

Her father appeared in the hallway wearing an expensive bathrobe, looking more irritated than concerned.

“Honestly, Derek, she’s thirty years old. These little tantrums are beneath her.”

Her mother descended the stairs with a sigh.

“You’ve been too lenient with her. She’s acting like a spoiled teenager because you let her get away with it. I’ll speak to her when she comes

back.”

Derek stood there with nothing to say.

He’d always known Annie’s relationship with her family was distant, but he was seeing it clearly now-she’d grown up in this house without ever really being loved.

And at his family’s estate, she’d spent years being quietly punished for not producing an heir. Like her only value was tied to her ability to give

them grandchildren.

A sick feeling settled in his stomach.

He’d told himself Annie came from money, that she had support, that his family wouldn’t be too cruel. That justification had made it easier to do what he’d done-taking her newborn and giving him to Nina, who’d been desperate for a child.

Had he been lying to himself this whole time?

If Annie wasn’t with her parents, wasn’t with Lily, wasn’t at home… where was she?

The darkness outside felt suffocating.

Derek called his assistant. “I need people at every airport and train station in the city. Find her.”

He sat in his parked car and smoked cigarette after cigarette until the pack was empty and the sky started turning gray.

His phone rang an hour later.

“Sir, we’ve confirmed that Mrs. Connor purchased multiple plane tickets this afternoon. Different carriers, different destinations-New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo. We have no way of knowing which flight she actually took.”

The phone nearly slipped from Derek’s hand.

She’d planned this. Days ago, maybe longer. This wasn’t some impulsive reaction to today’s mess-she’d been preparing to disappear while he’d been completely oblivious.

What the hell had he been doing?

Playing house with Nina and Simon. That’s what. Ignoring his actual wife.

He’d mistaken her silence for acceptance. Thought she’d made peace with everything.

She’d even smiled when they signed the divorce papers.

Annie had loved him-he’d always known that. From the very first time they met, she’d looked at him like he was the only person in the room.

For nine years, that look had never changed.

And he’d just… taken if for granted.

Now she was gone. She hadn’t yelled or cried or begged him to reconsider. She’d just quietly arranged her exit and vanished.

The thought of how long she must have been planning this-how many days she’d smiled at him while secretly preparing to leave forever-made his chest hurt in a way he didn’t have words for.

She’d been so convincing.

Turned out she could lie just as well as he could.

By the time the sun started coming up, Derek found himself back at the house.

The living room lights were still burning.

Derek’s heart leapt so hard it actually hurt.

She’d come back. Annie had cooled down and come home.

Chapter 10

He was through the door before he’d even fully parked, taking the front steps two at a time.

Then he saw who was waiting for him.

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