When His Perfect Mask Shattered I Awoke (Anneliese and Zacharias) novel Chapter 670

Anneliese lifted her brows, and the moment Jonathan's name came up, her eyes softened and practically lit up.

Jessica was happy for her, but deep down, she honestly felt that Anneliese had a serious filter on when it came to Jonathan, and a pretty big misunderstanding to go with it. She made a small, inviting gesture, entirely at ease, and watched as Anneliese took out her phone.

Anneliese dialed the number. Jonathan picked up almost instantly. He had set a special ringtone just for her, so the call barely rang once before he was already on his feet, one hand raised to pause the first executive meeting after the New Year.

"Honey, are you done yet? I still need about ten more minutes here. Want me to come pick you up after?" Jonathan asked as he stepped out of the conference room and stopped in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

He was not at AeroAir's main office building. He was at the AeroAir operations campus instead. From where he stood, he could see the sleek curves of the airport terminal roof outside and a plane cutting cleanly through the sky.

His thoughts drifted. Maybe it is time to reshuffle my schedule for the year. It feels like I can finally move the wedding date, and the honeymoon too higher up on the priority list.

Anneliese had confidently told Jessica that Jonathan was incredibly considerate. Yet hearing him offer to get her now made her feel oddly guilty. "If you're busy, then…" She cleared her throat before finishing, but her shifting gaze met Jessica's all-knowing look head-on.

Jessica even moved her lips, silently forming a single word. Coward.

This is seriously unbearable. Anneliese thought.

Anneliese shot Jessica a sharp look, then bit her lip and shifted gears. "Honey, I think I'll stay at Jess' tonight. She just got out of the hospital, and I can't leave her alone."

After she said that, the line went quiet. Anneliese noticed her own breathing getting lighter. "You mad?"

Jonathan wasn't exactly mad. It was just that he had finally managed to sort things out with Nishay. Now Nishay was letting him slide, looking the other way so he could bring Anneliese back to his place. And yet, before he even got her fully through the door, she was already being swooped up by someone else. Anyone in his shoes would feel tangled up and disappointed.

He pressed his thin lips together, deliberately staying quiet for a long moment. Hearing Anneliese's quickened breathing on the other end, he couldn't bear to let her worry. He exhaled. "Not mad, just…"

"Mm?"

"It's like I haven't even made it to the spotlight and I'm already getting sidelined." His voice carried nothing but helplessness.

Anneliese couldn't hold it in and let out a soft laugh. Then, feeling the chill from the phone in her hand, she quickly composed herself. "Not that bad, I…"

Jessica was still nearby, and Anneliese felt a little embarrassed. She covered her mouth with her hand and casually walked a few steps toward the window before saying, "Love you the most, honey."

Jonathan heard her low voice whispering those words, soft and tender, the way the ending curled just right into his ear. For a moment, it felt like his heart had melted halfway into a puddle.

The little troublemaker can't come over to keep me company, and she's still teasing me like crazy!

Jonathan's eyes darkened. "You little heartbreaker."

I'm really trying to sweet-talk him, so why am I getting called a little heartbreaker?

Wait for what?

She wasn't talking like that just a second ago!

At that moment, back at the AeroAir operations campus, Jonathan ended the call and strode straight back into the conference room. He claimed the first seat, his voice low and measured. "Go on. I've heard enough of the same old lines you were spouting just now. This time, I want something fresh, something with a spark."

The tension in the room thickened, heavier than it had been before.

Feels like Mr. Fullbuster just got off the phone and is walking around frustrated or something.

Middle of the day, so we're probably just overthinking it.

Gotta stay sharp. I don't want to be the first casualty of AeroAir this year.

…

The place was a pretty chill little bar, not crowded at all during the day, with soft music drifting lazily through the air. But at the counter, Gianna was already way ahead of schedule on her drinking.

She had bolted out from Wendy's side, completely rattled by that pregnancy checkup slip.

For a moment, she even tried to convince herself the date on it had to be wrong. But in the car, she zoomed in on the photo she'd taken. Her phone practically glared back at her, leaving zero room for any mistakes.