Chapter 9
Jonathan replied almost immediately. “Okay,” but then paused, looking a bit surprised. “Wait, that’s it? That’s all you want?”
Marissa nodded calmly. He gave a light chuckle, then told her four digits. “Phone and laptop–same code.”
She frowned slightly. “What do those numbers mean?”
Jonathan leaned in, kissed her lips, then gently rested his forehead. against hers. “That’s the date we first got together. I love you.”
Marissa froze. She had suspected it when she heard the numbers, and now, hearing him say it out loud, even if it was true, she could not bring herself to feel anything.
Jonathan reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and handed it to her. “Mari, do you want to check if I’ve been messaging anyone else? You can look through everything. I swear, there’s only you in my heart.”
Marissa gently pushed the phone away and gave a soft smile. “I believe you.”
Jonathan reached up to brush the tears from her cheeks and pulled her into a tight hug. “You finally smiled,” he said quietly, almost in relief.
His voice turned warm and light. “I want to throw a banquet for you in a few days. I need to plan everything carefully.
“I won’t be able to stay with you for the next couple of days, so just rest
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at home, okay?”
“Sure.” Marissa closed her eyes. “Are you going to invite my family?”
She silently hoped his answer would be different this time.
Jonathan squeezed her hand, and after a long pause, he murmured. “We’ll invite everyone.”
Marissa let out a laugh through her tears. “Okay.”
Over the next few days, Jonathan was tied up with banquet preparations while Marissa quietly packed her things.
She had her luggage sent home by express, leaving only a few clothes to change into, and quietly said goodbye to the friends she had made here.
Jonathan returned the night before Valentine’s Day.
After coming out of the shower, he hugged Marissa from behind and kissed her neck.
Just as his hands moved to unbutton her shirt, she caught his wrist, stopping him. “It’s not a good time,” she said.
Jonathan’s body was already burning up. “Then we don’t have to.”
Later that night, once his breathing had settled into a steady snore, Marissa nudged him gently.
Jonathan rolled over and kept sleeping. She quietly picked up his phone and found his chat with his friends.
“Jonny, the banquet’s tomorrow. Why haven’t you posted the video.
1111
awes
yet?”
“Yeah, don’t forget to cast it when the time comes!”
“Jonny, why aren’t you replying? We’ve been…”
Marissa’s heart raced. She dove into his encrypted files, found the video, and deleted it completely.
Once she put the phone back in place, she finally felt relieved.
Jonathan had not been home recently, so she had already wiped the cloud storage on his computer.
She had deleted the recorder too. Now, she was certain that he did not have even a second of that video left.
That night, Marissa slept better than she had in a long time.
At eight in the morning, Jonathan woke to find her walking out the door with a suitcase.
Rubbing his eyes in confusion, he asked, “Babe, where are you going
