When His Perfect Mask Shattered I Awoke (Anneliese) novel Chapter 549

She couldn't get a single word out for a long moment. She just sat there, holding everything in, stubborn and tense.

"Annie, I'm fine. Really. Don't fight with Mr. Fullbuster because of me. If he finds out, then he finds out. It's not a big deal…"

Jessica clearly hadn't expected Anneliese to snap like that and start arguing with Jonathan. She caught pieces of Jonathan trying to explain himself, and it was apparent the whole thing still circled back to her. She tugged lightly on Anneliese's sleeve, and her voice was small and worried.

That pull and that soft call felt like someone dragging Anneliese up from underwater. She sucked in a few shaky breaths and closed her eyes, trying to steady herself.

When Jessica saw how pale her face was and how red her eyes had gotten, she gasped. "Annie, are you okay?"

Of course, Jonathan heard that gasp through the phone.

His voice instantly lost whatever calm he had left. There was a strained edge to it when it reached her ear. "Honey, I'm sorry. Whatever happened, it's on me. Please don't be upset. Let's not fight, alright?"

Anneliese even caught the sharp scrape of a chair being dragged across the floor.

Jonathan must have shot to his feet in a panic. A second later, he spoke again. "I'm coming back to Oceaton right now. Whatever it is, we can talk in person."

Her tears spilled before she even realized they'd fallen. They burned as they slid down the corners of her eyes.

She fought through the tightness in her throat and turned her head away. She wiped at the streaks under her eyes, waited until she could keep her voice steady, then finally spoke.

"No. Stay with your family. I just… I've been overly sensitive over the past couple of days. I'm probably about to get my period, and the whole kidnapping thing still has me on edge. Don't worry about it. And I owe you an apology too. I shouldn't have said what I said."

Yesterday at the Fullbuster estate, Anneliese overheard the staff chatting. Every New Year, the Fullbusters held a long, formal family remembrance ceremony, and Jonathan, as the future heir of the Fullbuster Group, was never allowed to skip it.

Jonathan had stopped walking. He drifted toward the tall windows, and his gaze settled on the distant direction of Oceaton without him even realizing it.

"I'm not taking your apology."

"Huh?" Anneliese's stomach dropped. She froze for a second, completely thrown.

Before she could find her footing, he added, "You scared me just now. The only thing I'm accepting is a kiss from you. Something to calm me down."

Her nerves had been bouncing all over the place, and with a few words, he scrambled everything she had been feeling.

Jonathan's expression, which had finally eased, tightened again.

"Anneliese, I need a whole condition just to get you to reply to my messages? So you really were ignoring me on purpose?"

She heard the irritation in his voice and had to admit he was scarily sharp.

"That's not it. I was exhausted yesterday. And I took Jess to the hospital this morning. I didn't have time. I wasn't trying to bargain with you. I thought you were dodging the question. Did you already tell Zane?"

"No. I didn't tell him anything. You told me to keep it quiet, so I'm keeping it quiet."

If Honey is already upset, and I still decide to push back against her, I'm basically signing my own death warrant. For the sake of my own sanity, I'm sure Zane can deal with it. I mean, come on. His own woman is pregnant, and she doesn't even want him to know. That's already a huge blow. If he doesn't take a hard look at himself and figure out why that's happening, and instead gets mad at other people for not giving him a heads-up, then there's really no saving him.

After hearing Jonathan agree so fast kind of threw Anneliese off. She hadn't expected him to give in that easily.

It made her realize how unnecessary all that irritation and guardedness had been. It felt like she'd worked herself up for nothing.