บททั้งหมดของ I Disappeared After Ninety-Ninth Engagement: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

I woke up in a SVIP suite.The first thing I saw was Julian. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.He'd brought a small army of doctors and nurses. On the bedside table was a box of my favorite donuts.It was like nothing had happened. Like we were back before Sheila, before the truth in the hallway.Before all of it, Julian had been gentle with me, patient. That was how he'd fooled me so many times without me ever noticing.When I didn't say anything, he picked up a chocolate one and held it to my lips, his expression almost guilty."Ada, sweetheart. I drove two hours to your favorite bakery. You need your strength back. Eat."This was the eldest son of the Veil family, a celebrated musician with the entire industry hanging on his every word.And he had driven two hours for a donut.Maybe this was his version of an apology.I took a bite. The chocolate hadn't even finished melting on my tongue when Julian's expression shifted.He turned to the men standing along the wall."Get the h

When I left her room, I went to the university to collect some things I'd left in Julian's office.I walked in on him playing a party game with his students.Sheila had lost a round. The penalty was to kiss one of the male students.She picked a guy at random. Just before her lips touched his, Julian pulled her away.His possessiveness hadn't dulled at all.When we were kids, he would get jealous if I talked to another boy for too long. Of course, watching the woman he actually loved about to kiss someone else, he couldn't take it.What I didn't expect was to hear them, that same night, in our house.Sheila's voice drifted through the wall in soft, hiccupping sobs."Julian, Professor, you're getting engaged. I love you, but I can't ruin another woman's marriage. I need to be with someone else, so I can forget you. Let me go."I didn't hear Julian's reply.What I did hear after that was the sound of kissing, and Sheila's breath catching.I pressed my hands over my ears and ran to my own

Sheila noticed Julian's expression change. She leaned closer, asking what was wrong.He didn't hear her. He kept dialing my number on muscle memory until his phone died in his hand.He couldn't hold back his panic, pushed her away and drove home frantically.He was shouting my name before he was through the front door. The staff had never seen him like this. None of them had the courage to tell him I was gone.He took the stairs three at a time. He threw open my door. The room was empty.A last sliver of hope kept him talking out loud."Ada's gone? No. She loves me. She wouldn't leave. She can't have left.""She's just angry I stopped her mother's medication. She must be transferring her to another hospital. That's what it is. That has to be it…"The last sliver died when he found the death certificate.He hadn't thought, hadn't let himself think, that the woman who had saved his father's life could die because he'd cut off her medication.His hand shook so badly the recorder fell out

Mr. Veil took Julian back to the country for treatment. I didn't hear about him after that.But on the day after he jumped, Veil Group made a coordinated press release across dozens of major outlets.They cleared everything up. The concert, the photos, the confession — everything had been Sheila's setup. The photos had been queued by her own people to flash on the screen mid-performance. My on-camera "confession" had been extracted under threat, with my mother's life as collateral.Within a day, Sheila's social media was a wasteland. She was finished in classical music.And the reversal made me famous in a way I hadn't been before. People who saw the news googled me. They found out I was teaching at National. The invitations started coming in: concerts, guest judging slots on competition shows, theatrical collaborations. Student enrollment in my class doubled.The same people who had questioned why Wyatt had hired me suddenly had nothing to say.One day I was eating lunch in the facult

A year later, I won first place at the World Classical Music Competition.In my acceptance speech I thanked my mother, Wyatt, Mr. Veil, and most importantly, myself.For being strong enough to walk through that much pain and still climb to the top of my own life.The spotlight was on me. I thought, for a second, I saw a familiar figure in the crowd.I was halfway through my speech —when a woman's voice tore through the hall."Ada, die!"The instant I saw Sheila, the blood in my veins froze.A gunshot cracked through the hall. I couldn't move. I closed my eyes and waited.When I opened them, the hall was in chaos.Julian was there. His men were already on Sheila. Then he was on the stage beside me, hands checking me everywhere, frantic.I looked down and saw the red.Wyatt was at my feet. Blood was pouring out of him onto the stage.My legs gave way. I dropped to my knees beside him, one hand pressed to the wound, the other fumbling for my phone to call an ambulance.Julian closed his