When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 196

Nelly’s hands shook as she grabbed her phone to call Felix. He always went to bed early, so by now, he was probably sound asleep. His cell just rang and rang. When she tried the Watson family landline, a maid answered, but before Nelly could get more than a couple words out, another call flashed on her screen.

Jonah.

She picked up right away. “Are you okay?”

On the other end, Jonah paused, maybe thrown by the panic in her voice. “Why are you asking that?”

“I…” Nelly’s mind went blank for a second. She switched gears. “Did you make it to Country M?”

“Oh, plans changed at the last minute. I’m still in Westhaven.”

Relief washed over Nelly, but irritation bubbled up too. “Your plans changed and you didn’t think to tell me?”

“Because…”

Jonah trailed off. He’d been caught. It was true he’d been busy all day, but before everything was settled, he just didn’t want Nelly to worry. Deep down, he’d hoped to fix it all first, then tell her everything.

“I was really worried about you.”

Jonah stayed quiet, so Nelly kept going. She blurted out what she’d seen on the news about the flight. “You didn’t answer your phone. I was freaking out. I thought something might have happened to you…”

Once her words tumbled out, silence filled the line.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like I was blaming you.” Nelly took a breath, her tone softening as she tried to reel her emotions back in.

“I know.” Jonah’s voice was gentle, quiet, and suddenly it felt like the world around him had gone still. His words came through low, a little rough, and somehow they sent a shiver right through Nelly.

She felt prickly with energy, almost electrified.

“So, how was your day?” she asked, even though she knew it sounded kind of silly. She should have been asking about what went wrong, but for some reason, she just wanted to know how he was. The fact that he’d changed his travel plans without telling her made her worry he was carrying something all on his own, again.

“I’m alright.” Jonah sounded calm, warm. There was even a hint of a laugh in his voice, but it didn’t quite feel real.

“What about you? Where are you now?”

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