Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 1807

Jonathan knocked and pushed open the door, casually asking, "Still at it?"

Estelle turned with a smile, "Almost done!"

"Need a bath? I can run one for you," Jonathan offered.

"No thanks, I'm beat tonight. A quick shower will do!" Estelle shut down her laptop, stood up, and walked over to Jonathan, wrapping her arms around him and planting a kiss on his chin, "You head to bed; I'll go shower!"

Jonathan ran his fingers through her hair affectionately, "Alright, go ahead."

With her pajamas in hand, Estelle headed to the bathroom. The spray from the shower head hit her back, sharpening her thoughts as she let the water cascade down. Her mind was still fixed on the issues at Tripe's end.

There had been times when her brother had gone off on missions and vanished for months, but this time, not even his own people knew his whereabouts.

The contacts she had sent out to find him hadn't turned up a single clue.

It was all very odd, unnervingly so.

Estelle closed her eyes, trying to suppress the rising panic. She was getting impatient.

Finally, she turned off the shower and stood in front of the foggy mirror. Wiping away the condensation, she stared into her own cool eyes and remembered what her brother had told her when she first joined the organization,

"Once you're here, your life isn't in your hands anymore. But you'll learn just how resilient you can be!"

Brother, please be that resilient too!

Back in the bedroom, Jonathan was propped up against the headboard, engrossed in a book. He put it down and reached for the hairdryer as Estelle emerged from the bathroom.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Estelle let Jonathan tenderly dry her long hair. His fingers were gentle as they worked through her silky tresses.

Estelle played with the tips of her hair, "Maybe it's getting too long. I should get it trimmed if I find some time in the next few days."

"Don't cut it!" Jonathan chuckled softly, "You're supposed to have an updo for our wedding. It's better to keep it long."

Estelle leaned back, shaking her head, "No need, I've already applied some."

"I'm just going to massage your shoulders. You said you were tired," he said as he began to undo her pajama top.

Estelle pulled away, insisting, "Really, I just want to sleep."

Jonathan looked at her, eyes narrowing slightly as he took her wrist and slipped off her pajama top, turning her around.

Estelle let out a soft sigh, knowing she couldn't hide it.

After all, she could avoid it for a day, but not forever.

When Jonathan saw her back, his expression turned grave, and his voice was flat, void of emotion,

"What happened here?"