After the call disconnected, Xu Mey realized that it had been a while since Ye Jie went to buy something to eat for her. Why wasn’t he back yet? Xu Mey’s heart grew a bit restless but she tried to calm herself and tried to wait patiently. But the next few minutes felt like hours to her and her heart grew even more restless.

  She tried to call him but he didn’t attend the call making her feel uneasy. She frantically looked around for him but when she couldn’t get in touch with him her limbs started shaking as her heart palpitated. Cold sweat dripped down her forehead as she ran around to look for Ye Jie. Now, she was scared. Scared out of her wits.

  Suddenly, the fear of not being able to see him again came over her making her head hurt. Standing between the crowd of people, she felt all alone. The world all of a sudden went silent for her as the darkness cascaded before her eyes.

  "Baby! Mey!" She heard a voice calling out to her as someone was shaking her.

  After she opened her eyes, she felt a familiar warmth along with that scent of lavender she grew to love. "Baby, are you awake?" Hearing that voice, she immediately opened her eyes to see Ye Jie looking at her anxiously.

  Instead of answering him, Xu Mey instantly sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Ah-Jie, where were you? I was so scared…… You didn’t even pick up my calls. I thought……" She hiccuped in between before continuing, "I thought you left me."

  Seeing her acting so scared, Ye Jie was startled. He gently rubbed her back and said, "Where would I go? Even the idea of leaving you is scary enough for me……" He took a pause before adding, "I was coming back to you when I saw you fainting all of sudden. So, it’s you who scared the hell out of me. What happened?"

  "I just told you…… I was scared when I couldn’t find you." Ye Jie frowned since he was only gone for about half an hour. Why did she get so scared? She wasn’t one of those people who would get scared over nothing. "What took you so long?"

  He smiled at her and explained, "I met up with an acquaintance. While we were chatting, I didn’t notice that I was this late. Sorry! I really didn’t know that you’d worry this much." Seeing his guilty face, Xu Mey realized that she had indeed overreacted. But even she couldn’t explain her fear even if she wanted to perhaps it was all because of the nightmare she had.

  "No…… I’m sorry! I made you worry for no reason." Sensing something from her tone, Ye Jie tried to read her expressions but Xu Mey avoided his gaze.

  "Tell me the truth. What made you so scared?"

  "I……" Xu Mey wanted to lie but looking at him, she decided to just tell him. "I had a dream a few days ago. In my dream, you were standing on one side of the road and I was on the other side. I called out to you but you didn’t listen. As if, you didn’t know me at all. At first, I didn’t think about it but today, when I couldn’t find you, I thought my dream was coming true. I felt like I just lost you."

  "I’m right here with you. I’m not going anywhere even if you want me to. That was really a dream and it’ll stay that way." Ye Jie touseled her hair and added, "So, please, stop over-thinking." He uncovered the Acai bowl and passed it to her saying, "Eat it…… You’ll feel better."

  Xu Mey silently nodded but didn’t move away from his embrace. Letting her back, rest on his back, she took a bit of that delicious thick smoothie. The cold snack made her feel refreshing. It really helped to lift her mood. Ye Jie kept her company in silence as he saw her smiling after just taking a few bites.

  Seeing her smile, he smiled himself. He was surprised, how she was panicking a moment ago and now, there was a big smile on her face. She really was unexpected. Although he wasn’t supposed to be happy about it, he still felt a gush of warmth in his heat knowing that she was scared of losing him.

  It was a good thing that he wasn’t the only one with thanatophobia[1] in this relationship anymore. As they say, as a person’s love grows stronger, so does his fear of losing them. It seemed like her love for him was stronger than ever.

  Unbeknownst to them, there was another person who had been watching them all along. "What is this? I thought Ms. Xu was stronger than this…… If you’ll get scared this easily, how will I enjoy myself? Since your biggest fear is losing him. That’s exactly what I’ll snatch from you!"

  [1] "thanatophobia": the phobia of losing someone you love