Forced To Love | ✔

Chapter 3

Henry's POV

She's back...my dear Anna's back.

I couldn't believe my ears when her mom told me that she was back. It seemed like she just disappeared from the face of the earth.

About a two months ago, Anna had  mysteriously vanished. She had left me without so much as a word. There were no messages or phone calls from her.

The last time I saw her was when she came to my apartment. I searched high and low for her.

I went crazy, wondering what had happened to her. I was worried sick.

I endured many sleepless nights, praying that she would return. I had tried to find if she had left any clues that would lead me to her.

However, there was nothing to indicate where she might have gone to.

I had learnt from my mother who was still living next door to Anna's family that they had already filed for an official missing person report to the police.

After two weeks of searching for her endlessly, my hope began to falter.

Her family didn't know that I was searching for her too because they didn't know that Anna and I were in love.

Our relationship was kept a secret because Anna wanted it that way. I didn't know why and it frustrated me as to why she wanted to hide our relationship.

At times, I fought with her over this. She would pacify me with some odd reason that her father was very strict about dating and she would formally introduce me to them as her boyfriend soon.

It didn't make any sense to me at first, considering that we had been together for almost five years.

I met Anna for the first time when I was twenty and still living in my family's home when she moved in next door.

She was only seventeen years old at that time while Alyssa was fifteen. It wasn't long before her family and mine became were well-acquainted with each other.

She had bewitched me the moment I laid eyes on her. And, it was clear as day that she had feelings for me whenever she would steal shy glances at me while our families hung out together.

After which, things escalated from there. We would sneak out at night to meet alone. I remembered and cherished every single moment I spent with Anna, from our first kiss to the first time we made love in my bedroom.

So, I decided not to pester her anymore and respected her wish not to announce our relationship because I was very much in love with Anna.

Anna meant the world to me. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see her beautiful shoulder-length blond hair that had soft waves in them, how her emerald eyes glimmered with such love whenever she saw me, the way her petite body fit perfectly with mine as we laid in bed together.

As years went by, we grew even closer. We were inseparable. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

I decided it was time to propose to her and I had arranged for an elaborate engagement surprise on Anna's twenty fourth birthday.

Unfortunately, before that day could come, Anna had left me with nothing but a broken heart. I was devastated beyond reason.

Until one fine day after she had left, I received a phone call in the middle of the night. It was from an unknown number.

"Hello?", I answered.

"Henry, it's me.", I recognised her voice immediately.

"Anna! Oh my god, where have you been?", l sat up in bed, my sleep forgotten.