I was bringing my boyfriend home to meet my parents for the New Year. After the plane took off, I went to use the restroom.

But when I came out, the seat next to mine was empty. My boyfriend had vanished.

I flagged down a flight attendant. She told me I had boarded alone.

I asked the other passengers. They all said no one had been sitting beside me.

But I had clearly boarded this plane with my boyfriend!

Just minutes ago, he'd peeled a banana for me, telling me it would be waiting when I got back from the restroom.

How could he just disappear?

I stared at the peeled banana still sitting on his seat and demanded they search the cargo hold and the cockpit.

My insistence forced an emergency landing at the nearest airport.

Police officers boarded and searched every inch of the aircraft. They found nothing. No trace of my boyfriend. No record that he even existed.

They contacted my parents. My parents said I'd always been single—that I'd never had a boyfriend at all.

In the end, I was committed to a psychiatric hospital.

I was beaten to death by another patient.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day I was supposed to bring my boyfriend home.

1.

"Mia Henson, what are you spacing out for? It's boarding time—let's go check in."

Mervyn James waved the two boarding passes in his hand, smiling at me.

Looking at that warm, gentle smile, a violent shudder ran through my body.

I had been reborn.

I'm twenty-seven this year. Mervyn and I have been together for three years.

I'd decided to bring him home this New Year to meet my parents.

I never imagined that decision would make him vanish without a trace—and cost me my life.

Even now, replaying everything from my past life, I'm completely lost.

I don't understand. How does a perfectly healthy, living man just disappear mid-flight?

Why did the flight attendants and passengers—who had watched us board together with their own eyes—all claim they'd never seen Mervyn?

Why did my parents, who had always doted on me, who knew I'd been dating Mervyn for three years, insist I'd never had a boyfriend?

"Mia, you look pale. Are you feeling okay?"

Mervyn was watching me, concern written across his face.

My heart clenched.

Three years together. He'd always been so good to me.

He knew my stomach was weak. He'd never cooked a day in his life before me, but he taught himself—made me three meals a day without fail.

Over a thousand days and nights, and he'd never once raised his voice at me.

That's why his disappearance in my past life had driven me to desperation. I'd torn myself apart trying to find him.

I still don't know what really happened back then. But this time, I refuse to make the same mistakes.

I looked at Mervyn, letting fear creep into my voice.

"Maybe we shouldn't take this flight? We could reschedule, or take the train instead."

Mervyn blinked, then gave me an indulgent smile.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's the holiday rush—there are no other tickets."

"We spent three days fighting to get these seats. If we give them up now, we won't make it home at all."

He was right. Changing flights or switching to the train wasn't realistic.

But the moment I thought about what happened last time—how boarding this plane led to his disappearance and my death—panic clawed at my chest.

What do I do?

Is there really no other way?

Wait.

The reason I ended up in that psychiatric hospital was because no one could prove Mervyn had ever been on the plane.

So this time, all I need to do is create evidence that he boarded with me.

The thought struck like lightning. I pulled out my phone immediately.

As I linked my arm through Mervyn's and walked toward the gate, I started snapping photos—of him, of us, of everything.

From the ticket check to boarding the plane, to settling into my seat, to the cabin doors sealing shut—I documented every step.

Then I posted a nine-photo collage to my social media.

Caption: "Boarded! Bringing my boyfriend home~ ️"

The moment it went live, likes and well-wishes flooded in:

"So sweet! Wishing you two forever!"

"Wow, finally meeting the parents—congrats!"

"Safe travels! I can't wait for the wedding!"

Just to be safe, I also took a photo of Mervyn and me holding up our boarding passes together and sent it to the family group chat.

"Mom, Dad—Mervyn and I are on the plane. We'll land in three hours."

My mom replied instantly: "Finally getting to meet our future son-in-law! Your dad and I already bought groceries—just waiting for you two to come home!"

Seeing her response and the dozens of congratulatory comments on my post, I finally let out a breath.

Now no one can say I don't have a boyfriend, right?

When the plane took off, the flight attendant asked everyone to switch their phones to airplane mode, then began distributing drinks.

When she reached my row, Flight Attendant Chavez—just like in my previous life—got bumped by another passenger and accidentally spilled some orange juice on me.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry."

Cecily Chavez apologized profusely, reaching to clean the juice off my clothes.

But Mervyn beat her to it, grabbing napkins and gently dabbing at the stain.

"It's fine—I'll take care of my girlfriend."

Seeing this, Cecily smiled politely, then turned to me with an envious look.

"Your boyfriend is so thoughtful."

I stared at her, unblinking.

In my previous life, she'd said the exact same thing.

But after Mervyn vanished, when I asked if she'd seen my boyfriend, she'd looked at me with complete bewilderment:

"Miss, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"I clearly saw you board alone."

To prevent Cecily from changing her story again, I grabbed her hand and smiled with a request:

"Could I ask you for a small favor?"

Cecily looked confused. "What kind of favor?"

I pulled out my phone, my expression earnest.

"This is my first time bringing my boyfriend home to meet my parents. I want to document this trip properly—would you mind taking a photo with the two of us?"

"Just as a little memento."

Cecily nodded without hesitation.

"Of course."

With that, Mervyn, Cecily, and I posed for a photo together.

I saved the picture carefully, then turned my attention to the elderly man sitting in the aisle seat nearest to us—Stuart Finch, who looked to be around seventy.

His seat was the closest to ours. In my previous life, he'd nearly fallen while trying to lift his luggage into the overhead bin, and Mervyn had caught him just in time, helping him stow it away. The old man had thanked Mervyn repeatedly.

So when I'd gone around asking passengers if they'd seen Mervyn, he was the first person I approached.

But he'd insisted that the seat beside me had been empty the entire flight. That no one had ever sat there.

To make sure he'd remember Mervyn this time, I gently tapped Mr. Finch on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir?"

He looked at me, puzzled. "Yes?"

I gestured nervously toward Mervyn in the seat beside me.

"I was wondering—what do you think of my boyfriend's appearance?"

"My parents haven't met him yet, and I'm a little nervous."

Mr. Finch studied Mervyn carefully, then nodded with approval.

"Young man's quite handsome. You two make a fine couple."

"Your parents will definitely approve."

Hearing his answer, I thanked him and fell into deep thought.

Both Stuart Finch and Cecily Chavez had reacted completely naturally—nothing in their tone or eyes suggested any resistance or evasion.

So where was the problem?

Why had they, in my previous life, insisted so adamantly that they'd never seen Mervyn after clearly having met him?

To maximize Mervyn's presence, I pulled him up from his seat.

Under his puzzled gaze, I addressed the entire cabin:

"Sorry to interrupt everyone for a moment."

"Today is a very important day—I'm bringing my boyfriend home to meet my parents for the first time. We've been together for three years, and we're planning to get engaged after this visit."

"Being on this flight with all of you at thirty thousand feet feels like a special kind of fate, so I was hoping you could give us your blessings. Would that be okay?"

Every passenger on the plane turned to look at us.

No one hesitated. Warm applause and well-wishes filled the cabin:

"Congratulations! Wishing you happiness forever!"

"What a sweet couple! May you have a hundred years of harmony!"

"And babies soon!"

Amid the chorus of blessings, Mervyn broke into a sweet smile.

His cheeks flushed as he thanked everyone, then quickly pulled me back down into my seat.

"Mia, what's gotten into you today?" he asked, bewildered. "Being so public about it—you're making me blush."

I gripped his hand tightly and said with complete seriousness:

"I'm just so afraid of losing you."

Now everyone on this plane was our witness.

I refused to believe anything could go wrong.

Hearing this, Mervyn reached over and gently stroked my hair.

"Silly girl. I love you so much—how could I ever let you lose me?"

"Is it because you're nervous about me meeting your parents?"

To ease my anxiety, he pulled out a banana from his carry-on—my favorite snack.

He carefully peeled it and held it to my lips. "Stop overthinking. Eat something. We've still got over an hour before we land."

I stared at the banana he was offering, and my breath caught.

In my previous life, this was the exact moment I'd gotten up to use the restroom because I needed to pee. When I came back, Mervyn was gone.

All that remained was this banana, already peeled.

Right now, I could feel the pressure in my bladder too—but I didn't dare leave my seat.

I took a bite of the banana and clutched Mervyn's hand even tighter.

"From now on, you don't leave my sight. Not even for a second."

Mervyn chuckled helplessly. "Okay, okay. I won't leave your side."

The words had barely left his mouth when the plane lurched violently.

"Attention, passengers. We are experiencing severe turbulence due to strong air currents. Please fasten your seatbelts, hold onto your armrests, and remain seated."

As the announcement played, the shaking intensified.

The cabin lights began flickering wildly.

Then everything went dark.

Everyone gripped their armrests, frozen in place, too terrified to move.

Two seconds later, the lights came back on.

The plane steadied.

Heart still pounding, my first instinct was to grab the arm beside me.

But my hand closed on empty air.

I whipped my head around.

Mervyn's seat was empty.

Mervyn was gone.

He'd been holding my hand just seconds ago.

How could he have vanished in the blink of an eye?

Sheer panic crashed over me. I tore off my seatbelt and shot to my feet, frantically scanning the cabin.