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.

I searched everywhere—every seat, the aisle, the bathroom, even under the seats.

Nothing.

He was nowhere.

Mervyn had vanished again.

"Flight attendant! Flight attendant!"

I called out frantically. Cecily rushed over immediately. "What's wrong?"

I pointed at Mervyn's seat, my voice trembling.

"My boyfriend is gone!"

"He was right here during the turbulence, but the moment the lights went out, he disappeared!"

Cecily frowned, glancing at the empty seat with a puzzled expression.

"Ma'am, are you sure you're not mistaken? We only saw you board alone. We never saw any boyfriend."

Again.

That same blank, confused look.

That same identical answer.

My heart pounded. I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through my photos, my voice rising.

"How could you not have seen my boyfriend? You just took a photo with him—"

The words died in my throat.

The photo—the one Mervyn and I had just taken with Cecily—was gone.

And it wasn't just that one. The grid of photos I'd posted to my social media, the messages and pictures I'd sent to my family group chat—all of it had vanished.

What was happening?

"Ma'am, I don't know what photo you're talking about, but I really haven't seen this boyfriend of yours." Cecily's tone was patient but firm. "The plane is currently in flight. Please return to your seat and fasten your seatbelt."

I didn't move. Instead, I turned to Stuart, desperate for confirmation.

"Sir, you saw my boyfriend just now, didn't you? You said he was handsome. You said my parents would definitely approve of him."

Stuart looked up at me, his face a mask of bewilderment.

"Young lady, what are you talking about? When did I ever compliment your boyfriend? I've never even seen him." He gestured at the seat beside me. "From the moment we boarded, you've been sitting here alone. That seat has been empty the entire time. No one's sat there."

His tone was so matter-of-fact, so utterly certain.

And that certainty made everything feel more wrong.

"That's impossible," I insisted. "You complimented him yourself. My boyfriend has been with me this whole time—you couldn't have missed him."

The other passengers began to stare, their gazes sharp with suspicion.

"Miss, I remember you boarding alone too."

"That seat next to you has been empty since takeoff. What boyfriend?"

"Maybe the turbulence scared you? Could you be... confused? Seeing things?"

I looked at all those doubting eyes and felt my sanity slipping.

"You all clapped for us! You congratulated us! You wished us a lifetime of happiness together!"

"Don't you remember?!"

One by one, they shook their heads, their expressions blank.

"Congratulations? No, nothing like that."

"It's been quiet this whole flight. Nobody said anything about blessings."

"Miss, you don't look well. Maybe you should sit down and rest."

Their voices overlapped, casual and calm, their eyes clear and guileless.

As if the applause, the well-wishes, the celebration of my engagement to Mervyn—none of it had ever happened.

But how could that be?

I remembered every moment. Every detail. I couldn't have imagined it.

A living, breathing person doesn't just vanish at thirty thousand feet.

So why was everyone saying the same thing?

Why did they all insist they'd never seen him?

Why were all the photos on my phone gone?

"Mervyn, where are you?!"

I was on the verge of a complete breakdown, screaming like a madwoman.

Cecily and the other flight attendants kept trying to calm me down.

"Ma'am, your behavior is seriously disturbing the other passengers. Please return to your seat immediately and remain quiet."

I shook my head frantically.

"No, my boyfriend is missing. I have to find him!"

My continued outburst forced the plane into an emergency landing at the nearest airport.

The moment the cabin door opened, several airport police officers stepped aboard.

Cecily rushed forward immediately, pointing at me as she addressed the team leader.

"This is the one, Captain Gray. She boarded alone, but she keeps insisting her boyfriend vanished from the plane. She refused to listen to reason and caused a disturbance, disrupting all the other passengers."

I didn't want to be sent back to the psychiatric hospital, so I forced myself to stay as calm as possible.

"Officer, I wasn't causing trouble. I was looking for my boyfriend. His name is Mervyn James. He definitely boarded this plane with me, but now he's gone."

"He has to still be on board somewhere. Please, I'm begging you—help me find him."

After my repeated pleas, Captain Clyde Gray finally agreed to search the aircraft.

They were thorough. Every inch. But in the end, they found no trace of Mervyn.

Captain Gray studied me with a measured look, his voice grave.

"We've searched this plane inside and out. We even checked every passenger's luggage. There's no sign of this boyfriend you're describing."

"A living, breathing person doesn't just vanish from an airplane. Are you certain he actually boarded with you?"

Tears pricked at my eyes. "I'm certain."

"I took photos of everything—us boarding together, all of it. I posted them to my social media and sent them to my family group chat. The posts and records are gone now, but my parents and friends all saw them."

Seeing how earnest I was, Captain Gray made a call to my parents on the spot.

But when he asked if they'd seen the photos I'd shared in the family chat, my mother's voice came through confused.

"What photos? I never saw any."

"Besides, my daughter has always been single. She's never had a boyfriend!"

My head rang like a bell had been struck inside my skull.

I grabbed for the phone, my voice shaking with disbelief.

"Mom, what are you talking about? You knew I'd been with Mervyn for three years! You were waiting for me to bring him home to meet you!"

My mother went quiet for two seconds, then sounded even more bewildered.

"Mia, what on earth are you saying? Your father and I have been nagging you to find a boyfriend for years, and you always told us you weren't interested in dating."

"You've been single all this time. How could you possibly have a boyfriend you've been with for three years?"

I'd always been single?

Why was my mother denying my relationship—exactly like she had in my previous life?

But I'd posted to social media this time. My friends could vouch for me.

I turned to Captain Gray, desperation clawing at my throat.

"My friends can confirm it! I posted about it—they all knew I was boarding with my boyfriend today, that I was bringing him home to meet my parents!"

Captain Gray contacted the friends who had commented on my posts, using the information I provided.

But the responses came back identical.

"What posts? I never saw anything like that."

"Mia's famously single in our friend group. How could she possibly have a boyfriend?"

"I've known her since we were kids. I've never once heard about her having a boyfriend, let alone posting couple photos online. That's just not possible."