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Amanda's POV

"Are you nervous, baby?" I asked him since his teeth seemed to be mercilessly attacking his own lower lip for the past twenty minutes.

His eyes slowly moved to meet mine, and he nodded with a little smile.
"Yeah... and I don't even know why. You seem pretty cool though." Taehyung sat up and loosened the bow tie around his neck.

"I might look all cool. But I'm screaming inside. Touch my hands." I extended my hands to him, and he held them in his larger hands, his long and beautiful fingers slowly wrapping around my freezing fingers.

"Whoa... you're freezing." He exclaimed with a cute pout and his puppy eyes, and I swiftly leaned forward and pecked his pout a few times, making him giggle.

"But your hands are actually warm, even though you look so nervous." I said and got up to check myself in the mirror.

The wedding gown, though a ready-made one, looked like it was made for me, fitting my whole body like a glove and highlighting my curves in all the right ways. Although I could style my hair quite well on my own, I chose to get it done by a professional today, and it did turn out exceptionally beautiful with not a single stray hair popping out of place.

Taehyung wore an expensive black wedding tuxedo with a white dress shirt and a black bow tie. He looked breathtakingly handsome as always — he didn't even have to try. His hair was gelled and styled to perfection, and I felt strange sensations within my stomach when his eyes met mine.

I turned around and stepped closer to him, holding his hands in mine.
"Taehyung, I'm so happy. Thank you for everything...I love you a lot" I kissed him gently, not wanting to smear my lipstick all over his lips.

"I love you, Amanda. I'm so happy too. I can't believe this is happening." He smiled big and then the door to our dressing room burst open, with Jimin, Sooya and Hoseok launching themselves into the room, giving us both mini heart attacks in the process.

"Hey, guys!" I turned around and waved to them.

"So are you guys ready?" Jimin wiggled his eyebrows and fixed his necktie.

"Yeah, we are." Taehyung said, and Jimin frowned at him.

"You guys couldn't wait until tonight, is it?" He shook his head and stepped up to fix Taehyung's bow tie.

Taehyung laughed and let Jimin do it.

"Taehyungie, there's a small surprise for you." Hoseok beamed and winked at him.

Taehyung's eyebrows knitted in doubt, as did mine. We looked at each other, and I shrugged, having no idea what Hoseok meant.

"Your father is here." Hoseok said and Taehyung's eyes widened in shock.

I didn't know how to react, and I didn't know how he felt about it. He had never lived with his father, but he never hated him as well. Taehyung had always wanted him to be a part of every important occasion in his life, right from his med school and post-grad graduation days to our wedding today — Taehyung had always made it a point to invite him for every occasion, yet he hadn't turned up for both the graduation day ceremonies quoting some lame excuses.

'I still remember the look of utter disappointment on Taehyung's face during our med school graduation day when he learned that his father wasn't attending it. Kim Taehyung was someone who had only an abundance of love to offer to everyone around him, yet the fact that his father didn't want to receive it was extremely upsetting.'

Taehyung stood without any expressions and everyone cheered him up, and I just supportively held his hand in mine.

"Let's go now?" Hoseok asked, and we all agreed and followed him.

Yoongi, the MC for the evening, introduced us to the gathering, and then we entered the reception area set up on the beach, the salty sea breeze blowing gently, the sounds of the calm crashing waves serving as the background music. We walked hand in hand down the long, decorated path leading up to the center stage and the crowd cheered and applauded as we stood facing them and bowed politely.

Our friends spoke nice words about us for once, without trying to destroy our image in front of a gathering of about one hundred people, each one of whom mattered a lot to us.

Finally, it was time for our vows, and we turned to stand facing each other.

"Ready?" He asked me in a low whisper, and I nodded, trying hard not to blush.

Yoongi handed a mic to Taehyung, and he began speaking in his deep, seductive voice, with his eyes locked onto mine.
"Amanda, I know now that I loved you from the moment we met, and I have been helplessly lost in your eyes ever since. Sometimes I watch just the smallest things you do and think I am the luckiest man alive." He chuckled and let his head drop for a while before his eyes lifted to meet mine again.

"I cannot promise you that our life will be all rainbows and unicorns or like a rose bouquet without any thorns. But I vow to love you as you love me, through all our hardships, darkness and pain to reach for our joys, our hopes, and always with honesty and faith. I promise that you will be the only woman in my life, and from this day forward, let us build a home together filled with love, laughter, joy and maybe one day with lots of kids as well." He said, and we both laughed together.

He held my left hand in his right hand and kept fidgeting with the engagement ring as I looked deep into his mesmerizing hazel orbs and began speaking.
"Taehyung, it is clear to me now that everything in my life has led me to you. I think back on all my choices and consider even the bad ones blessed because if I had done even one thing differently, I might never have met you and become your wife." I chuckled when he winked at me.

I continued,
"I promise you my unconditional love, tenderness, my undying devotion, not to ask you to be more than you are, and to love you for always being you. I enter this life with you without reservation, without fear or confusion, and I promise to trust you at all times with all my heart. I promise to support you, encourage you, and cherish you as your wife."

Taehyung nodded with a big smile and spoke into the mic, with his smoky gaze holding me captive.
"Amanda, you are my happiness, my inspiration, and I am blessed to be able to call you my ever loving wife. I take you to be my lawfully wedded wife and promise to look into your eyes just as I do now, with love and amazement. I promise to be the man that I see now in your eyes, today, tomorrow, and always. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you." He brought my hand to his lips and planted a soft kiss at the back of my hand.

I smiled big as tears welled in my eyes.
"Taehyung, I take you to be my lawfully wedded husband for now and forever more, till the end of our lives. I promise to spend each day working to become the truest version of myself, for you, for us, and for our family. As your wife, I am yours, I pledge my heart and soul to you and you alone. I promise to be a nurturing wife and your best friend, and I will always be on your side...always."

With our vows pronounced, we exchanged our wedding bands and Taehyung wrapped his hand around my waist, bringing me closer to him.

"I love you so much, ramen" he whispered to me.

"I love you, handsome," I whispered back and placed my hands on his shoulders, slowly sliding them to the back of his neck as we leaned in and locked our lips together in a gentle, yet intimate kiss — truly one of the best kisses we had ever shared in our relationship of almost eight years.

It all felt like a dream, and I didn't want to open my eyes or let go of his lips, fearing that the dream might end too soon.

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May 20, 2021

I woke up with a menacing cramp in my lower abdomen — a tell-tale sign that my period had arrived. Grabbing my phone from the night-stand, my heart felt heavy seeing the picture on the lock screen of my phone — the one with me and Taehyung taken on the day of our wedding. When I saw that the time was just 5 am, my head began pounding, and the hangover from last night made me feel like a lifeless blob.

Checking my pants, I was ashamed and embarrassed to see that I had slept without knowing that my clothes were stained, and I had even stained a small part of the bedding.

Smacking my forehead, I got out of bed and was relieved to see that Jungkook was still sleeping and not witnessing the small bloody mess I made on the bed. I fetched the last sanitary pad that was there in my closet, along with a change of clothes and pulled out the bedsheet, taking it with me to the bathroom, closing the door shut behind me.

After doing what was needed, I came back to the huge bed to lie down in loneliness. Yesterday was Wednesday — that day of the week where Taehyung and I always consciously spent time together and bonded over my elaborate curly girl routine. He was always so gentle in handling my curls and helping me out with the long line of products that had to be layered, and after everything when I ended up with a stiff neck, he always let his fingers work their magic on me and massaged my neck and shoulders with just the right pressure.

I missed him so bad, and what was worse was that I didn't even know where he was or what he was doing, and even worse — I had no clue if he was still alive. My heart ached, as did my head and my lower abdomen. I wept on the pillow, hoping that these miserable days would come to an end soon.

Unknowingly, I drifted off to sleep — thanks to my period cramping and the hangover headache. I woke up a couple of hours later when the alarm on my phone blared. Turning off the alarm, I got out of bed and noticed that Jungkook had already woken up; his sleeping bag wasn't there as well. I picked out some clothes to wear to work, and my headache returned when I saw that I had run out of sanitary pads. The first two days of my menstruation usually felt as if I had an open tap attached to my entrance, and I already felt the need to change the napkin.

Just great!

I decided to walk to the nearest convenience store that was about ten minutes by foot, and get back home for a shower. Grabbing my purse and phone, I headed out of the bedroom and saw that Jungkook was already in the kitchen, throwing some bananas and strawberries into the blender.

"Morning, Kook!" I greeted him with a forced smile, and he stopped whatever he was doing and looked at me, or more like stared at me without even blinking his eyes. That was like the longest he had ever made eye contact with me in all these years, and I wondered why he did it now and what was going on inside his head.

"I'll be back in a while. Gotta buy something." I said in a hurry and walked away. He didn't ask me anything, and it seemed a bit strange to me, yet I was thankful he didn't ask anything. I fast-walked down the streets and headed to the 24/7 convenience store and bought two packs of sanitary pads and rushed back home.

When I returned home, I quietly walked in closing the front door behind me, and I noticed that the blender with the fruits was still sitting on the kitchen counter. Walking down the hallway, in the direction of our bedroom, I noticed that the room door was half closed although I clearly remembered leaving it ajar.

I peeped in through the small gap in the door, and I had to actually furrow my eyebrows and look twice to comprehend what I was seeing, and when I finally did, my eyes rounded in horror, and my heart literally stopped functioning.

Standing at the foot of our huge bed, Jungkook had picked up my blouse that I had left on the bed — the one I chose to wear to work today — and he was sniffing it, with his eyes closed.

What the fuck is he doing?

I blinked and gasped when I saw him picking up every single piece of my clothing that was there on the bed and doing the same — inhaling the scent of it deeply and then rubbing the fabric over his face and neck and chest, with his eyes closed, lips parted and chest heaving heavily with his intense breathing. I slapped my mouth shut, and my legs began trembling, my heart was hammering so loudly inside my ribcage that I wouldn't have been surprised if he heard it.

It was when he picked up my jacket that he suddenly stopped moving his hands and opened his eyes and pulled out his phone from his pocket; my jacket still tightly clutched in his other hand. Staring at the screen of his phone with intense concentration, he sighed and uttered some incoherent cuss words, and powered it off before replacing it inside the pocket of his sweatpants.

With a creepy smile, he placed my jacket back on the bed and smoothed out the fabric with his hands.

Shit! I'm gonna get caught.

I looked around frantically, tiptoeing as fast as I could, and rushed to the kitchen. As I stood clutching my chest in one hand and the bag holding the sanitary pads in my other hand, trying to catch my breath, I heard his voice from behind me.

"Amanda, you're back" I heard his steady footsteps approaching me from behind. I froze on the spot, and my eyes widened in shock, forgetting how to blink.

"Amanda?" He tapped my shoulder.

I turned around to look at him, looking like a total mess myself, feeling terrified and disgusted to look at my friend for the first time in my life.
"I- I came here running from the store. So-" I paused and pretended as if I was panting and gasping for breath, when in reality, I was panicking and fearing for my dear life.

"Hey, calm down. I'll get you some water." He walked away to the water dispenser, seeming totally cool as though he wasn't sniffing the fuck out of my clothes just a while ago, and I began debating within my head as to what I should do next.

Should I confront him?

Or should I send him out of the house?

Above all, one sudden question pinched and pierced my brain.

Could he have done something to Taehyung?

He came back with a glass of water for me, and I was looking at him like he was a scary monster, my eyes wide, and a terrified look plastered all over my face and body.

I didn't dare to speak a word. I only took the glass of water from him and nervously gulped it down, spilling most of it down my chin and neck. Clumsily placing the glass back on the counter, I spoke fast,
"Umm.. it's getting late for me. I'll get ready for work now" with that, I literally ran out of the kitchen and into the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind me.

Once behind the closed door, I clapped my hands over my mouth in disbelief, dropping the cover to the floor. My eyes clouded with tears, and I couldn't even understand why.

Out of all the people on earth, why would Jungkook do something like this?

I felt betrayed and cheated and the only thing on my mind was what should be my next course of action. After a few minutes of conflicting thoughts, I decided to play it cool with him and inform Officer Jin about this new and totally unexpected revelation that I was still struggling to comprehend, even though I had no idea if this incident was in any way linked to my husband's disappearance.

Picking out a new set of clothes to wear, I managed to take a shower and get dressed before walking out of the room. I saw that Jungkook was also ready to go to work. And I suddenly began wondering if he actually worked somewhere, or if he was lying to me, given that Jimin didn't even know about it.

Sensing my presence, his gaze shifted to meet my eyes, and he smiled.
"Hey, you're ready to go too." He got up from his seat and began walking towards me, while I stood shell shocked and frozen on the spot. Even though I wanted to play cool, his presence made me behave weirdly, in an uncontrollable manner and internally I was panicking if my terrified facade would give away what was on my mind.

"Amanda, have your breakfast before you go. I've left some smoothie on the counter for you. I'll get going now, and I'll see you in the evening, okay?" He asked, and I held our gazes for a while, and nodded robotically, after which he left the house shutting the door behind him.

I waited in silence until I heard the front gate creaking — indicating that he had left. The next moment, I collapsed on the couch, sweating and hyperventilating. Without wasting another minute, I pulled out my phone and placed a call to Police Officer Jin.

"Officer Jin, can we meet today? I just witnessed something..." I spoke nervously, my hands and voice trembling.

Ugh! Honestly, I felt like a psychopath myself while writing these chapters.

Published on : 10/24/2021