My face turned pale while Dylan's face tensed. The man smiled casually as he sat at our table. I remembered the picture of Bella with that man in a large frame hanging on the wall. There was no mistake. The man was James Hatter, Bella's husband. Finally, he found us. I noticed a few burly men standing at each corner close to our table–undoubtedly James's men.
"Am I interrupting something here?" James asked casually.
I remained silent while Dylan's face seemed to contain suppressed anger.
"I miss you, sweetheart. Do you know how long I've been looking for you? My life isn't complete without you. Now that I've found you, I can't express how happy I am to see you again. I miss you so much, Bella. Well, come with me, okay?" James's voice was soft, trying to persuade me.
"She won't go anywhere." Dylan spoke, tense. His facial expression seemed like he wanted to kill James right then and there.
"Of course she will. She's my wife, anyway. Do you know I can have you jailed for kidnapping my wife?"
I watched nervously as the tension escalated between James and Dylan, especially when James mentioned the possibility of putting Dylan in jail. I didn't want Dylan's life to be ruined because of me, and I had no intention of involving him that far.
"Stop. James, I'll go with you." I said, not wanting to complicate the situation. Dylan's face changed upon hearing my words.
"Bella, do you realize what you're saying? The moment you go with him, do you know what will happen? Your life will be ruined, and you'll suffer. I won't let that happen. I'd rather die than let you go with him." Dylan stared intensely at James and glanced several times at James' henchmen surrounding them.
"Wow, such a brave man. I don't know what you're talking about, but young man, she’s, my wife. I will not harm her. I'm her husband, anyway."
"You're a liar. You're just a masked devil! I won't let you take Bella away. I swear on my life!" Dylan seemed uncontrollable; his eyes filled with anger. I bit my lip, not knowing what to do. During the tension, James pulled my hand towards him, causing my head to land on his chest. I was dumbfounded, unable to process what was happening. His whisper in my ear made my eyes widen, and my heart almost stopped.
"What are you doing? Let her go!" Dylan yelled and pulled my hand towards him. James raised his hand, instructing his men not to do anything.
"Bella, follow me. Let's get out of here," Dylan said slowly, clenching my hand.
"Dylan, wait." I pulled my hand from Dylan's grasp. Dylan turned to look at me, surprised that I let go of his hand.
"Bella..."
"Dylan, I'm sorry. Let's stop this. I'll go with James." I said, causing Dylan's face to change. His eyes were wide open, his eyebrows raised, and his jaw dropped. A hint of sadness appeared in his eyes.
"Bella... Why are you doing this?" Dylan's voice trembled. I realized I had shattered his heart with my decision, but I had no other choice.
"I'm sorry, Dylan. He's right. I'm his wife, and he is my husband. It was fun with you. Thanks for everything, Dylan." I spoke, suppressing the sadness in my soul.
"Don't do this, Bella. Please..." Dylan pleaded while holding onto my hand, but I shrugged him off.
"Let's go, James." I turned away and walked away with a thousand conflicting emotions in my heart.
"Of course, sweetheart."
I glanced briefly at Dylan before entering James' car, and as I expected, he was still frozen there with a broken heart.
I sat on the edge of the sofa in Bella's room, feeling the anxiety surge through me. My sweaty hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly. When I arrived at the house, James instructed me to enter Bella's room and wait for him there. It differed completely from what I had expected. I thought he would be furious or would scold me. James, as far as I could tell, looked remarkably... calm. This couldn't be a good sign, could it? Usually, calm people were the most terrifying. I could still hear James's words whispering in my ear.
"I know you're not my wife. You better come with me now."
Chills ran down my spine as I recalled his words. I couldn't stop thinking. How? How did James know I wasn't his wife when even Dylan failed to notice?
I snapped out of my thoughts as James entered the room and sat casually across from me. He crossed his legs and looked at me with the same calm expression. I tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible. My heart pounded wildly, and it was hard to predict what he might be thinking. I swallowed my saliva repeatedly.
"Now we are alone." His serious tone made my heart even more restless. Should I jump out of the window right now?
Laughter burst out, and I lifted my head, puzzled by his sudden laugh. When did I crack a joke?
"Sorry, I can't help but laugh. Your face. Do you know? Your reactions and face seem as if you're awaiting a death sentence. Relax. I will not eat you. I just want answers. I know there are many questions running through your mind right now. To make it fair, I'll allow you to ask me anything you want to know. Anything. I'll answer honestly. And when it's your turn to answer questions, I hope you can do so truthfully. How is that?"
"I'm in," I replied without hesitation.
"Great. Ask me then."
"How did you know that I'm not your wife?" I asked, eager to know the answer.
James gave a fleeting smile. "How could I not know? It's her. My wife. I know everything about her. After you ran away from home, I always monitored you, and from there, I realized that you're not Bella.  She won't look at Dylan the way you do. In Bella's life, it's just me and only me," James answered, and there was no hint of deception in his eyes.
"What about the bruises on Bella's body?" I asked.
"That..."
"Did you abuse her?"
"I'm not. Those bruises... she inflicted them on herself." James sighed slowly.
"What?" I was stunned.
"After her mother's death, she constantly blamed herself. I'm her husband. I'm trying my best to help her, but... It's useless. She refuses to help herself. Before you appeared, she was always on the bed, staring at the ceiling all day, blaming herself," James explained.
No wonder he could figure out who I really was. It was impossible for the depressed Bella, who spent her days staring at the ceiling, to suddenly decide to run away.
"How about Dylan? Does Bella know Dylan?" I asked with multiple question marks.
"He's just a stalker," James replied.
"What? What do you mean?" My eyebrows lifted.
"I don't know, but what I know is that he always follows Bella wherever she goes, and Bella once told me that Dylan invited her to run away together. Maybe he likes you, thinking that I'm abusing Bella," James explained.
"Anything left?"
"Why... Why do you look so calm?" I couldn't believe I was asking such a question. Seriously, Hanna?
"Oh, trust me. You don't want to know how I'm feeling right now. You're basically an intruder in Bella’s body. Do you really think I’m calming right now?"
Gulp! Wrong question. I tapped my lips, realizing that I had too many questions. Now, I couldn't even remember what else I wanted to ask.
"So, it's my turn now, isn't it?"
I nodded slowly.
"My question is simple. Who are you? How did you get into my wife?" James uncrossed his arms. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"Just like you, I didn't know what happened to me. When I woke up, I was already here. By the way, I'm Hanna Harrell, from the year 2023." I said, while watching his reaction. As I expected, he remained calm, as if my revelation about something so illogical didn't faze him.
"Do you really believe that I'm from 2023?"
"Why? Is there any reason not to?" James calmly replied.
"I said I'm from 2023. Why did your face does  not look shocked or laughing like every normal people do? Wait, does this mean you believe in time travel?"
"Well, your existence in Bella's body itself is illogical, so what's the big deal with time travel? Moreover, I study science. I'm confident that the world will progress to allow time travel to happen. So, it doesn’t matter to me. Do you have a way to go back in time and return my wife to me again?"
I shook my head.
"I don't know. I never tried to go back to 2023. I'm sure there's a reason I'm here.  I thought my purpose in coming here was to change my mom's fate, and then... I changed my mind. Now I don't know anymore," I sighed.
James nodded understandingly.
"Next question, are you falling in love with Dylan?"
I lifted my head.
"What kind of question is that?" I’m not satisfied.
"It's our deal. Answer me. Honestly."
I fell silent. A sigh escaped my lips. James's question brought all the memories of my time with Dylan rushing into my mind. Remembering all of that made my heart beat faster. I never lied to myself. I knew I had fallen in love with Dylan from the very beginning. Who wouldn't fall in love with a man like Dylan? Being with Dylan made me feel genuinely loved and cared for. His presence... calmed and warmed my heart.
"Look at your face, It's obvious. You loved him."
I nodded.
"I'm sorry. I know this isn't my body, and I shouldn't have fallen in love with someone else using your wife's body, but I can't help it. This feeling is something I can't control. I'm really sorry." I spoke sincerely.
"I understand. But Hanna, if you really love him, tell him the truth." James said calmly.
"What?"
"Tell him who you really are. Tell him you're not Bella but Hanna Harrell from the future. You need to tell him so that you won't regret it. This is my little advice to you," James advised.
"I know." I sighed.
"Get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll discuss how to get you back to the future. I'll help you as much as I can. Well, I miss my wife, so I hope you understand."