3 Surprises!

"Darling! I'm home~~"

Jasmine called out when she opened the door to the apartment that she shared with Joshua.

However, she was welcomed with an empty, dark apartment.

"Darling~~" she called out again in a singsong tone.

Jasmine's heart was drumming like there were a thousand horses running inside it. 'Don't tell me this was the surprise that Joshua had prepared for her?' she asked herself.

'But our anniversary is tomorrow. Not today!' Jasmine's monologue.

"Darling?"

"Joshua?"

She called Joshua again and again while roaming around the house, opening every door.

Jasmine didn't even bother to turn the lights on as she thought Joshua was hiding somewhere, ready to jump on her.

However, after checking every room, there was no Joshua there.

She was alone in the empty apartment.

Jasmine's face fell, and she dragged herself to the living room to turn on the light.

Walking slowly towards the switch, her mind was trying to understand what's going on.

'Is Joshua not come back yet?' she wondered.

'But he kept reminding me to come home early on Friday as he had a surprise for me,' Jasmine scratched her head.

Jasmine doubted Joshua had forgotten about it.

Joshua was a perfect boyfriend, he was caring and gentle and he never forgets an important date in Jasmine's life. Joshua was especially good at remembering their anniversary, the date when they got together.

When the apartment was illuminated by the light, only then Jasmine saw her luggage in the living room, with an envelope on top of it.

A smile blossomed on her face, and Jasmine sprinted towards the luggage bag.

She picked up the envelope and opened it to pull out its content.

Her passport and a plane ticket to a foreign country were inside the envelope with a piece of paper with Joshua's handwriting on it.

[Fly towards your future.] it said on the paper.

Jasmine giggled in giddiness. It would be her first international flight! She had never left Alscot. And the destination that was written on the plane ticket was somewhere she would always want to visit. It was the homeland of her mother, Cratia!

All throughout her life, her parents never brought her back to that country. Her father was a policeman, who was always busy on a mission.

Jasmine had heard stories of Cratia country from her mother, and it piqued her interest as the country was full of cultures. She also learned to speak her mother's mother tongue language.

It was her talent. Jasmine was a polyglot who could easily pick up a language by just watching dramas or movies.

There were a few times when Jasmine asked her parents to bring her back to Cratia. However, her mother's eyes would turn sad and she would just flash a restrained smile to Jasmine.

Of course, Jasmine was curious about it and had asked her mother. However, her mother only replied with a gentle pat on her head.

"Maybe when you grow up, you'll understand," her mother said.

As she grew up, Jasmine was no longer asked about it, especially after she got together with Joshua.

On one of their dates, Jasmine had mentioned her wish to visit Cratia and her interest in learning about the other half of her origin.

Looking at the plane ticket with Cratia as its destination, Jasmine's heart was blanketed with a warm feeling.

Joshua was definitely the best boyfriend ever!

He must have remembered Jasmine's wishes and wanted to fulfil them.

'Half of me was from here and half of my blood was from Cratia. Joshua must have wanted to make me feel complete by learning about both of my mixed blood,' Jasmined giggled happily.

Jasmine took out her phone from her purse and pressed the number one on her speed dial.

After one dial tone, her call was picked up.

"Darling!" she called out excitedly.

"Hey babe," Joshua's voice was heard from the other side, "are you already at the airport?" he asked.

"I'm at home. I just opened the envelope, Thank you, darling!" said Jasmine.

"What? Why are you still at home? Babe, you need to head to the airport right now," Joshua said. Jasmine could trace the panic in his voice.

"But the flight is five hours away," replied Jasmine.

"Babe, it's an international flight. You need to come early to the airport to check in your luggage," Joshua said.

"Oh! I'll head out to the airport right now!" Jasmine said.

"Babe, don't forget your luggage. Bring it with you," Joshua reminded Jasmine.

"Yes! I got it," Jasmine turned around to the living room and pulled the luggage bag with her. She bit the tip of her tongue and knocked on her temple with the heel of her palm as she almost forgot to bring her luggage.

Half an hour later, Jasmine arrived at the airport.

"I've arrived at the airport, where are you, darling?" asked Jasmine, while scanning her surroundings.

"Babe, I'm already in Cratia. I have… things to set up. I'll wait for you here," Joshua said ambiguously.

Jasmine scrunched her nose to refrain herself from squealing.

After giving instructions on how to ride an international flight, Joshua ended the call.

The time has come for Jasmine to board the plane. Following the other passengers, she queued and waited for her turn.

She walked down the aisle and found her seat number. Jasmine looked up at the luggage compartment. Other than her checked in luggage, Jasmine had a small carry-on bag that she brought with her. She was having trouble with putting her bag in the compartment when a strong chest collided with her back. It felt like her back was hit by a wall, but the wall felt warm.

A pair of strong arms enveloped her dainty hand, helping her push the bag inside the compartment.

Jasmine turned her head around to thank the person who had helped her, and her eyes met the blue-grey eyes that she had seen before.

"Th-Thank you," she uttered, stumbling over her words.

The man glanced at her once, said nothing, and walked away towards his seat.

It was a six hours' flight to Cratia. Jasmine was excited to ride a plane, to go to Cratia and to see the surprises that Joshua had prepared for her in Cratia. Half of her time on the flight was spent daydreaming Joshua's proposal, while the other half of the time she spent on sleeping.

Jasmine had gone to the toilet, brushed her teeth and combed her hair to make sure she looked fresh and not worn out before the plane landed.

While inside the toilet, she imagined Joshua picking her up from the airport with open arms.

How she wished to be hugged right now, the warm feeling. Her train of thought shifted from Joshua to the warmth that she had felt on her back before. The way the man was standing close to her was like he was embracing her from behind. The warmth from his body seeped out from him and transferred into Jasmine's. It felt so warm.

"He smells nice too," Jasmine blurted.

Jasmine gasped when she noticed how her thoughts were thinking about another man other than Joshua.

Knocking her temple a few times, "what the hell were you thinking about! Joshua is here waiting for you with a surprise!" she chastised herself.

Although Jasmine was giddily anticipating her meeting with Joshua, she still waited until most of the passengers disembarked from the flight.

When the aisle was empty, she picked up her carry-on bag and got ready to do the same.

Out of the blue, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the silence in the flight.

Before Jasmine could register what was happening, a group of men in uniform barged into the flight. They only stopped walking once their distance between hers shortened.

Blinking her eyes in confusion, Jasmine was dazedly staring at the men.

Why did they stop here?

To look for something?

All of these men wore rigid expressions.

Their piercing stares at her almost made Jasmine cower in fear.

"Are you Ms. Jasmine Paxton? We're from Cratia Royal Police Headquarters. You're under arrest for drug trafficking."

The words shattered Jasmine's trance. Her emerald pupils enlarged in shock.

"...what?"

The sound of her own whisper echoed deafeningly in her mind.