Chapter 4

Before dawn, while the sky was still dark, a telegram arrived.

My engagement to Robert had been formally dissolved.

I was free to go home.

I left the engagement ring on the bedside table, picked up my luggage, and strode outside.

Emily was already waiting for me in the vehicle.

Together, we drove away from the snow-covered forest.

As the freezing wind swept powdered snow through the window, I watched the scenery pass and felt the past three years fading behind me like a dream.

Halfway through the journey, we were forced to stop.

An avalanche had struck an hour earlier and completely blocked the road ahead. It would take at least three days to clear a path.

With no other choice, we returned to camp.

The moment I stepped out of the vehicle, Robert blocked my path at the entrance to the camp.

His eyes were bloodshot as he demanded through clenched teeth:

“Catherine! What did you mean by leaving your engagement ring behind?”

“Were you trying to threaten me?”

I had no desire to argue with him. I tried to walk around him and return to camp.

“No.”

Robert caught my wrist and yanked me toward him.

“Stop denying it. All you wanted was for me to come after you and comfort you, wasn’t it?”

“Otherwise, why would you pretend to leave only to come back?”

Looking at the man I had loved for three years, I felt only sadness.

He truly believed I would never leave him.

Meeting his eyes, I told him seriously once again:

“Lieutenant Robert, I already told you. Our engagement is over.”

Robert only smiled and placed several pieces of chocolate in my hand.

“All right. Stop saying things like that just because you’re jealous.”

“I’ll arrange a radio for you, too. That way, we can communicate whenever anything happens. I’ll even tell you everything I do in advance. Would that make you happy?”

Nora stood behind him, wearing his officer’s coat and holding an entire bag of chocolates.

With supplies so scarce at the front, Robert must have called in a great many favors to get her that much chocolate.

Only then did I realize how completely he had misunderstood me.

Our engagement was already over, and I would be leaving again in a few days. There was no point arguing with him anymore.

I walked around him and headed straight toward Nora.

Robert immediately called after me in alarm.

“Don’t take Nora’s! If you want more, I’ll find a way to get some for you!”

Instead, I dropped the chocolates he had given me into Nora’s bag.

She could have the chocolates.

She could have the man, too.

I looked up at Nora and smiled calmly.

“You can have all of it.”

Over the next few days, the radio crackled to life at all hours.

“Reporting in. Nora’s PTSD flared up just now, so as commanding officer, I provided routine support.”

“Reporting in. A mouse got into Nora’s quarters, so as commanding officer, I provided routine assistance.”

“Reporting in. Nora wanted hazelnuts to make jam, so as commanding officer, I provided routine assistance.”

...

Emily looked baffled.

“What exactly is Lieutenant Robert trying to accomplish?”

I shook my head.

“He doesn’t matter anymore. Just ignore him.”

Emily tilted her face upward, anticipation shining in her eyes.

“It’s nice knowing we can finally go home tomorrow.”

Then she turned to me.

“Do you think Lieutenant Robert will regret it after you leave?”

I pulled her into my arms.

“I’m not leaving because I want him to regret anything. I genuinely miss my family, and I want to go home.”

The next morning, the same vehicle pulled up outside our quarters.

Robert stood between me and the vehicle, his expression cold.

“I’ve already gone this far for you. What more do you want from me?”

Nora hurried over in tears and reached for me, her knees buckling as though she were about to kneel.

“Dr. Catherine, please don’t leave. I won’t let Robert take care of me anymore. Would that be enough?”

“Please, stay!”

Robert immediately pulled her upright, his concern obvious, but his voice toward me was as cold as the snow.

“You haven’t done anything wrong. You don’t need to beg her.”

“If you insist on leaving, then don’t come back. Don’t expect me to come after you again!”

I pushed past the two of them and climbed into the vehicle without hesitation.

Robert watched the vehicle disappear into the distance.

Catherine had not looked back even once.

A sudden uneasiness rose inside him, though irritation quickly followed.

Catherine had never behaved like this before. She had never challenged the limits of his patience again and again.

She had always been understanding and supportive.

Jealousy was her only flaw.

Fine.

When she came back, he would comfort her one more time.

Maybe he would propose again in front of the entire unit. That should finally satisfy her.

Robert took out the ring, already considering it a concession on his part, when the radio suddenly crackled.

“Lieutenant Robert…”

The static was so heavy that he could barely make out a woman’s voice.

A faint smile crossed his face.

Just as he had expected, Catherine had only been throwing a tantrum. Once her anger faded, she would come back to him on her own.

Still unwilling to forgive his willful fiancée so easily, Robert answered coldly:

“Regretting it already? Don’t expect me to come pick you up. Come back on your own.”

The channel finally cleared, and Emily’s voice came through.

“We were attacked by enemy deserters. Catherine pushed me out of the vehicle. By the time I caught up, all I found was the vehicle—burned to a blackened shell by a bomb!”

Robert’s hand went slack.

The ring slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground.

The radio struck the ground beside it and shattered.