Love Burned to Ashes のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

It was the evening. Hannah stood at the door, a thermal lunchbox in her hand. When Connor opened it, she greeted him with a soft smile, her voice laced with concern."Connor, were you sleeping? You took so long to answer."He said nothing but stepped aside to let her in."I made this chicken soup myself," she said, placing the container on the table. "It's good for your health. You've lost so much weight lately—it breaks my heart."She ladled a bowl and pushed it toward him.Connor barely glanced at it. His voice was cold. "Leave it. I'll drink it later.""Alright."The air between them felt colder than it should have. Connor looked exhausted, his indifference hanging heavy in the room.Inside, Hannah was cursing Samantha to hell, but outwardly, her sweet smile never faltered. She stood and picked up the kettle from the table."Let me pour you some water," she said.But in the next moment, the cup slipped from her fingers. Water spilled across her clothes.She had worn somet

Yes. He would marry Samantha.Even if she was already dead.Even if all he had left to hold was her ashes—he would still marry her.Dirt packed beneath Connor's fingernails, sending stabbing pain through his fingers, but he kept digging, over and over, as if he didn't feel a thing.Then, lightning cracked overhead. Thunder followed, low and violent, and rain the size of beans poured down like an avalanche from the sky. In seconds, he was soaked through, clothes plastered to his skin. But none of it mattered. Not the rain. Not the pain. Not the hour.Nothing could stop him now.By the time dawn broke, he had dug out all the soil covering the coffin. Connor climbed down, lifted the lid of the coffin, and gently took Samantha's urn into his arms.He murmured, "Samantha, let's get married. I swear—this life, I'll marry only you."When Connor returned home, filthy and soaked, the urn still cradled in his arms, Hannah was struggling to gather torn pieces of clothing from the floor.

Connor stood in front of the urn with a solemn expression. After a moment, he turned to the guests and gave a deep bow."Thank you all for coming today to attend my wedding," he said. "The ceremony will proceed. Only—the bride is no longer Hannah. It's Samantha Jade.""What does that mean? There's no bride!""Am I going blind? Can someone please tell me where the bride is?""It's the middle of the day. Is he trying the scare the living lights out of us? That little box in front of Connor... doesn't it look like an urn? God, I just felt a chill down my back. What the hell is going on?"Connor slowly picked up the urn containing Samantha's ashes. Right there, in front of everyone, he pressed a kiss to it—gently, with an almost serene tenderness.His lips curled into a faint smile."You're right," he said. "My wife is dead. This urn holds her ashes. I promised her I'd marry her. Even if she's no longer alive, I'm going to keep that promise. All right, officiant, we can begin the ce

"What's that got to do with me?" There was no interest in Connor's voice, not even a flicker."You—" Hannah was seething, her chest tight with suppressed rage. But she didn't dare go too far, so she pulled out the one card she had left. "If Cathy knew you humiliated me like this for the sake of her killer, she'd never forgive you."Connor suddenly looked up. His eyes locked onto hers—red-rimmed, bloodshot, and unblinking. There was something terrifying in that gaze.Hannah involuntarily took two steps back, her nerves spiking. "W-What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?""Are you sure Samantha killed her?" His words came slowly and clearly.Hannah's heart pounded so hard it echoed in her ears.Something was off. Very off.He had never questioned how Cathy died. Why now? Did he find something out?Impossible. She had covered her tracks perfectly."Connor, what are you saying? Don't you remember? That day at the dance studio, it was just the two of them. The cameras didn't catch

Matt glanced at her delicate profile, and couldn't help the slight tug at the corner of his lips.Just a marriage of convenience?Right then, a girl in a janitor's uniform suddenly bumped into him from the side. He instinctively stepped back, but still, she collided lightly with him."Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to," she said.The girl lifted her head.Matt's expression shifted at once. Her face— It was the same as Samantha's."Who are you?" he asked, his voice suddenly cold, eyes darkening."I…" Hannah dipped her head shyly, reading his reaction as confirmation—he recognized the resemblance.So, Samantha, even in death, still had her uses.She toyed with the hair on her forehead, her voice softening into something almost coy. "I'm just working part-time here. I was lucky enough to meet you once before, Mr. Wilson. I wonder if you still remember?"As she looked up again, the shock hit her like a slap. She covered her mouth, her eyes wide, staring directly into the face of Saman