Until The End: The Love Survival Protocol のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 6

The moment Esme saw Cassandra’s smile, she knew something cruel was coming. The café was half-full that afternoon, sunlight spilling through the wide glass windows. A soft melody played from the speakers, but Esme barely heard it. Her hands were wrapped around her cup of coffee, untouched since it had arrived. Across from her, Cassandra Leigh — her husband’s childhood friend — smiled sweetly back at her. “I wasn’t going to say anything,” Cassandra began, pushing a sleek envelope across the table. “but since you’re… well, you’ve been through so much, I just thought you deserved to hear it from me.” Esme didn’t move. It was already strange enough that Cassandra had suddenly invited her out for lunch. Although she was friends with her husband, Esme hadn’t failed to notice the faint hostility the other woman had toward her. Esme lowered her eyes to the envelope in front of her. “Hear what?” Cassandra leaned back. “That Lennox and I are seeing each other.” The words didn’t

The arrivals hall had mostly emptied by the time Esme’s phone buzzed in her hand.She balanced her suitcase against her leg and swiped the call open. “Hey.”“Esme?” came a cheery, female voice on the other end. “You’re really back? Your assistant said you went to New York this morning, and I thought she was joking.”Esme smiled faintly. “She wasn’t.”Her friend, Cara, let out a small gasp. “You didn’t tell anyone! When did you even come out of hiding?”“Yesterday.”“Yesterday? And you’re already out and about today? You really haven’t changed.” Cara sighed dramatically. “Most people would take a breather after a year buried in research, but you— you go straight back to work.”“I can handle it.” Esme adjusted the strap of her bag as she walked toward the taxi lane. “Dr. Halberg’s condition flared again. He wanted to attend the launch, so I promised I’d represent him.”And she needed today to go smoothly. Halberg was counting on her.“That’s so like you,” Cara murmured, half in admirati

The world was silent.Pain flared in her chest and back, a faint ringing buzzing in her ears—but before she could process it, the chaos, the screaming, and the thunder of falling stone, faded to white.Esme’s eyes opened slowly to a wash of pale light above her. Everything felt suspended, soundless, and weightless around her. For a second, she thought she was underwater. Then the smell of rain reached her, soothing and calm.She tried to move but nothing responded. Her fingers wouldn’t twitch, and her lips barely parted.Her mind clawed through the haze, and the first name to surface was his: Lennox.“Lennox,” she whispered, or thought she did. No sound came out. Panic instantly prickled through her chest. Her chest tightened. He had shielded her with his body earlier. What if he hadn’t survived?But she had no time to worry because from somewhere behind the light, a man’s voice suddenly rang out.“Hello, Esme.”Her eyes quickly darted toward the sound. “Who— who’s there?”The voice