Feather Drifting in the Wind のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

One month later…The moment the plane touched down, Caesar almost jogged through the VIP exit. He didn't even wait for his luggage. He told his assistant to send it straight to the villa before getting into the car, then headed for the hospital.There was a fiery emotion inside of him. Guilt, longing, and a desperate need to fix everything burned in his chest.He could already picture Ivy when she saw him. First shock, then hurt, and finally, maybe she would throw herself into his arms and complain in that soft voice of hers about how long he had taken.He would make it up to her.With the pink diamond. With the proposal he had planned so carefully. With everything he could give her from now on.The car screeched to a stop at the hospital entrance.Caesar rushed inside, barely aware of anything around him as he went straight to the VIP room he knew by heart. He even had a faint smile as he pushed the door open."Ivy, I'm ba..." And then, his voice died.The smile froze.T

Wait.No.One social media post shouldn't be enough to make Ivy cut him off like this. Ivy might have been hurt, she might have misunderstood, but she wouldn't have left a letter and then vanished without a trace to the point of blocking every way he had to reach her.Florence had done something else.Florence was still on the floor, sobbing, when Caesar came back in. His face was darker than before. She let out a scream and scrambled backward on her hands and knees."The phone." Caesar's voice was rough.Florence shook so hard she could barely lift her arm. She pointed at the phone on the floor, its screen cracked.Caesar snatched it up. He didn't care that the broken glass cut his fingers. He dug through it like a man possessed.Facebook messages. Texts. Contacts.Everything looked normal.He was about to throw it aside when his finger slid over her bank app.He stopped cold. A hard knot of dread tightened in his gut as he opened it. The most recent transfers were ri

Rain in Oldtown always came out of nowhere and never seemed to end.Ivy hurried toward the subway under a black umbrella. The hem of her trench coat was damp, but she didn't mind it much.She had been here a month. It felt like she had hit a reset button for her life.The new job was quite challenging. A workplace that spoke full Weisslandic, an unfamiliar domain, and the brutal pace of the financial district. At first, she stayed late almost every night, digging through materials, learning the business, forcing herself to keep up with her other colleagues.On rainy days, the scar on her leg would still throb every now and then, like a reminder from a past she refused to revisit. That was all it was. A reminder.She stopped looking at it. Stopped thinking about it.Ivy tapped into the same brutal drive she had back when Caesar first sponsored her, when she studied like her life depended on it, when she was trying to be worthy of him. Except, she was even more brutal on hers

Ivy picked up her pace, wanting nothing more than to get back to her tiny apartment and shut out the man who simply refused to leave her alone."Ivy, listen to me. Just five minutes! No, three!" Caesar's voice came out between panting, his tone pleading. "I know I'm a scumbag. I'm the worst. Do whatever you want with me. Just calm down."Ivy stopped and spun around, the irritation plain on her face. "Caesar, are you done? This is Oldtown. You can't do whatever you want here. Stop following me!""I just want to walk you to your door, make sure you get upstairs safely." Caesar tried to edge closer. Rain ran down his exhausted face, making him look almost pathetic."I don't need it," Ivy cut him off. She pressed the buzzer at the building entrance and spoke quickly in Weisslandic into the intercom. "Excuse me, sir. There's a man downstairs harassing me right now."A tall security guard in uniform came out a moment later and sized up Caesar's soaked clothes with a wary expression.

The board passed the final merger proposal unanimously, and the other company had given its initial approval as well. All that remained were the detailed negotiations."Excellent work, Ivy." Her usually stern Weisslandic boss actually smiled and gave her shoulder a firm pat. "We are having a celebration dinner tonight, and we're going to drink properly."The entire project team erupted in cheers that almost rang through the entire building.Everyone had been under heavy stress for these past weeks, and that moment of joy and success washed away all their exhaustion. Her colleagues crowded around Ivy, talking over one another about where to go as they headed downstairs excitedly.Outside the building, the cold wind made Ivy hunch her shoulders with a relaxed smile still on her face.She deliberately ignored the passionate gaze from a figure not far away.Caesar was there again.When he saw Ivy surrounded by people and smiling so brightly, he froze. He took half a step forward, th