All Chapters of Decisions I made : Chapter 261 - Chapter 270

The next morning, Lela woke up before Jack.For several minutes, she simply lay there listening to him breathe. His face was turned toward her, one arm resting across the empty space between them as though even in sleep his body expected to find her there. She looked at the calendar on the nightstand. The date was circled in red. She had refused to write anything else besides it, but she didn't need to. She knew what it meant.One hundred twenty days.That was all.One hundred twenty days until Jack would board a plane and fly to Korea.She hated the number.She hated that she knew it.She hated that she had started counting.But she also knew something had changed since the first time they heard the orders. Back then, the number four months had felt like a sentence. Now it felt like a challenge.One hundred twenty days to heal.One hundred twenty days to make memories.One hundred twenty days to prepare Lily.One hundred twenty days to love Jack so completely that distance couldn't m

The morning after Lily's first birthday felt strangely quiet.The house still looked like a celebration had happened inside it. Balloons floated against the ceiling, some already beginning to lose their shape. A few ribbons were scattered across the floor, and the kitchen counter was covered with leftover cake, plates, cups, and presents that had not yet been put away. One of Lily's new toys was sitting in the middle of the living room, flashing lights every few seconds even though nobody had touched it.Lela woke before everyone else.She sat quietly in bed and looked at the bracelet around her wrist.Until you walk back to me.Her fingers traced the words.Then she looked at Jack.He was asleep beside her.For a few minutes, she simply watched him.He looked peaceful.She wondered if he would look that peaceful in Korea.She wondered what time he would sleep.What he would eat.Whether he would call.Whether he would be lonely.Whether he would miss Lily's birthday next year.Whethe

The number on the calendar had changed again.Sixty days.Jack stood in the kitchen early that morning, staring at the calendar while holding a cup of coffee. He had been awake for almost an hour, but he hadn't made any attempt to wake Lela. He knew she needed the sleep. Her body had been working harder since Dr. Adelman had cleared her to begin gradually putting more weight on her injured leg, and the therapy sessions had become more demanding.Sixty days.Two months.That was all that remained before he would leave for Korea.He stared at the date for another moment before taking a pen and circling it.Then he heard the soft sound of crutches behind him.He turned.Lela stood in the doorway."You're up.""So are you."She smiled."I wanted coffee."Jack held up his cup."I can make you some.""I can make it.""I know."He waited.Lela carefully crossed the kitchen.She was different now.She still moved slowly.She still favored her injured leg.She still used the crutches.But ther

For several seconds, Lela could hear nothing except the faint static of the phone against her ear. Jack had said the words so quietly that they seemed to settle into the room rather than actually travel through the phone. What I’m about to tell you isn’t going to be easy. Lela sat completely still on the edge of the couch, her injured leg stretched carefully in front of her, one hand wrapped around the silver bracelet on her wrist. Her thumb traced the engraving without even thinking about it. Until you walk back to me. She had held onto those words through surgeries, therapy sessions, sleepless nights, and the morning Jack had boarded the plane for Korea. She had held onto them when the silence from him stretched from days into more than two weeks. But now, with the bank account nearly empty and Jack finally on the phone, those words suddenly felt fragile. “Jack,” she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady, “please don't make me sit here and imagine the worst.” On the other end,

The night after the phone call, Lela barely slept. She lay on her side with the blanket pulled up around her, staring at the empty half of the bed where Jack should have been. His pillow was still there, and she still kept his side of the bed exactly the way he had left it, as though changing anything would somehow make his absence permanent. She reached across the mattress and touched the pillow, remembering the nights when Lily had been a baby and Jack would come home exhausted, crawl into bed without saying a word, and pull Lela against him. She remembered how safe she had felt in his arms. Now she was thousands of miles away from the man she loved, preparing for another surgery while photographs of him surrounded by women kept appearing on her phone. She hated herself for looking at them. She hated herself even more because every time she saw one, her mind immediately started filling in the blanks. She knew that wasn't fair to Jack. She knew photographs didn't tell the whole story