All Chapters of A Windswept Love: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

As the kiss ended, the energy inside the room reached a fever pitch.A male colleague handed a brim-full glass of strong liquor to Vivian.“You just bagged the top honor. You gotta drain this glass!”Vivian’s eyes shimmered as she shrank behind Robert.“Robert, I’m not good with alcohol.”“Stop messing with her.”Frowning slightly, Robert reached out, snatched the glass, and drained it in a single gulp.He instructed the server to bring some honey lemon tea, turning to warn the group with a stern face:“Vivian has a sensitive stomach. From now on, I’ll be drinking on her behalf.”A sudden wave of suggestive ribbing erupted through the room.“Oh ho! Where did our captain go and who’s this gallant knight?“Guess Vivian really carries that kind of pull!”A flurry of mixed emotions churned inside me. So Robert was capable of being attentive and caring.Yet he came home yesterday with blackberries—my least favorite fruit.Amid the cheerful laughter, a glass of liquor was thrust in front of

The sergeant pushed open the door and stepped inside.“Captain, headquarters just issued a set of the latest high-grade explosive ordnance disposal suits. There’s only one set—how do you want to allocate it?”Robert instinctively glanced at me, his lips twitching slightly.I cut in before he could speak, two voices ringing out in the office simultaneously.“Give it to Vivian.”The sergeant froze, and a flash of clear embarrassment crossed Robert’s face.Clearing his throat, he tried to cover it up:“That’s right. Vivian is new, and her physical stamina and psychological resilience lag behind. Good gear can save a life.”The sergeant hesitated:“But Emily takes on almost all of the most dangerous missions. Don’t you think—”Before he could finish, Robert cut him off.“It’s fine. Emily is a veteran with a high stress tolerance. She can manage just fine with the old gear.”At that, the sergeant simply nodded before stepping out.The moment the door shut, the pressure inside the room plumm

Under the sheer force of the bomb, the high-rise shopping mall collapsed in an instant.Rolling clouds of dark smoke mixed with concrete dust filled the air.Robert stared at the scene in absolute paralysis, his mind a complete blank.I was still inside.Two seconds later, a blood-curdling scream erupted from his throat:“Emily!”Robert scrambled off the ground, using every last ounce of his strength to shove past the SWAT officers setting up the perimeter tape, and lunged headlong into the rubble where loose stones were still falling.“Watch out! Secondary collapses could happen at any moment—you can’t go in!”Two SWAT officers acted fast, tackling him around the waist and pulling him back with everything they had.“Get off me! Get the hell off me!”Robert’s eyes turned blood-red as he swung a fist into one of the men holding him, displaying terrifying strength.Breaking free by force, he stumbled and clawed his way toward the location where the first-floor atrium used to be.The once

Robert froze, bending down to pick up the band.It was a plain silver ring.The band was unrefined, clearly crafted and polished by hand.On the inside was an engraving in small characters:R&E.Robert and Emily.Robert stared dead at the ring in his palm, every last drop of blood in his veins freezing in that instant.He remembered now. How a while ago, my hands had been constantly wrapped in bandages.When he asked back then, I had claimed I’d cut myself during training.It turned out I had been secretly preparing a marriage proposal all along.With meticulous care, I had engraved my devotion and hope into the keepsake ring my father had left him.If he had cherished it even a tiny fraction, he would have discovered this.Shutting his eyes in agony, Robert remained kneeling before the wreckage, slamming his head against the ground in a self-punishing frenzy, letting blood stream across his face.Following the explosion that shook the entire city, he lay unconscious in the hospital fo

I had assumed Robert’s parting words were nothing more than a momentary flash of frustration, but he rented a small mud-brick house near our base to settle down.He cut off his ragged, long hair and went running every morning, trying desperately to regain the peak physique he once possessed.He kept himself immaculately clean and brought food containers to the base gates three times a day, rain or shine.As time passed, his face grew familiar around the perimeter, and his confidence swelled.Sometimes when he would catch a logistic staff member, pleading with an obsessive persistence:“This is for my girlfriend, Emily Stone. She works too hard and forgets her meals all the time. Please bring it to her, and tell her I’ll keep waiting.”His belated devotion didn’t move me in the slightest. Instead, it left me disgusted and irritated beyond measure.I issued strict orders to the gate guards, forbidding him from ever stepping within fifty feet of the entrance.Nothing he brought was to be