All Chapters of Let the Wind Carry Us Far Away: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

His supervisor, Martin Reed, tried one more time to change Jason Hale's mind, his expression grave."If you break your contract on this assignment, you'll be knocked down two levels. You'll never have another chance at a promotion."On top of that, you'll owe a million dollars in penalties. Are you sure you still want to leave?""I'm sure." Jason's answer was firm and absolute."If getting punished is all it takes for me to stay by Yvonne’s side, I won’t regret it."Yvonne is bright and full of life. I want to protect that innocence in her."I heard Martin sigh before asking, "What about Nina Stone? Can you really say you've done right by her? She's sacrificed so much for you. The two of you had such promising futures here and could have accomplished so much."Nina came to the Northwest just to be with you. She didn't even get to see her parents one last time before they died. You're the only person she has left by her side, too, aren't you?"The question of whether he'd done right by

Chapter 2

Jason grabbed his jacket, his face bright with excitement as he got ready to go out for a celebratory meal with Yvonne.He smiled tenderly into the phone, looking like a boy who had just fallen in love.Only when he reached the door did he remember to tell me where he was going."There's a problem with Yvonne's thesis. She wants me to advise her."I probably won't have time over the next few days."He didn't give me any room to refuse. He simply ordered me to handle the project on my own.For a moment, my thoughts drifted back to three years ago, when we'd first taken on the water-diversion project.Jason and I had spent day and night traveling across the Northwest, studying the terrain.We were both sunburned and tanned dark, but neither of us felt tired.Whenever we got too tired to keep walking, we'd sit down right there on the ground. Jason would hold the notebook in which he'd marked the terrain features in red, his other arm wrapped around me."These are the two most important th

Chapter 3

She was wearing my pajamas, carrying herself more like the woman of the house than I did."Nina, don't get the wrong idea. The heater in my dorm bathroom broke, so I just came over to take a shower."The crease between Jason's brows eased. He picked up a towel and began drying her damp hair."You don't need to explain anything to her. I've told you before, this is your home too. Come over whenever you want."The way he dried her hair was gentle and practiced, as if he'd done it for Yvonne countless times before.But I distinctly remembered that Jason had never been the kind of man to do things like this.He'd grown up with his grandfather, and the old-fashioned values he'd absorbed had shaped him into a rather rigid man. Drying his girlfriend's hair, wearing her hair tie around his wrist, publicly announcing a relationship on social media... he thought all of it was childish, the sort of thing only kids did.When we were dating, I'd once coaxed him into drying my hair for me.He'd only

Chapter 4

I was so furious at his shamelessness I almost laughed.I had handled every part of this research myself from beginning to end. The most Jason had ever done was flip a couple of pages in a book for me while I took notes.Looking at how completely justified he seemed to think he was, I barely recognized him anymore."So because you've decided to break your contract and leave, everyone here is supposed to let years of work go to waste? This data is classified, Jason. It's also part of the Northwest's future."I'm not giving it to her."Jason's expression darkened instantly."Nina Stone, do you have to make it sound so ugly?"Fine. You won't give it to me? Then don't blame me for taking it by force."He clamped a hand around my wrist and pried my fingers away from the files one by one. He twisted them until they were bent out of shape, and in the struggle, the edge of the folder sliced across my cheek, leaving a bloody cut.Then he shoved me hard to the floor, gathered up the files, and s

Chapter 5

Jason was practically shouting on the other end."Nina Stone, do you even know what you're saying?! I've already gotten you approved for a position here as my assistant, and you're insisting on staying in that backwater in the Northwest just to make life harder for yourself?!"And what divorce? I never even signed a divorce agreement. What divorce are you talking about?"Jason was exactly as he'd always been, forceful and domineering, making decisions without considering how I felt.Windblown sand stung my eyes. I rubbed them and stayed silent for a long moment.His tone softened a little."Nina, divorce isn't something to joke about. No matter how angry you are, you shouldn't threaten me with divorce."I came back early with Yvonne because she doesn't have any friends or family. I'm the only person she has. How could I let her come back all by herself?"I laughed."But Jason, my parents died in a car accident before I came to the Northwest. After I moved here, I lost touch with all my

Chapter 6

I spent my days covering the land on foot, measuring its progress one step at a time. Two weeks passed before my lawyer finally called."Ms. Stone, the divorce has been finalized, and the property settlement went smoothly. Mr. Hale agreed to leave the marriage with nothing. "The property in the capital and all the cash in his name have been transferred to you. He said it was compensation for everything you gave up to come to the Northwest with him. "What would you like to do with the house? I can arrange the transfer if you need me to."I checked my bank account and saw a little over two million dollars had been deposited. A note came with the transfer.[Thank you for five years together. From now on, neither of us owes the other anything.]Neither of us owed the other anything. It was a clean, respectable ending."Please sell the house for me," I told the lawyer. "I'm not going back."After the call, I went straight to Martin's office. "We've run into a problem with the new project.

Chapter 7

[Did you deliberately like Yvonne's video to get my attention, or were you trying to make me jealous?]Only after reading the message did I realize I'd accidentally liked one of Yvonne's videos when I closed the app that afternoon.I had no idea why Jason felt the need to explain any of this to me. Whatever was going on between him and Yvonne had stopped mattering to me a long time ago.I typed a polite but distant reply.[Mr. Hale, your personal life has nothing to do with me. I liked the video by accident. I've blocked this number, and I hope you won't contact me again. It wouldn't be appropriate.]Then I blocked every number Jason had ever used, went to bed, and slept soundly through the night.The new project proved even more difficult than we'd expected. Years of drought had left the soil in the Northwest barren, and the vegetation we'd transplanted could survive for only a short time.I spent three days walking the site and sat through several planning sessions before I finally c

Chapter 8

"You didn't come back specifically to see me?""I did come back specifically to see you. I want to discuss sending some of the institute's equipment to the Northwest."Jason's grip tightened around his cup, nearly spilling the water onto his clothes. Disappointment crept into his voice."Take a seat, then. What do you want to discuss?"I explained the situation with the new project and asked whether he would approve sending the research institute's equipment to the Northwest. Jason seemed distracted the entire time, showing little interest in anything I said about the project.Only after I finished did he look at me."Nina, is the Northwest really that important to you? Important enough that you'd even give me up for it?"Yvonne has proposed to me several times, but I haven't said yes. I've been waiting for you to come back to me. You know me better than anyone. "If you're willing to make the first move, I'll agree to remarry you."I slid the documents toward him again, keeping my ton

Chapter 9

Then Claire spoke from behind me."Nina, apparently it was really hard to get approval to send that equipment to the Northwest. We heard Jason only managed it by applying to go back himself, this time as a regular field employee."Megan picked up from there. "We also heard about what happened with Yvonne. She proposed to him several times, but he never said yes. Then after she finished her thesis, she started dating someone at school and told Jason she didn't need him anymore."Claire gave me a worried look. "So we've been wondering if that's why he suddenly wants to go back. Maybe he thinks he still has a chance with you. Just don't let him talk you into anything."Their concern made me smile."I won't. Jason and I are already in the past."When we flew back to the Northwest, Jason really was on the same flight. He traded seats with someone and sat beside me, then spent a long time hesitating before he finally spoke."Nina, I think I understand now what you meant when you said we were

Chapter 10

"You can hate me, Nina, but can you at least not forget the good memories we had?""We really did love each other once, didn't we?His smile was tinged with bitterness.In the six months since returning to the Northwest, Jason had tried everything he could think of to get close to me. He brought me water, carried me back through the wind and sand when I was injured, and found every excuse to cook for me and deliver the food to my place.No matter how often my distant attitude discouraged him, he always came back with a smile.Eventually, I confronted him about what he was doing. I told him that if he kept trying to approach me this way, I would use my authority as project director to send him back to the capital.After that, Jason didn't dare come close again.He couldn't bear to lose his only chance to see me, so he carefully hid his attempts to win me back and stayed near me under the guise of friendship. He seemed willing to spend the rest of his life that way, content to see me and

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