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Miles Between Us のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 10

10 チャプター

Chapter 1

By the time I dragged my thirty-inch suitcase to the airport, my palms were red and raw from the strain.Three different groups of people came and went from the arrivals area.I never saw Harry Berger.I called him. It rang seven times before he finally answered. The first thing I heard through the phone was the sound of the air conditioner kicking on."I'm here. Which exit are you at?""We already left." Harry's tone was matter-of-fact. "Gemma got airsick and was feeling awful, so I brought her back to rest for a while."Gemma Moyer's bright laughter came through the phone. "Maddison, you're so slow! But if you could handle twenty hours on a train in coach, I'm sure you can walk a little farther."Unlike me. My legs were practically giving out when I landed. Harry had to carry me."Harry let out an exasperated laugh. "She's just joking around. Don't take it personally. Gemma wants to eat at that Mexican place on Winslow Boulevard. Just come straight here. We'll meet you there.

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Chapter 2

I had severe stomach ulcers. I couldn't tolerate even the slightest bit of spice.Four years ago, I accidentally ate a bite of chili sauce and ended up in the emergency room.Harry had stayed with me all night. After that, he wouldn't even buy ketchup without checking the ingredients first.He froze for a moment, as if he'd only just remembered. "It's already been ordered."He poured me a glass of ice water and pushed it toward me. "Besides, the chili is what this place is known for. We can just get the mild version, but it won't be nearly as good. You can just have the plain tortilla. Anyway, eating it once in a while won't hurt."Gemma looked stricken, her fork suspended in midair. "Oh, I forgot Maddison can't eat spicy food. Harry, why didn't you remind me? Should we change it? Otherwise Maddison won't be able to eat."Harry sighed. "Why change it? It's already on the table."He scooped some chili onto Gemma's plate. "She sat in coach for twenty hours to get here. She's not t

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Chapter 3

Harry frowned slightly, apparently displeased by my question."Gemma comes to Westhaven for work all the time. It's not safe for her to stay in hotels. I have a spare room, so I let her stay here."Gemma handed me a pair of unopened hotel slippers. "Maddison, don't get the wrong idea. I only stay here occasionally. Harry's only looking after me because of you."I walked into the living room, my eyes sweeping over the plush throw pillows on the couch and the pink floral mug on the coffee table.Traces of Gemma filled every corner of the apartment.The low table suddenly wobbled. I looked down and saw half of a white envelope sticking out from beneath one of the legs.I pulled one out.The familiar handwriting on the envelope stabbed at me. It was the first line I'd written three years ago: "May these words find you well."When our long-distance relationship had first begun, Harry told me he loved the warmth of handwritten letters.I believed him.There was one letter every wee

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Chapter 4

Harry's hand hovered in midair. "I was just trying to help you. What's wrong with you now?"I ignored him and got up, heading toward the bathroom.He sighed and handed me a towel. "All right. Stop making a fuss. Tomorrow I'll take you to see our future home."Housing prices in Westhaven were absurd.To scrape together my half of the down payment, I'd gone six months without buying new clothes. Even when I came to see him, I couldn't bring myself to pay extra for a sleeper berth.All because he'd said he wanted us to settle down in Westhaven after we got married.In the middle of the night, his phone lit up. It was a weather alert. Rain was expected tomorrow in Bellmere.I froze.No wonder he'd reminded me to bring an umbrella a day in advance every time it rained over the past three years.I swiped down. The second city he'd marked as a favorite appeared. It was Rosemont where Gemma worked.Two cities. The same rain alerts.So that thoughtfulness had been divided between the

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Chapter 5

Harry hurried to the emergency room bed.The doctor flipped through the test results. "There's nothing seriously wrong. The embryo wasn't developing properly, so this was a spontaneous miscarriage. She just needs to go home and get plenty of rest."Harry let out a long breath, the tension finally leaving his shoulders.His phone screen lit up with the message I'd sent."Don't come back. I'm not coming back, either."He froze and immediately called me, but his phone went straight to voicemail—it was turned off.Gemma saw the message and caught hold of his sleeve. "Maddison's just angry. You've made it through three years of long distance. Would she really be willing to break up now?"Harry's tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed. "You're right. She spent more than six months preparing to transfer to Westhaven."The last time we'd been on a video call, I'd stayed up until my eyes were bloodshot, still holding up the revised proposal to show him. He'd told me to go to bed early, an

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Chapter 6

Harry's heart clenched. A wave of inexplicable panic seized him.Clutching the red ribbon, Harry headed outside. Gemma called after him, but he only said, "The car's at the side entrance. The driver will take you."The apartment was silent."Maddison, I'm back."Only dead silence answered him.My suitcase was gone. Half the closet he'd cleared out for me was empty.He pulled open the nightstand drawer. The charging cable I'd left behind was gone, too.He scrolled through our messages and sent me a voice note. "Didn't you say you'd wait for me? You took your things with you. How are you supposed to report to work on Monday? You were supposed to transfer to Westhaven. How can you just leave now?"After sending it, he rummaged through the trash. The bag that had held the letters had already been replaced.He crouched there and called the cleaning service, asking if they could find the trash they'd collected earlier."Sir, it's already been taken away."The crumpled envelope tha

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Chapter 7

During my first week back home, I deleted the alarm I'd set for one in the morning.That was usually when Harry finished working. I'd been so afraid of missing his video calls that I'd split my sleep into two stretches every night.Now, at ten-thirty, Mom would knock on my door."You can work tomorrow. Electricity isn't free, you know." She nagged me, but she was holding freshly dried blankets in her arms, standing in the doorway and waiting for me to go to bed early.I shut my laptop. This time, there was no one I needed to wait for.After canceling my transfer to Westhaven, I applied for an opening at the local branch back home. I'd still be doing planning work, just on fewer projects and for slightly less money.My manager asked if I was sure. "Once the transfer comes through, if you change your mind and want to go back to Westhaven, you'll have to apply all over again."I sent back my confirmation email. "I'm sure."Before the transfer order came through, I returned to Bell

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Chapter 8

The moment the door closed, Mom looked at me anxiously. "What happened? Harry has so much going for him. How could you send him away like that?"I stared at the bag of green beans scattered across the table. "Mom, we broke up. He cheated on me with Gemma. They even had a baby together."Mom's outstretched hand stopped in midair. "Gemma? The one who used to come over all the time?"I nodded, tears spilling down my face. "The house we were supposed to live in was in her name, too. Mom, I don't want to go back to Westhaven anymore."Only after saying it aloud did I realize how much easier those words were than I'd expected.Mom stood there stunned for a full half minute, her eyes quickly turning red. "He wasn't like this before..."She pulled me into her arms, her voice trembling. "He used to insist on warming up even a bite of cold food for you. How could someone change so quickly?"I clutched her clothes.She patted my back the way she used to when I was little and couldn't slee

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Chapter 9

The next evening after work, Gemma blocked my path outside the office. She'd lost some weight. The moment she saw me come out, she stepped in front of me. "Maddison, talk to me.""We have nothing to talk about."She glanced at the coworkers gradually filing out of the building, then raised her voice slightly. "You don't want everyone here to know what happened between the three of us, do you?"I stopped. "You're making it sound like I'm the one who should be ashamed."Her face stiffened for a moment, but she still didn't move.I pointed toward the cafe across the street. "Twenty minutes. After that, don't come to my workplace again."Once we sat down, she took a follow-up report from her bag, then slowly folded it back up. "I lost the baby. And now even Harry won't see me."She gave a bitter smile. "Do you think I deserve this?""Is that why you asked me to meet?"She lowered her head, her fingernail repeatedly scraping along the crease in the paper. "I know I wronged you, but

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Chapter 10

Meanwhile, Harry tried to send me a message. "Can I see you tomorrow?"A red exclamation mark appeared beside it.He sent another.The same thing happened.Back when we'd fought, I'd angrily told him that not blocking each other was leaving a little crack in the door for us to crawl back through. He laughed and called me pathetic.These past few days, he'd always found another excuse to send me one more message.Had I gotten the money back? Was my back still hurting? Had I read the letters?Now even that tiny opening was gone.He grabbed his car keys and drove to the area near my office. Through the cafe window, he saw Gemma sitting across from me.I had just stood up when Harry rushed inside. He shoved Gemma aside and grabbed my arm. "What did she say to you?"Gemma braced herself against the table. "Harry, this was her decision.""I told you not to come looking for her. Don't you understand?" He stepped in front of me, his voice cold and unfamiliar. "I've never had feeling

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