Clear Skies Without You のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

Never set foot in Hemsouth City again.Those words struck Fiona like a physical blow.Her vision went dark for a moment, and she nearly lost her footing.She shoved past the colleagues still gathered in front of her, excitedly discussing how they could set Joe up with their sisters and daughters, and rushed into the house.The living room was empty.Every trace of Joe had been cleared away.The sight of it filled her with sudden panic.The only things left were arranged neatly on the coffee table.Every gift she'd given him since they got married. Watches, clothes, little collectibles she'd picked out for him.On top of them lay a folded note.Fiona picked it up, her fingers trembling without her even realizing it.She unfolded it.Joe's bold, slightly defiant handwriting covered only a few lines, but every word cut like ice.**Your things. I'm giving them back.****My woman doesn't get to have another man in her heart.****You failed.**Each line felt like a slap acros

One of the handsome young men from the military's performing arts unit had admired Fiona for a long time.Caught up in the lively atmosphere, he finally worked up the courage to approach her and ask her to dance, his interest obvious in the way he looked at her.Her colleagues immediately started teasing them."Major General Spencer's single now. You'd better make the most of your chance!"In the past, Fiona would've found the whole thing annoying and turned him down without a second thought.But as she looked at the man's hopeful, slightly nervous face, another image appeared in her mind.Joe, years ago, dancing in the middle of a crowded dance floor like a blazing fire.Every eye in the room had been drawn to him.Wild, confident, completely uninhibited, as though the entire world were his stage.Compared to that memory, the carefully dressed man standing in front of her suddenly seemed painfully dull.Fiona shook her head and turned to leave the irritating party.Then she

The soup Xavier had spent hours carefully preparing, along with all the tenderness and hope he'd poured into it, suddenly seemed ridiculous and worthless beside a memory of Joe that wasn't even a particularly good one.The crash snapped Fiona out of her thoughts.She looked at the spilled soup and Xavier's deathly pale face.Guilt flickered through her eyes, but it was quickly overwhelmed by a crushing sense of helplessness.Joe had worked his way into every corner of her life and every corner of her mind.No matter how hard she resisted, no matter how desperately she tried to get her life back on track, the smallest thing could drag her straight back into memories of him.Fiona opened her mouth to say something.But nothing she could say felt enough.In the end, she simply closed her eyes in exhaustion.A few days later, an impulse Fiona couldn't explain drove her to use her clearance to enter the military hospital's records department.She needed to confirm something.Or p

Standing in the crowded airport terminal, Fiona watched the flight information scroll across the screens and listened to the boarding announcements echo overhead.Strangely, she felt a little calmer.As long as she got on that plane and crossed the ocean, there was still a chance, however small, that she could get Joe back.Boarding pass in hand, she was just about to head toward security when a soldier in uniform hurried through the crowd and came straight toward her.He stopped, snapped to attention, saluted, and handed her a sealed telegram marked 'URGENT'."Major General! Urgent report from the border. There's been an unexpected enemy movement. Command has ordered you back to base immediately to lead the deployment."Fiona's outstretched hand froze.She looked down at the telegram.Then she raised her eyes toward the windows, where the plane she was supposed to be on was still waiting at the gate.Its engines roared, almost as if mocking the futility of everything she'd do

Xavier came to see her once.He had clearly made an effort with his appearance. He wore a crisp white suit, and there was a gentle smile on his face, as though he were hoping to repair what had broken between them."Fiona, I know you haven't been doing well lately. I made you some soup. You..."Fiona looked up from the stack of military documents on her desk.Her gaze was calm and unreadable.There was none of the conflict or guilt she'd once felt when she looked at him.There wasn't even any warmth.Only the complete clarity of someone who had finally understood the truth."Xavier."She cut him off, her voice flat."We're over."The smile froze on Xavier's face.The color slowly drained from it.Fiona continued with the same calm detachment, as though she were simply stating a fact."I was confused before. I couldn't tell the difference between responsibility, gratitude, and love. I thought what I felt for you was love."She paused."But whatever there was between us e