My Last Wish Was to Marry You のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 40

Thank goodness…The less Rowan saw of Ian, the better. If they didn’t meet or talk, they couldn’t get drawn into each other’s lives again.She thought she had avoided him. Then, as she turned, something familiar caught her eye.Rowan looked again to make sure.Ian was sitting at the very next table!Had he just looked her way too?No. She must have imagined it.Rowan wanted to leave. She silently hoped Ian hadn’t seen her.But the very thing she feared happened.Ian caught sight of her trying to slip away.Rowan couldn’t tell what his expression meant. Whatever it was, she doubted it was good.She hurried to her private room and sat down, still shaken. Then she remembered how awkward she must have looked.How embarrassing…She told Ian a year ago that she had let him go. Why was she still making a fool of herself in front of him?At least she no longer felt she had to beg for his attention.Rowan lost track of how long she sat there. She was looking at her phone when the door o

There were too many people in the hall. If anyone followed Ian’s gaze, they would spot Rowan sooner or later.She opened the door and left.She had no idea what happened after that. As far as she was concerned, she hadn’t attended the reception at all.She left in such a hurry that she grew hungry in the car. Her gown was too elaborate to eat comfortably in, so she went home first.She changed, went out for a meal, ate until she was full, and came back.The next morning, she woke to find a boy beside her bed. He rested his chin on the mattress and stared at her.Rowan’s first instinct was to pull the blanket around herself. She was a woman, and he was a boy, however little!“Kid, who are you?”The boy saw she was awake and immediately announced what he wanted. “Take me to school, please!”Rowan had never met such a rude child. “Didn’t your parents teach you to answer an adult’s question first?”The boy was quicker than she expected. “They taught me adults should be kind to children t

Charlie answered at once. “Of course I know him. Shane’s in my class.”Rowan stopped pushing the swing and sat on the one beside him. “Do you ever ask him to play with you?”Charlie hesitated. “Sometimes I borrow things from him, like an eraser or a pencil sharpener. But we hardly talk. Shane doesn’t want to play with us.”Children loved to play. Rowan found it hard to imagine one who didn’t want friends. “What makes you think he doesn’t want to?”Charlie thought for a moment. “He hardly talks or smiles. Sometimes we call him, and he acts like he can’t hear us. But I heard the teacher say Shane might be sick. She said it’s serious and can’t be cured.”“I see. Keep that to yourself, all right? Don’t tell the other children.”“Okay. You’re the only one I’ve told.”Rowan also got a call while they waited. The flowers she ordered had arrived. She couldn’t leave, so she asked the delivery workers to put them inside her shop.About an hour passed with no news of Shane. Charlie grew tired o

Ian held back his anger and forced out the name he had come to hate. “Chase?”Chase was the only person he could imagine. For years, Chase was the one who stayed by Rowan’s side.If she was telling the truth…Ian didn’t know what he might do.Would he take Rowan away from Chase in front of everyone at their wedding?Or take her now and hide her where no one could find her?He was capable of either.All Rowan had to do was admit it.She tried to sound confident, though she was terrified he would discover the lie. “Yes.”Ian seized her wrist. Years of jealousy and desire erupted at once.Pain shot through Rowan’s wrist, and she tried to pull away. Ian sensed it but gave no thought to how she felt.He dragged her into his arms and kissed her against her will, holding her so tightly it seemed he wanted to crush her against him.He wanted to reclaim the love he lost and carve it into his bones.Rowan struggled desperately, but she couldn’t break free of his grip.Ian bit her lip hard enou

For the past year, Ian had rarely felt so uncertain.Since he frightened Rowan a few days ago, he stayed out of sight. He watched her rush from place to place, apparently trying to raise money.From the moment he bought the ring, his feelings were a tangle.He felt nervous and hopeful, and he couldn’t help imagining a future with her.He imagined Rowan accepting his proposal and a life they could share.The ring box weighed almost nothing in his hand, but Ian’s heart felt heavy.He tried to keep himself calm. He wanted to surprise Rowan.He left the jewelry store and headed toward her flower shop across the street, intending to propose there.But Rowan drove away before he reached it.Ian quietly followed her.Rowan had only been driving a short while when her phone rang.“Hello?”The voice was both strange and familiar.Tina?“Is this Rowan Shaw?”Tina sounded as affected as ever.Rowan wanted to hang up.But Tina seemed to know what she was about to do. “Don’t hang up. This may be t