Chapter 16
“It’s all your fault. You’ve got the nerve to bring up Olivia?” Jack’s voice was tight with fury. “If it weren’t for you, she never would’ve left. She never would’ve agreed to marry some random man in the middle of nowhere! You’re the one who drove her away!”
“This is all on you!”
The rage from uncovering the truth. The guilt from believing the lies. The heartbreak of losing the one he loved. It all surged up at once, and Jack could no longer hold it in.
Emily’s face turned ghostly pale. She clung to his sleeve, pleading through trembling lips.
“Please don’t be like this… Jack, please, don’t hate me…”
But he didn’t even blink.
The man who once looked at her with kindness now stared at her like she was a stranger.
Emily’s voice cracked with desperation. “If Olivia means that much to you, then what about me?” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “What was I to you?! Don’t tell me I meant nothing! I know you cared. I know you did!”
Jack’s voice was ice–cold. “I told you. Over and over. I never loved you. I was grateful–that’s it.”
But she had loved him for so long.
If he never loved her back, then why–why hadn’t he pushed her away? Why had he always let her get so close?
Emily’s fingers clenched the hospital sheets, her breathing uneven.
Then her eyes snapped open, burning with disbelief and resentment.
“Jack, do you really think I’m the reason Olivia left? No–you did that. With your lies. With your cruelty.”
“You let everyone in this base think I was your girl. You let me bring you food, take care of you, and act like your damn shadow. Even if you didn’t say outright, you let it happen! And you think Olivia didn’t see all that? Of course she left!”
“You broke her heart, and now you want to blame me for it? That’s rich, Jack. Real rich.”
Emily’s shoulders shook. Her tears returned–real this time. But Jack didn’t flinch.
“If it weren’t for you,” he said, his voice low and steady, “I never would’ve treated Olivia that way.”
And with that, he turned and walked out–leaving her slumped on the floor in disbelief.
He headed straight to his superior’s office, the one he had contacted earlier.
The colonel looked up from his desk and sighed.
it
“Jack, You sure about this? You know what you’re risking. Helping a family like the Harts skirt orders–especially with their wealth? If this comes back on you, you might lose your rank. You’ve worked damn hard to get where you are.”
Jack’s fists clenched at his sides.
He thought about that stormy day–Olivia drenched, broken, walking away from him without a word, Thought about all the times he brushed her off, refused to believe her, let Emily twist things around.
He couldn’t let it end like that.
“I’m sure,” he said quietly. “I’ve made up my mind.”
The colonel pulled out a classified reassignment request.
“Sign this, and I’ll make the arrangements. But if this blows up, you’re on your own. I won’t be able to cover for you again.”
Jack didn’t hesitate. He signed his name without blinking
The colonel watched him for a beat longer before slowly nodding. “All right. It’s done.”
He slid the paper away, then leaned back with a curious look.
“I’ve never seen you push this hard for a personal matter. Who is she, Jack?”
Jack paused, then gave a rare, quiet smile.
Chapter 16
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“She’s someone I care about. Deeply.”
A few days later, the approval came through.
The reassignment was official. He had clearance to travel to Lakewood County.
Jack didn’t waste a single second. He put in for immediate leave, packed his bags, and set out for the countryside.
All he could think was ‘I need to see Olivia. I need to see her now.‘
Chapter 16
