Chapter 25
When Clara woke up, everything outside her window was white. It was still snowing. She headed downstairs and saw Damon waiting by the curb.
He moved toward her and reached for her luggage. His voice was laced with emotions too tangled to sort out. “It’s almost impossible to get a cab in this weather. Let me take you to the airport.”
This time, Clara didn’t turn him down. She could tell he still had things he wasn’t saying. And after all, this really was a one–way trip. Some things needed to be put to rest
Once they were on the road, Damon drove painfully slow. Maybe it was the snow–covered streets, or he was just trying to stretch out the drive. Either way, they had plenty of time. So, Clara stayed quiet as she watched the scenery pass by.
The silence grew heavier with each passing second until Damon couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted to speak, to spill everything weighing on his heart, hoping somehow that it would make her stay.
“Clara, do you remember our second Christmas after we got married? It was snowing just as hard that year. My mom wasn’t to a church to pray for her.
well, so you took me
“I lit a candle and made a wish. Then, I cracked open a fortune cookie, and inside it read, “May you find a love that lasts forever…” Hearing that, Clara was pulled back to that distant moment. After Demon got the message, she remembered how the priest looked at them and said something cryptic,
be the greatest blessing
“Some things are meant to be, and some are meant to test us. But if you see the truth in time, it may turn out to be
At the time, Clara hadn’t really gotten what the priest meant. She’d thought he was giving her some advice and spent a long time trying to figure it out. After all, she’d wanted to spend the rest of her life with Damon.
But looking back now, it was Damon who had opened the fortune cookie. The priest’s words hadn’t been for her. And back then, the person he’d wanted to grow old with… It wasn’t her, was it?
Clara chuckled at that thought and said, “I don’t really remember.”
Damon hesitated for a few seconds before quickly changing the subject–mostly small, everyday details from their married life, things Clara could barely remember. But he remembered everything
Without her realizing, he’d replayed those moments countless times over the past year. Now, he was hoping those cherished memories from their time together would light a spark in her,
Yet Clara’s face remained unreadable like she felt nothing for what was already gone. Before either of them knew it, they arrived at the airport. She grabbed her suitcase and started to walk away when Damon called after her. He handed her a small box and watched her with quiet hope.
Clara opened it to find a pair of bracelets–the ones Damon’s grandmother had worn every day. They were said to be the Croft family heirloom. Why was be giving them to her?
“These are far too valuable for a farewell gift. I can’t accept them,” she said.
Damon was on the verge of losing his composure after yet another rejection. His throat tightened, and desperation flickered across his face.
“Please take them. This is what I want. It’s what my mom wanted, too,” he said.
Clara shook her head gently. Her voice was flat. “I know what this gift means. That’s exactly why I can’t accept it. I’ve told you over and over–our story is over. It’s time we go back to where we belong.”
Each word cut deep into Damon.
He stood in the snow, watching her walk away, step by step, without looking back Snowflakes settled in his hair, turning it white. It was like a quiet echo of the future he’d once imagined–growing old together.
