Chapter 476
[ 503 words ]
Chapter 476:
Jarrod ignored them all. He walked directly to Caroline. He reached out and, with a gesture of casual intimacy, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. The simple, possessive touch was a declaration louder than any words.
Ashley’s face tightened, a mask of bitter envy. Across the room, Julian’s head dropped, his focus suddenly intense on the chart in his hands.
“Come with me,” Jarrod said to Caroline, his voice low. “I need to talk to you.”
He led her to a quiet corner of the tent, shielded from most prying eyes by a stack of supply crates. He turned to face her, the hard, commander’s mask softened by an emotion she couldn’t quite name. It looked like reluctance.
“Our primary mission objectives have been met,” he said, his voice formal, but his eyes were fixed on her face. “The main body of the unit is pulling out. First light tomorrow.”
The news hit her like a physical blow. Her stomach dropped. She had known, logically, that he wouldn’t be here forever. But the reality of it, the sudden, sharp finality, was a pain she hadn’t prepared for. She felt a desperate urge to reach out, to hold onto him, to stop time.
𝗪𝖾e𝗄𝗅y 𝗿𝗲𝗅𝗲а𝘴𝖾𝗌 оn ga𝗅𝗇𝗈𝗏𝘦𝘭s.сom
Instead, she just nodded, her face a careful, neutral mask. “Okay. I understand.”
Her composure, the very calmness she was fighting so hard to maintain, seemed to irritate him. He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a low, challenging growl. “That’s it? Not even a little sorry to see me go?”
A stubborn, self-protective instinct kicked in. “No,” she said, her voice brittle. “It’ll be good to be able to focus on my work without distractions.”
A short, harsh laugh escaped him. He reached out, his fingers closing around her chin, tilting her face up to his. “Liar,” he murmured.
Before she could form a reply, his mouth was on hers.
It was a slow, deep kiss, not of passion, but of comfort. It was meant to soothe, to reassure, to apologize for the impending separation. It was tender and heartbreakingly gentle.
In the shadows across the tent, Ashley Wright watched, her fingernails digging so deeply into her palms that they broke the skin.
When the kiss ended, Jarrod pulled back, a small, satisfied smile touching his lips as he looked at her flushed cheeks and the moisture glistening in her eyes. He didn’t say anything else. He just reached up, ruffled her hair gently, then turned and walked away, his focus already shifting to the thousand details of a military withdrawal.
Caroline stood alone in the quiet corner, her lips still tingling. The sweet taste of the kiss mingled with the bitter ache of his departure.
Night fell, blanketing the camp in a darkness punctuated by the harsh glare of floodlights and the distant hum of generators. Caroline lay on her cot, wide awake, staring at the canvas ceiling. The sounds of the camp were a constant reminder of his imminent departure. She knew he was busy, overseeing the final preparations. She didn’t want to be a distraction.
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