Love in Warzone

On our wedding night, my husband didn't stay long enough to toast with champagne.

He left me alone at the reception and retreated to the chapel.

Because from the very beginning, this stoic, untouchable man had only ever loved my younger sister.

For three years of my marriage, I poured myself into thawing a heart of stone, only to be met with glacial silence.

"Claire," he said coldly, "I'd rather take vows of celibacy than ever love you."

But when the truck came barreling toward me, the man who had resented me his entire life used his own body to shield mine.

Just before I lost consciousness, I saw him gripping the paramedic's sleeve, blood staining his lips.

"Don't tell that crazy woman who saved her… And don't let my family… make things difficult for her."

Tears welled in my eyes. Only then did I realize I wasn't the only one at fault in this marriage.

After coming back to life, I chose to join the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces and head straight to the front lines.

If we were never meant to grow old together in this life, then let my final wish for him be this:

A lifetime of peace, and an eternity of never crossing paths with me again.

"You even jumped off a building just to force me into marriage. You're crazy."

That cold, scornful voice pierced my ears.

I jolted awake, eyes snapping open.

And the first thing I saw was the face that had haunted me for years—handsome beyond compare, etched with bitterness.

Sam Worthington. The guy who had hated me for a decade, yet gave his life to save mine.

I never thought… I'd be reborn ten years in the past.

My eyes drank him in greedily, turning red at the rims, my throat dry and tight.

"Sam…"

'You're alive. That's all that matters,' I thought.

"So, you've finally stopped pretending to be asleep?" He rose with his usual indifference. Deep shadows under his eyes betrayed a sleepless night. "Stop playing these death games. I'm leaving."

"Stay with me… just a little longer." I reached out instinctively, but he dodged my hand.

Without a word, he turned to leave.

I jumped out of bed barefoot and wrapped my arms around him from behind.

His body stiffened instantly, muscles tensing beneath my touch. "Let go."

But I shut my eyes tightly, clinging to his warmth like a drowning person to driftwood.

"Just one minute. Please… just give me one minute."

'Just sixty seconds. Sixty seconds to indulge myself… And then I'll let go for good,' I thought.

He suddenly pried my fingers loose, his grip harsh enough to hurt. "Claire, you can't force love."

"I know."

"You know?" He let out a mocking laugh. "Did you say that before you jumped? You knew, and you still did it, just to force me to marry you. Don't you get it? You can't force love."

He shoved me back onto the bed, then slammed the door behind him with a violent thud.

The warmth of his hand still lingered on my palm, brief and fleeting.

I curled my lips into a bitter smile. "This time… it really is different."

Sam and I had grown up together. I loved him, but to him, I was always just a sister, just family.

In my previous life, I fought and schemed and managed to become his wife. But his heart was never mine; it belonged to my younger sister. Ten years of a loveless marriage led only to misery and regret.

This time, I would let go. Let him go. Let everyone go.

My phone buzzed. The screen lit up with a new message: [Ms. Dunn, you have passed the selection process for the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces' Remains Recovery Unit. Please report to headquarters within 15 days. Reply 'Accept' to confirm.]

I stared at the words Remains Recovery Unit for a long time. My fingers trembled faintly above the screen.

The peacekeeping force was deployed to a battlefield halfway across the world.

I would have no one for me there. No parents, no Sam, no Melissa.

Only the eternal silence of the dead, and the smell of disinfectant in endless tents.

In my previous life, I passed the selection too. But I gave it up in hopes of spending my life with that special someone.

This time, I pressed on the screen: Accept.

After packing up briefly, I completed the hospital discharge procedures.

When I opened the front door to our home, the warm glow of the lights and the sound of conversation inside hit me like an invisible wall.

"Claire knew how much I wanted to study abroad, but she still went to the department head to steal that one spot from me!" Melissa's voice trembled with tears. "Mom, is she trying to ruin my life?"