The Wife Who Jumped on New Year's Eve

Chapter 32

Ryan Bennett was speechless.

He had been neglecting his duties for far too long and had no right to question anything now. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse with emotion.

"Joanna, I just want to make up for what I can."

Joanna Taylor shook her head, her expression calm and resolute.

"There's no need. I don't need anything now."

"If you really want to do something, visit Lily at the cemetery when you can. She adored you—she'd love your company."

Ryan's expression darkened, but he nodded.

"Let me take you home."

Joanna refused. She wanted to walk, her heart finally at peace.

Ryan would return to his life, and Sean Yates had a brighter future ahead. Everything was falling into place.

Even if the ache in her chest still lingered, she knew it would fade with time.

But then—

A familiar figure appeared in the distance.

Sean?

The man's eyes were warm, his handsome features just as she remembered. He walked toward her, step by step, making Joanna wonder if she was dreaming.

Until he pulled her into a tight embrace.

His arms wrapped around her fiercely, and she felt something damp against her shoulder. His voice trembled.

"Joanna, my plane almost crashed."

She jerked back in alarm, scanning him for injuries, but Sean stopped her. The faint redness at the corners of his eyes betrayed his longing.

The plane had shuddered violently at 30,000 feet, its frame swaying like a leaf in the wind. The blaring alarms, the screams and sobs of passengers—the cabin had plunged into chaos.

Sean had gripped the armrests, his knuckles white. His heart pounded wildly, each breath a desperate race against death.

In those terrifying moments, memories flashed through his mind like a reel—and Joanna's face stood out clearest of all.

Every moment with her, whether joyful or fraught with tension, had become his most cherished treasure.

At the brink of life and death, clarity struck him.

He had been hesitant in love, mistaking his restraint for respect when it was really cowardice.

He remembered the fire in Joanna's eyes when she spoke of her dreams. I could stand by her side as she chases them, he thought.

He could shield her from storms.

He could wait—for her to achieve her ambitions, for her to find true happiness.

But he could never let go. Not of this love. Not of Joanna.

Sean pulled her close again.

"Joanna, wherever you go, I want to be with you."

"Don't leave me behind, okay?"

Tears rolled down her cheeks like pearls, yet a smile tugged at her lips.

How could she refuse?

Here was someone who had seen the tangled mess of her heart, who knew every scar of her past—someone who, even at death's door, had thought only of her.

"Okay."

The parted lovers reunited in each other's arms.

But in the distance, a pair of dark eyes watched them intently.

Ryan's expression was unreadable.

He remembered the early days of their marriage, when Joanna had looked at him with that same adoration—as if nothing else in the world mattered.

Now, those eyes belonged to another man.

His fists clenched so tightly his nails drew blood.

The autumn wind scattered dried leaves—on one side, the vibrant beauty of the season; on the other, the melancholy of loss.