Chapter 79

Clara froze for a moment, then began to explain. "The day I was discharged, I waited for you all day—from morning until night. "But you never showed up. On the way to the airport, I decided to say goodbye properly, so I called you." Her voice softened, but there was no mistaking the bitterness beneath her words. "Ivy answered your phone. She told me you'd been with her all day and that you didn't want to see me. "She said I should stop clinging to you and making it hard for you to go home, so I hung up and sent you a text instead, saying goodbye. I thought you saw it." "I didn't!" Wren's voice broke with frustration, his emotions spiraling out of control. "I never got your text! If I had, I would've known you were leaving. I would've come after you—I wouldn't have waited until now!" But as the words left his mouth, a memory hit him like a slap. That day, he had planned to see Clara—he really had. But Ivy had shown up, holding two theater tickets, insisting they were imp