The Late Winds of Love

In my fifth year of teaching at a rural school in Mount Dalon, Melissa Snow shows up with her first love by her side.

"Have you had enough of this miserable life? Go apologize, and after I'm married, I might still support you. Otherwise, stay here and rot as a lonely, broke schoolteacher."

People around us begin to whisper, acting like I've been handed my golden ticket out of the impoverished area and should be falling to my knees in gratitude.

I simply smile. "Teaching here suits me just fine. Besides, I'm married."

"What did you say?" Melissa's expression looked terrifyingly dark as she asked that. There was even a hint of a sneer at the corner of her mouth.

"Zack Johnson, have you been too relaxed these past five years? Have you lost your mind? You're just a dog my father picked up from the orphanage, and you dare to disobey your master's orders?" Melissa said with disdain.

Even though I had long given up on her, I still felt speechless hearing those words. Just as I was about to argue back, Quilton pulled me aside. "Why provoke Melissa again? This is a school. If word of this spreads and your students hear about it, it won't look good. Your teaching term is over. We specifically came to take you back this time, so stop kicking up a fuss."

I looked at Quilton and noticed the fleeting smugness and mockery in his eyes. He had every reason to be smug. After all, it was his scheme that framed me and got Melissa to abandon me here in the first place.

But now, I was no longer the Zack who was at the mercy of others. I made a polite gesture of dismissal. "I've said it before—I'm married now. And life here is good. From now on, let's go our separate ways like we never knew each other. If there's nothing else, Ms. Snow, please leave."

"You're lying!" Melissa suddenly shouted, extremely emotional. "There are only the abandoned elderly and children at Mount Dalon. Who could you have possibly married?"

Quilton glanced at me meaningfully as he said, "Don't tell me you married one of the abandoned women? Zack, that's not right. They entrusted you with their children, and you—"

"Watch your mouth!" I snapped, shooting Quilton a cold glare.

Melissa's expression turned unfriendly, and Quilton shut up resentfully.

"You came at the wrong time. My wife is out running errands and hasn't come back yet," I said simply.

When Melissa heard the word "wife", a flash of anger crossed her face as she slammed the table. She spat out the words, "Zack! Are you really going to go this far just to spite me?"

The office desk was already old and uneven, and with that slam, a metal box on top rolled off and popped open.

"Huh? Paper cranes?" Quilton reached out to grab them.

I quickly rushed over to gather the scattered paper cranes.

"Are you still lying? Do you think seeing these paper cranes will make me forgive you? Don't be so naive!" Melissa's gaze flickered slightly, but her words remained icy and harsh.

Quilton was quicker and picked up the box. As he toyed with it, he mocked, "Zack, don't tell me you've spent the past five years repenting by folding these paper cranes every day?"

My face instantly turned pale, and I hurried to take back the box of paper cranes.

Those were made by the children for my wife who had helped improve their environment, and each crane carried the children's purest wishes.

"They belong to my love! Give the box back to me!" I shouted, my voice trembling with urgency.

Quilton deliberately dodged me, taunting, "Just now, you said you had nothing to do with Melissa, and now, you're saying this belongs to your love? Isn't your love Melissa? Talk about being crazy! Haven't you realized that you're out of her league?"

Melissa gritted her teeth and said, "Don't waste your time. Even if you fold a thousand more paper cranes, I still won't spare them a glance."

It was no wonder they misunderstood. On Melissa's birthdays in the past, I would personally fold a jar full of paper cranes for her, but she never accepted them even once. Now, she no longer had the right to receive any of my gifts.

"Zack, I don't have time to waste words on you. My dad is coming back, and he wants to see you," Melissa said.

I looked at Melissa and instantly understood what was happening. I had wondered why she suddenly thought of me, and it turned out Richard was returning.

Like my parents, Richard was a confidential informant. After my parents sacrificed their lives to protect him, he took me into his home.

Five years ago, he had to return to living in secrecy. Before leaving, he entrusted Melissa to take good care of me. Little did he know that after he left, Melissa "took care of me" by sending me off to Mount Dalon.

To be fair, when I first arrived at the Snows', she was genuinely kind to me. She used to secretly buy me ice cream and play with robots with me just to make me happy. I thought things would always stay that way between us.

But as we grew older, others started teasing Melissa, saying I had a crush on her. Since then, she began to distance herself from me—intentionally or unintentionally.

At first, I didn't understand and argued with her, but that only pushed her even further away. Then, Quilton appeared, taking my place and becoming the most important person to Melissa.

Five years ago, Quilton took Melissa out to a party, and they happened to catch me kissing a wealthy woman at a bar. She assumed I was selling myself for money and, in a rage, forcibly sent me to Mount Dalon, hoping I would reflect on my actions.

I smiled when I thought about that. "Don't worry. When the time comes, I'll head back with my wife."

It would be a good idea for Mavis to meet Richard—just so he could stop worrying about my love life.

Melissa's expression turned ugly at that. "Zack, are you still trying to keep up the act? Fine! I'll wait and see how much longer you can keep pretending."

With that, she snatched the box of paper cranes and threw it to the ground, stomping on the cranes several times before storming off in a fury.

I stared at the shredded paper cranes, clenching my teeth. Melissa had gone too far!