A General's Regret

Synopsis

Isabel Whitmore had been married to General Geoffrey Langley for three years. It had also been three years since her heart had quietly died. Outside, snow poured down in thick, swirling sheets, wrapping the entire Langley Estate in a bleak, icy silence. Yet inside Geoffrey's study, the chill was even deeper than the storm outside. "So, you think I pushed her?" Isabel's voice was so soft, yet her knuckles had turned pale from how tightly she was clenching them. He did not answer, but the cold, scrutinizing look in his eyes had already said everything. He didn't even bother to ask if it was Isabel's fault. He'd already decided she was guilty. Suddenly, Isabel felt very tired. Slowly, she loosened her tightly clenched hands. She looked at him calmly, then replied, "Yes, General." She didn't call his name. Instead, she used that distant, formal title, one that spoke of power and the cold distance between them. With that, she turned around and walked back to her room, step by step. Geoffrey watched her leave, feeling an inexplicable annoyance stir inside him. But he didn't give it much thought. He lowered his head and softly soothed the crying Adeline Montfleur in his arms. Geoffrey told himself, 'Isabel always knows how to behave. A few days locked away, and she'll figure it out and come to apologize.' He didn't realize that this time, she would never look back.