The Officer's Runaway Wife and Secret Son novel Chapter 331

Before she got married, Clara had always been a woman of action. Once she made a decision, she rarely even waited until the next day to act on it.

This time, she was channeling the Clara she'd been before she turned twenty-three.

She arranged things at home and then simply left, embarking on a journey of nearly six hundred miles.

With no specific destination in mind, she drove north along the highway, leaving the damp, salty air of Heron Bay behind as the atmosphere grew progressively drier.

The car window was halfway down, the wind whipping her hair into a messy tangle.

She didn't have to keep an eye on the child seat in the rearview mirror, nor did she have to calculate if it was time to stop at the next rest area.

This was the first time she had been truly alone in four years.

The long-forgotten quiet made her fingers tighten and relax on the steering wheel.

She started before dawn and drove until sunset, finally pulling into an old town called Clear Creek. The roads here were tricky, a winding mountain road full of hairpin turns.

Clara found a small inn, checked in, and tossed her suitcase in the corner of the room.

Below her window was a small street with only a few tourists strolling by.

There was no sea here, only the half-dry bed of a river, its jagged rocks exposed.

Whenever she used to travel with Felix, she had to pack so much. The trunk would be stuffed to the brim, and she'd have to check the weather forecast, bring medicine, and research itineraries.

Now, by herself, with nothing to carry, she suddenly had all the time in the world.

She washed her face, changed her clothes, and went out.

The town wasn't large and was heavily commercialized, with no must-see attractions. Clara walked aimlessly, turning into a narrow lane that ran alongside the river.

The lane housed a quiet little bar with a wooden sign that read "Once Upon a Time." There were only a few patrons inside.

Finding the name interesting, Clara pushed open the door and found a high-backed stool in a corner.

"What can I get you?" the bartender, a young man with long hair, asked as he polished a glass.

"A Lychee Rose Gin."

"It's got a bit of a kick," the bartender noted. "Are you alone?"

Clara nodded. "Yes. I want something with a kick."

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