Chapter 9
Chapter 9
By the time she came to, word of what she’d done had spread through the entire base.
The school board didn’t just fire her-
They also flagged her personnel file for “serious misconduct.”
Her teaching career?
Over.
No other school would touch her.
Not with a ten–foot pole.
But what truly enraged everyone-
Was that Jake never made it back for Emily’s dad’s funeral.
Because Jessica had kept the message to herself.
That was the last straw.
Everyone in the housing unit signed a petition to kick her off base.
They didn’t want someone like her around their families.
In the end, Jessica packed her things and left-
Alone, disgraced, and humiliated.
As for Jake…
An internal review cleared him of having any affair with her.
But that didn’t mean he walked away clean.
He was officially reprimanded.
No promotions for the next three years.
And after that?
Who knows.
Could go either way.
Me?
I went back to my hometown.
Took over my father’s old job.
The school there wasn’t much-
Not like the one on base.
But it was enough.
Simple life.
Quiet.
And Took His Reputation With Me
Chapter 9
Honest.
Surrounded by little faces with big eyes and open hearts-
That’s where I found purpose again..
Jake came looking for me once.
Knelt for hours in front of my dad’s grave.
He tried to explain the whole thing with Jessica.
Asked if I could forgive him.
1 shook my head.
Some things, once broken, can’t be put back together.
He stopped chasing after a while.
But even now, a few times a year-
I’ll catch him standing across the street from my school,
Just… watching.
He also started sending me half his military stipend.
Said it was the least he could do.
At first, I refused.
But he kept showing up.
Wouldn’t take no for an answer.
So I finally gave in.
Since then, that money shows up every month.
I don’t spend it on myself.
Every dollar goes back into the school.
New chairs.
Fresh paint.
Better books.
Those kids deserve more than what we had.
And that’s how it went.
I taught in that little mountain town for the rest of my life.
And Jake-
He kept watch from a distance, for just as long.
When I passed, I had no children of my own.
But dozens of my former students came.
And they, just like I did for my father-
wife Lifo–And Took His Renutation With Me
6.1
Chapter 9
Took up the torch.
Kept the light of learning alive.
Passing it on.
Generation after generation.
In the end, I held that old wristwatch-
The one that hadn’t worked in years-
And smiled.
I had no regrets.
No shame for a quiet life well spent.
Everything I had, I gave to the most beautiful cause on Earth.
That…
That was my purpose.
AVAL Ma
