The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 741

Irene dug up the supplies the Clarks had hidden outside the villa community, hired a few armed escorts, and headed for the military base with Camila.

But as soon as they reached Grayport, the men turned on them. If a military patrol hadn't come along when it did, Irene and Camila would've been killed.

Getting to the base on their own clearly wasn't going to work.

So when the soldiers questioned Irene, she lied. She said Arthur was family and Camila was his daughter.

She didn't feel guilty about it. Arthur had supposedly stayed single all these years because of her, and the truth was, she had never completely gotten over him either.

Once the soldiers heard they were Arthur's family, they helped Irene get in touch with him.

They gave her a military satellite phone, and for the first time in more than 20 years, Irene heard Arthur's voice again.

The sound of his voice brought all her old regrets rushing back.

If she had known they would meet again someday, she never would've given in to her parents. She never would've broken up with Arthur and married into the Clarks just to save her family's business.

She had fallen for Arthur the moment she met him at a get-together with friends. She pursued him for months before he finally agreed to date her.

Unfortunately, their happiness didn't last.

Arthur was sent on a classified mission and couldn't contact anyone while he was gone. Irene promised she would wait a year for him, and they planned to get married as soon as he came back.

That was why she couldn't even reach him when her family forced her to end things.

Then she found out she was pregnant.

The Clarks couldn't know. If they did, the marriage would fall apart, and her family, the Wallaces, would lose everything.

At first, Irene thought abortion was her only option.

But the doctor told her the lining of her uterus was unusually thin, and the procedure could leave her unable to have children in the future.

So Irene carried the baby to term.

The Wallaces kept the pregnancy secret, and after Irene gave birth, they quietly gave the baby away.

Of course, it hurt. That was her own child.

She never forgot the look in his eyes.

First came pain, then guilt, and finally, resignation.

More than 20 years had passed. People changed, especially after years of living from one disaster to the next.

The moment Irene heard Arthur's voice over the satellite phone, she broke down.

"I'm sorry. I lied to you back then. I didn't lose the baby. She's alive. She's our daughter. She has your blood. I couldn't bring myself to get rid of her."

Arthur stayed silent for a long time. Then he arranged for the military to escort Irene and Camila safely to the base.

The truth was, Irene had loved him all these years. But too much had happened, and whatever they once had was no longer simple.

Arthur knew that, too.

He wasn't the same man he was 20 years ago. With the world devastated by one disaster after another, he had the responsibilities of a senior military officer and little time or energy left for anything personal.