Chapter 27
Inside the café.
Nina stared at the ring, turning it slowly between her fingers. The diamond gleamed beneath the soft window light.
“So it’s mine now, right?” she asked casually. “Since I accepted it?”
Lysander’s gaze locked onto her. “Of course.”
The moment he spoke, she smiled–and handed it back.
“This is about five carats, isn’t it? Great cut. Probably worth around two hundred grand on the market.” She tilted her head. “Let’s call it even. I’ll use it to pay off the debt. You can keep the
change.”
His expression stiffened slightly. He lowered his eyes to the ring in his hand, his brows drawing in. “Are you telling me… you’re using my engagement ring to repay what you owe me?”
She offered a shrug. “You said once I accepted it, it was mine. If that’s the case, I can do whatever I want with it. Isn’t that fair?”
A low laugh escaped him–dry, dark. “You’re even more entertaining than I thought.”
“And you,” Nina shot back smoothly, “using a debt to force someone into marriage? Even more shameless than I expected.”
Lysander didn’t flinch. “I just want the truth behind your soul state.”
Then his tone shifted, softer but heavier. “And you, Hayden, are the one closest to that answer.”
“Is that so?” Nina asked, her voice dipping coolly. “You want me to help uncover the truth–but you’ve never told me anything real. Like why I came back. Or why you suddenly appeared.”
-Lysander paused. Then, for once, he answered.
“When you came back,” he said slowly, “I saw three flickers of light–almost like spirit echoes.”
“Spirit echoes?” Nina echoed.
“It’s what’s left behind when a soul still has unfinished business,” he explained. “They were searching for a vessel, a place to land. I guided you to Hayden Monroe–the girl who had just passed.”
“That’s all I know,” he added. “Why it was you? That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.”
Chapter 27
– Vour Tourney at FCCU
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Nina stared at him, brow furrowed. She wanted to remember but her mind remained blank
Back at the company, Julian stepped into his office only to find Samantha waiting beside his desk
He stopped. “What is it?”
Her eyes met his. “Julian… I’m leaving for Aspenridge.”
He paused. “Is there something you’re not happy with?”
“I’ve told you before,” she said with a sad smile, “there’s one thing I’ve always wanted. And you’re
the only one who can’t give it.”
Julian didn’t speak.
Samantha’s voice softened. “I’m sorry I never told you the truth… back in Aspenridge.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “For three years, I’ve carried the guilt. I knew everything, Julian. About you and Nina. I knew you broke up with her for me. And I knew, that day we saw her again in Aspenridge… she wasn’t just there to travel. She was there to die. To end her life with dignity.”
Julian’s fingers curled into the edge of the desk. His entire frame froze.
“I never told you,” Samantha said, her voice cracking. “All this time, I’ve been regretting it. I keep wondering if I’d just come clean back then… if I hadn’t pulled you away from her… maybe she
wouldn’t have…”
She choked back a sob. “I always thought, maybe losing the wedding was karma. A punishment for being selfish. I was terrified–terrified that if you knew, you’d leave me in an instant.”
She gripped his sleeve, trembling. “I thought time would heal everything, but it didn’t. Watching you these past three years… it broke me, too. I can’t take it anymore. I’m sorry, Julian. I really am.‘
}}
Julian stood still for a long moment. Then, slowly, he stepped forward and placed a hand gently atop
her head.
His voice was low, hoarse. “If anyone should be sorry… it’s me. Thank you, Samantha. For
ears everything these past three years. I’m sorry.”
She looked up at him in stunned silence.
“It wasn’t your fault,” he continued. “I was the one who ran away from it all. I avoided everything –what happened, what she was going through, what brought her to Aspenridge. I should’ve asked. I should’ve faced it with her that night. But I was too afraid of losing her. So I ran.”
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Julian closed his eyes. His chest rose and fell with the weight of unsaid grief.
“But I’m done running,” he said at last. “No matter what it costs… I’m not running anymore.”
