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Chapter 17

Author: Hillary ann
last update Last Updated: 2025-06-02 19:21:05
The Return of the Truth (Iris POV)

Rain soaked the garden overnight, but Iris barely noticed. The morning after the vow-that-never-happened was grey and quiet, the kind of quiet that comes after something breaks but hasn't yet fallen.

She woke to the sound of her own breath—shallow, uneven. Not quite grief. Not quite peace. Just a hovering ache.

Callum hadn’t come to bed.

The greenhouse still smelled like rosemary and regret. Her dress from the night before hung over the back of the chair, soaked from the rain. She touched the fabric and felt the moment he looked at her, broken but hopeful, flash behind her eyelids.

She hadn’t walked away from love.

She’d walked away from the version of it that still had blood on its hands.

And yet she hadn’t taken off the ring.

---

Callum found her in the library.

She didn’t look up as he stepped inside. He didn’t speak either, not right away. Just walked to the windows where she stood and handed her a folded piece of paper.

"It’s everything," he said
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