Chapter 13: The Choice I Had Already Made

The border investigation lasted another three weeks.

By the time it ended, the people responsible for the attack had been arrested and the disputed Packs had agreed to strengthen their security cooperation.

Gavin prepared to return to the capital.

I assumed that would be the last time I saw him for a while.

On the morning of his departure, I found him waiting outside the archive.

He wasn’t carrying flowers or gifts.

He simply stood there with his hands in his coat pockets.

“I’m leaving today,” he said.

I nodded.

“I know.”

He looked at me for a moment.

“My mother asked me to bring something back from Highmoor.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“An answer.”

I understood immediately.

“About the engagement?”

He nodded.

“She wants to know whether there’s still a chance.”

I was quiet for a long moment.

Then I said, “No.”

Gavin’s face remained still, but I saw the pain in his eyes.

“You didn’t even think about it.”

“I thought about it for six years.”

He lowered his head.

“Is there someone else?”

I almost smiled.

“No.”

“Then why?”

I looked directly at him.

“Because I don’t want you anymore.”

The words were much easier to say than I had expected.

Maybe because they were true.

Gavin stood silently for several seconds.

“Do you hate me?”

I shook my head.

“No.”

“Then I still have a chance.”

“You don’t.”

His expression cracked.

“Celia…”

I softened my voice.

“I don’t hate you, Gavin. I don’t even blame you anymore. But forgiving someone doesn’t mean you have to return to them.”

He looked toward the mountains.

“I thought if I waited long enough, you would come back.”

“That’s what I used to think, too.”

He gave a quiet, bitter laugh.

“You really are different.”

“Yes.”

“Was leaving me really that easy?”

I thought about it.

“No. Leaving you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

“But staying would have been harder.”

Gavin closed his eyes briefly.

When he opened them, there was something different in his expression.

Acceptance.

Not complete acceptance, perhaps.

But enough to let me breathe.

“Then I won’t ask again,” he said.

I nodded.

“Thank you.”

He turned to leave.

After a few steps, he stopped.

“Celia.”

I looked at him.

“I hope you find someone who chooses you the way I should have.”

For the first time, his words didn’t hurt.

I smiled.

“I hope you become someone who knows how to choose before it’s too late.”

He gave me one last look before walking away.

I watched until he disappeared beyond the courtyard gates.

Then I returned to the archive.

My life continued.

And somewhere along the way, I realized I had finally stopped wondering whether Gavin would come back.

Because I had already made my choice.

I was moving forward.