Chapter 9: The Woman Beside Me

The next morning, Gavin was gone.

I told myself I was relieved.

Yet when I entered the eastern courtyard and saw the empty bench where he had been sitting the previous afternoon, I stood there for several seconds before moving on.

I hated that some part of me still noticed his absence.

Princess Helena assigned me to the relief team that afternoon.

A small village on the western side of Pinehaven had suffered a severe winter storm, and we were responsible for delivering medicine, food, and heating supplies.

I welcomed the work.

It kept my mind occupied.

By sunset, we returned to Highmoor exhausted.

As I stepped into the main hall, I saw Gavin standing beside Princess Helena.

He looked different from the man I remembered.

There was no confidence in his posture now.

Only exhaustion.

“Celia,” he said quietly.

I stopped.

“What are you doing here?”

“The Council assigned me to the northern relief negotiations.”

I nodded.

“Then I hope your work goes well.”

I walked past him.

“Celia, wait.”

I turned reluctantly.

He hesitated before asking, “Were you always this close to the villagers?”

I frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“You seem different here.”

I almost smiled.

“Maybe because nobody here expects me to be Evelyn’s sister first.”

His face went pale.

Before he could respond, another volunteer called my name.

“Celia, we need help with the medical inventory.”

I nodded and walked away.

That night, I discovered a note on my desk.

It wasn’t from Gavin.

It was from Princess Helena.

She wanted me to attend a small council meeting the following morning.

The next day, I arrived early.

Several senior officials were already there.

One of them was Gavin.

I took the empty seat across from him.

Princess Helena began discussing the border situation.

A group of smaller Packs had requested assistance after several disputes over territory and trade routes.

I listened quietly until the discussion turned to the relief archives.

One councilman dismissed the records as outdated.

I spoke before I could stop myself.

“They aren’t outdated.”

Everyone turned toward me.

I opened the archive report I had prepared.

“The agreements from seventeen years ago are still legally binding. The current dispute exists because the original boundary maps were never updated after the river changed course.”

The room fell silent.

Princess Helena looked at me with approval.

Gavin stared at me as though he were seeing someone he had never known.

I continued explaining the solution.

By the time the meeting ended, the council members had accepted my proposal.

As everyone left, Gavin remained behind.

“You were always this capable,” he said.

I looked at him.

“You just never noticed.”

His expression tightened.

“I noticed everything about you.”

“No,” I replied softly. “You noticed whether I was waiting for you.”

He had no answer.

I gathered my documents and stood.

As I reached the door, I heard him say, “Celia, I’m beginning to understand what I lost.”

I paused but didn’t turn around.

“Understanding it now doesn’t change what happened.”

Then I left.

For the first time, I realized something important.

I didn’t want Gavin to regret losing me.

I wanted to become someone who no longer cared whether he did.