Storms of the Heart novel Chapter 30

The phone rang for what felt like an eternity before Trina finally picked up. A calm, slightly lazy female voice answered, "Hello?"

Julian's throat tightened instantly, words caught in his throat, and all that escaped were a few hoarse, trembling syllables as he nearly broke into a sob.

"Trin… it's me. I saw the magazine article… You're doing well… I'm glad. I… I just wanted… to hear your voice."

On the other end of the line, there was a long, heavy silence. It dragged on for so long that Julian feared she would hang up on him again.

Then he heard Trina let out a soft sigh, her voice calm and even, carrying a sense of complete release and a distant, unattainable detachment.

"Julian, it's all over. I forgive you. Not for you, but for my sake, so I can truly let go and begin a new life. So please… let yourself go too. Don't contact me ever again."

Before Julian could respond, the line went dead with a crisp, final busy dial tone.

He stood frozen in place, the phone still clutched in his hand, as if the world had suddenly stopped.

What she meant by "forgiveness" wasn't mercy. It was completely letting go—a true and irrevocable farewell. It was far more cruel than any revenge he could have imagined.

After hanging up, Trina immediately deactivated that phone number. She stepped onto the villa's terrace, staring at the moonlit ocean shimmering in the distance as the sea breeze tangled through her long hair.

She took a deep breath, letting the last trace of tension in her chest drift away with the wind.

She was truly free.

…

Julian voluntarily requested a long-term assignment at the most remote, harsh, and dangerous border outpost. The conditions were brutal, the missions grueling, and life-and-death tests a constant reality.

Yet somehow, he felt a sense of belonging there.

He often stood alone on the cliff beside the outpost, staring at the endless, rolling mountains beyond the border. The fierce wind whipped at the hem of his uniform and tangled his hair, but he barely noticed.

He finally realized, with complete clarity, that he had lost his red rose forever.

She didn't want his life, nor did she want his remorse. She didn't even leave him her hatred.

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