Chapter 14
Rosamonde asked to see Nerelle before leaving the mountain.
Nerelle said no.
Good.
A month later, she said yes.
Also good.
Changing one’s mind is allowed.
They met in a public tea room.
I was not present.
Nerelle told me later only because she wanted to.
Rosamonde apologized for the coat first.
Oddly specific.
Good sign.
Then for believing Elias dead and staying silent.
Then for calling Merrick.
Then for using my name to collect gifts.
No childhood excuse.
No “I loved Anselm too much.”
No father made me do it.
Just actions.
Nerelle asked one question.
“When you poured the wine, did you think the coat came from his body?”
Rosamonde cried.
“Yes.”
That answer horrified Nerelle more than she expected.
Because it meant Rosamonde believed she was destroying one of the last things connected to a dead man just to hurt his sister.
No mystery left.
No Merrick manipulation in that moment.
Only spite.
Rosamonde admitted it.
“I hated that your grief made me remember what I’d done.”
There.
Specific remorse.
Useful.
Nerelle did not forgive her.
She said:
“I hope you become someone who wouldn’t do that again.”
Then left.
I respected that more than reconciliation.
Rosamonde left the city soon afterward.
Not exiled.
Not ruined.
She simply lost the marriage she had tried too hard to secure.
May you like
Sometimes consequence is becoming unable to enter the future you manipulated everyone to preserve.
No violence needed.
