Chapter 19

Sienna came to see Julian once. She seemed to have dressed with care, wearing a simple, elegant dress, her face softened by a gentle smile that seemed meant to win him back. "Julian, I know you've been feeling down lately. I made some chicken soup. You—" Julian lifted his head from a stack of military documents and looked at her, his gaze calm and unshaken. There was no hesitation anymore, no guilt, not even warmth—only a cold, unflinching clarity, as if he had seen through everything. "Sienna." He cut her off, his voice flat and steady. "We're done." The smile on Sienna's face froze, and the color drained slowly from her face. Julian continued with the same quiet composure, as if stating a fact unrelated to himself, "I used to be foolish. I couldn't separate responsibility from gratitude, and I mistook that for love. "But the moment I chose to marry Trin, everything between us ended for good. I fell in love with her long before I even realized it myself." He looked at her pa