Chapter 27

One day, when Caleb was feeling slightly better, he asked Winona to bring him his tablet. With great effort, he revealed everything stored on the USB drive—her diary entries he had discovered, the quiet sacrifices he had secretly observed, and the overwhelming waves of regret and love that had consumed him. He laid it all bare, completely and honestly, without holding anything back. Tears streamed from his reddened eyes as he looked at her, his voice hoarse and breaking. "Winnie… Look, I'm not a machine. I have a heart, and it's been beating for you all along. "I was a fool. It took me this long to understand. Give me one more chance, even if it takes a lifetime, I'll make it right." Winona listened in silence. As she gazed at the man who had once stood so far above her, now fragile, tear-streaked, and painfully sincere, the last shard of ice in her heart began to melt. But she did not immediately yield. When Caleb pleaded again, she lifted her eyes and looked at him calmly. T