The Eleventh Luna Rose Trial Chapter 09

The Eleventh Luna Rose Trial Chapter 09

Outside the window, the rose leaves sway gently in the breeze. I turn around and pour myself a cup

coffee.

“There is still one Silver Frost Rose left in the North. As long as I can cultivate it successfully, the

Northern rose garden won’t collapse.”

Nathan freezes, “You already had a backup plan?”

I pick up my rose–patterned cup and take a small sip.

“After growing roses for so many years, I’ve learned one thing. You can never put everything on a single branch.”

His gaze settles on me. After a long pause, he lets out a quiet laugh.

“You’re even better than you were back then.”

I don’t respond.

He doesn’t leave either. After a long silence, he speaks again.

“Helena, I’ve actually thought about you a lot over the years.”

My fingers stop, and a ripple spreads across the surface of my coffee.

“Thought about what?”

Nathan lowers his gaze to the table.

“I think about how you used to stay up all night watching over the rose garden. How you’d be so exhausted you could barely stand, yet you’d still go check every single rose seedling. I think about how you held your entire family together by yourself after your father passed away.”

I stare out the window without saying anything.

Nathan’s Adam’s apple moves slightly.

“After you left, things between Olivia and me weren’t as good as I imagined they’d be. She relies on me for almost everything. Back then, I thought that was a good thing.”

His fingers tighten. He pauses, as if trying to put into words something he has only recently begun

to understand.

“But eventually, I realized that being needed can slowly become a burden, too. She cries when I come home late. If I say something in someone else’s defense, she thinks it means I don’t care

about her.”

“I know she doesn’t do it on purpose, but sometimes, I don’t know how to make her feel secure.”

I look up at him, “So? Why are you telling me this?”

Nathan falls silent, his lashes trembling slightly.

“Helena, if none of those things had happened, if I hadn’t made those choices… do you think things

would have been different between us?”

The room falls completely silent.

Until a sharp crash comes from behind us.

A cup hits the floor.

Olivia stands there, her face pale, just like she was six years ago.

She looks at us, her eyes slowly filling with tears, “Nathan…”

The moment Nathan sees her, his body instinctively moves toward her, but he stops himself.

“Olivia, go home first.”

She stares at him in disbelief, “What did you mean by what you just said?”

Nathan looks at her, his fingers slowly tightening, “Just go home, okay?”

The tears finally spill down Olivia’s cheeks.

“No matter what happened before, you always stood by me. Even when everyone misunderstood

me, you protected me. But now…”

She looks at me, “Did you change the moment Helena came back?”

Nathan’s brows draw together, “This has nothing to do with her.”

Olivia freezes.

I don’t look at either of them again. I pick up my documents and turn to leave. As I pass them, I ask

quietly, “Nathan, do you regret it?”

The wind blows in from somewhere far away.

The man says something in a low voice, too soft and too distant for me to hear.

I don’t stop to listen.

Because whatever his answer is, it no longer matters.