The Only Color Left In His World Was Another Woman Chapter 09

Our research team hadn’t come to Mount Norens 

to reach the summit. 

Once we’d collected enough photographs and 

data, we began making our way back down. 

I never expected to come across Julian on the 

way. 

He was lying facedown in the snow, so still that I couldn’t tell whether he was alive. 

His shoulder was badly injured, and the blood that had spilled from the wound had already frozen in 

the bitter cold. 

My teammates immediately rushed to give him. 

first aid. 

Julian had lost a great deal of blood and spent hours exposed to the freezing wind. He was already suffering from hypothermia. 

His hands shook uncontrollably as he held a cup 

of warm water one of my teammates had given 

him. 

When he saw me, his eyes brightened for a 

moment, then quickly dimmed again. 

“Tessa, I couldn’t do it. I didn’t make it to the 

summit.” 

For a moment, I was speechless. 

He had to be out of his mind. He’d been seriously 

injured and had still tried to keep climbing. He was practically trying to get himself killed. 

I ignored him. 

But Julian seemed to fall apart, apologizing to me 

over and over. 

“Tessa, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know you were the one who saved me here all 

those years ago…” 

“I always thought Brielle was the one who carried me down the mountain. I’m sorry. I was an idiot for believing it without ever questioning it, and you 

suffered so much because of me.” 

His tears fell onto the snow, freezing into tiny 

crystals. 

Looking at him now, overcome with regret, I found 

it almost laughable. 

“So you’ve spent all these years giving Brielle everything she wanted because you thought she 

was the one who saved your life?” 

“Julian, stop making excuses for yourself.” 

“You could have asked me what happened. You 

could have asked the doctors and nurses at the hospital. But you didn’t. Why? Because from the moment you first saw her, you’d already started 

choosing her over me.” 

Julian swallowed hard but said nothing. 

He couldn’t argue with me because he knew I was 

right. 

Our team got him to the hospital at the foot of the mountain as quickly as possible. 

His life was saved. 

But the arm that had bled so heavily had also 

suffered severe frostbite. The tissue was 

completely dead. 

To prevent infection, the hospital had no choice 

but to schedule an amputation. 

Brielle wasn’t found until the following afternoon, when another group of tourists came across her. 

She was in even worse condition. 

The tissue in one of her thighs had died. 

Her altitude sickness had progressed to life–threatening pulmonary edema, leaving her with severe respiratory failure. Doctors weren’t sure whether she’d ever fully recover. 

I learned all of this from a teammate who’d stayed behind at the visitor center to turn in our records. 

The rest of the research team didn’t stop. 

After a brief rest, we moved on to the next 

mountain to continue studying the glaciers. 

After a full month of fieldwork, I finally had two 

weeks off. 

One day, a package from back home arrived at the apartment I was renting. 

Inside was all the climbing equipment Brielle had 

taken from me, along with my professional 

camera, carefully wrapped in protective foam. 

I turned on the camera to check it. 

The deleted photos had been recovered. 

At the bottom of the box was a note in Julian’s 

handwriting. 

[Tessa, I know a simple apology could never make up for the pain I’ve caused you. I had someone repair your camera, and I hope getting those photos back brings you at least a little comfort…] 

[I know you’ll never forgive me. I still love you as much as I always have, but I won’t presume to bother you again. Even if I never see you again, I hope you’ll be safe and happy for the rest of your 

life.] 

There were dried water stains along the bottom of 

the paper. 

I scoffed. 

Without hesitation, I tossed the note into the trash. 

A week later, a large sum of money was 

transferred into my account from back home. 

Julian had sold his company for far less than it 

was worth to come up with the money. 

I was earning good money from the research 

expedition, so I donated the entire amount to the 

foundation affiliated with our team. The money 

would help provide funding and equipment to 

researchers who were short on funds. 

It was my way of paying that kindness forward. 

The sunlight was blinding that day. I put on my snow goggles and followed the team onward. 

Swirling snow covered the footprints I’d left behind. 

But the path ahead of me would always be clear.