No More Waiting, She Chooses Love

Jacqueline nodded before letting go of my hand, "I'll call and check."

As she made the call, I knelt down, clasping my hands together in a silent prayer, hoping for peace and smooth sailing for everyone.

Jacqueline's voice floated back to me during my prayers, "...Dustin, you're not pulling my leg, are you? He's really okay?... Alright, I'm on my way back. Tell his mom I visited the Silent Wisdom Temple, and I even bumped into Felicia." Looking back at me as she spoke, Jacqueline reassured, "She's... she's alright, nothing's wrong with her. Tell Rad that Felicia is okay and that she has forgiven our family's past mistakes... Okay, mom will know..."

I bowed my head, a gesture of letting go and finding peace.

After Jacqueline left, I stayed, listening to Master Mathew's sermons until dusk before descending the mountain.

Fanny picked me up, handing me a bouquet of sunflowers, "Congratulations on your rebirth."

She understood me, knew that this journey was about releasing my grudges and forgiving myself.

I hugged Fanny and then went to James' bar for drinks.

We didn't drink much but hung around late into the night, calling James over for one last round after everyone else had gone.

"James, you've got to keep this bar open forever, so when we're toothless old Ethels, we can still come here for a drink," Fanny said, her arm around my shoulder, making a heartfelt request to James. James just laughed. "By the time you're toothless, I doubt I'll still be around."

speaking the truth since he

"Everyone is born to die, it's inevitable. So, what's the difference if it's sooner or

his late daughter, showing that James had

life to the fullest," I raised my

been reborn, freed from the bitterness and

had let go of the feud with the Wagner family and made

other

maintaining a professional distance

now easy for me. I even joined in the jokes about him with colleagues and participated in the Collins and Wagner families' joint business

the heir to the Collins family in a

instantly became then

attention,

of many

to me, "Felicia, Ernest is like a blue-chip stock, it's a shame to

tried more than once to reconcile me

not a loss," I whispered to Grant with a

on his drink at my words, and I