The days following Ethan, Cole, and Theo's return from the forest were filled with relief and wonder. Elmsworth breathed easier. Children played louder, men returned to work with lighter shoulders, and women gathered in the square, weaving stories of survival and bravery.
Yet beneath the warmth of reunion, the old rumor lingered like smoke. Ethan walked through the streets with Cole at his side, his presence a quiet warning to any who still whispered. Hana's hand often found Ethan's when she sensed the weight pressing against him, but even her love could not erase weeks of suspicion in a few short days.
And Marian felt it most of all.
She moved like a shadow through Elmsworth, hood drawn, face pale. The silver coins Jonas had pressed into her hand felt heavy with guilt. "I had my reasons , I did what I had to do" But no matter how many times she whispered that justification to herself, it could not smother the truth, she had destroyed a man's name for coin.
By the third day, guilt drove her to Hana's shop.
The bell above the door jingled softly.
"Welcome," Hana said with a smile, head tilting toward the sound, her hands folding a cloth carefully. "Do you need help finding something?"
Marian stepped in, her throat dry. She shut the door quietly and lingered in silence.
"Hello?" Hana asked again.
"It's… me." The words were strained, nearly breaking. "Marian."
Hana stilled as her smile faded. Her hand froze mid-fold. "Why are you here?"
Marian took one trembling step closer. "Because I cannot keep living with this weight. Please, Hana, let me speak before you turn me out."
The shop grew unbearably still. Hana's lips parted, then closed, her face unreadable. "Please I'm done with all the lies, if that's what you came to tell you can leave."
Marian's knees threatened to buckle. She gripped the counter as if it could anchor her.
"I'm here to tell the truth....and the truth is... that, I lied," she whispered. "Ethan never kissed me, he never touched me. Jonas told me to say those things, and I… I did. Because he promised me coin. My sister, shes sick, Hana. The doctors needed payment where I'm from. I didn't have enough. And Jonas,..he offered me enough to keep keep her alive another season. I chose wrong. I chose a lie that ruined Ethan, I did alot of bad things for the sake of my sister."
Hana's knuckles whitened against the counter. "i understand the motive but you destroyed him. You destroyed me, he lost his job because of you, because of coin?"
Marian's tears spilled, but she lifted her chin. "I did it for her. For family. And still… it was wrong. Every day since, I have hated myself. I have seen the weight Ethan carries. I have heard the whispers that burned you both. I want to put it right, Hana. I want to confess."
The bell jingled again. Mira stepped in with a small bundle of linens, pausing at the strange tension filling the room.
"What's happening here?" she asked carefully.
Marian turned, pale and trembling. "I lied, Mira. All those weeks ago. I lied about Ethan. He never did anything. I was hired by Jonas, and I took the coin."
Mira's bundle slipped from her arms and landed on the floor with a soft thud. Shock blazed in her eyes. "You… you admit this now?"
"I do." Marian wiped at her wet cheeks, breath uneven. "I am going to the village square. I will ring the bell and tell everyone myself. I can't take this silence anymore."
Hana's face softened just slightly. Her voice was low, measured. "You are wrong, Marian. You were wrong then, and wrong now. But if you truly mean what you say, go. Speak the truth. Clear is name."
Marian turned toward the door, but hesitated. "Will you… will you walk with me? I'm afraid of doing this alone"
Mira's jaw tightened, but she nodded. "We will walk with you."
Hana reached for her cane, her fingers steady as they found it. "okay."
The three women stepped out into Elmsworth's street. The afternoon sun fell warm across rooftops, but the air felt tense, charged. As they made their way to the square, curious eyes followed. Whispers rose
"Is that Marian?"
"Why is she with Hana?"
"She looks pale…"
At the center of the square, Marian stepped to the old iron bell rope. Her hands shook as she pulled it.
Dong… dong… dong.
The bell tolled deep and heavy, summoning the village. Merchants closed stalls, mothers gathered children, men left their tools. Within minutes, the square filled with faces expectant, puzzled, murmuring.
Ethan arrived with Cole, drawn by the sound, suspicion in his eyes. He saw Hana, standing tall with Mira at her side, and then he saw Marian gripping the rope. His jaw tightened.
Cole muttered low, "What is this about?"
Marian's chest heaved as she faced the crowd. Dozens of eyes burned into her. She swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she began.
"Weeks ago… I said something about Ethan. Something vile. I claimed he had kissed me like a mad man, like someone out of control, that he had… done things he never did. I stand here now to say it was a lie."
Gasps rippled. Murmurs darted between villagers.
"I lied because my own selfish reasons and I was hired by jonas, told me to. He paid me. My sister was sick, I was desperate. That is no excuse,...I know. But the truth is this, Ethan never wronged me. He never touched me. He has carried shame for something he never did, and Hana… Hana bore the cruelty of your whispers because of my tongue."
She choked on her next words, tears spilling. "I will live with that stain forever. But I had to tell you. I had to confess. If you hate me, if you cast me out, I will not fight it. But Ethan is innocent. He always was."
The crowd erupted into stunned talk.
From the side, Jonas shoved forward, red-faced. "She lies again! Don't you see? She's trying to clear her name now! You all saw how Ethan..."
"Enough!"
Cole stormed forward, shoving Jonas back so hard he hit the side of a cart. The thud silenced the square. Cole's massive frame loomed, his voice booming.
"You paid her. Didn't you?" he growled. "You schemed and lied to ruin Ethan. Admit it."
Jonas's eyes darted, desperate. "Lies! All lies!"
Theo's mother pushed through the crowd, her voice sharp. "I always doubted. Ethan saved my son's life. I stood for him then and I will stand for him now."
Others followed.
"Aye, he is a good man."
"We wronged him."
"Shame on Jonas!"
The collective of villagers apologised in Ernest to ethan
The tide shifted, voices turning against Jonas, their eyes burning with disgust.
Jonas's bravado cracked. He shoved past Cole, storming out of the square as villagers hurled words after him. His disgrace trailed behind like smoke.
In the square's heart, Marian dropped to her knees, sobbing. "I am sorry… I am so sorry."
Hana stepped forward slowly, cane tapping the stone. Her hand found Marian's shoulder. Her voice was steady, but not unkind.
"You cannot undo what was done. But you can choose what you do now. Be better, prove yourself. Work honestly from now on."
Ethan finally moved, his eyes heavy with weariness, yet softened by Hana's words. He crouched beside Marian. "You've hurt me more than you know. But I forgive you."
Marian wept harder, pressing her forehead to the ground.
Around them, the villagers began to disperse, the truth already spreading like new fire. Ethan stood, and Hana's hand found his. Their fingers laced together in quiet strength.
He leaned close, whispering so only she could hear: "It's over. Finally over."
Hana's lips trembled into a small, relieved smile.
And for the first time in a long time, Ethan's chest felt light.