Chapter Twenty-Five: The Sin That Refuses to End
Lila did not choose immediately.
That was the most honest thing she had done in a long time.
She spent days alone, walking until her feet ached, letting memory and desire argue without interruption. She understood now that the sin was never loving two men — it was pretending love could be divided without consequence.
In the end, she chose truth over structure.
She left the marriage not for Marcus, but for herself. Ethan watched her go without hatred, only sorrow. Marcus did not claim her — he waited.
The ending was not romantic.
It was necessary.
Love did not save everyone. But it stopped lying.
And that, Lila realized, was the only redemption that mattered.