Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 206

Hester hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Hello?"

No response from the other end.

Hester frowned slightly. "Hello?"

The person still didn't speak.

Wrong number?

Hester waited another beat. Just as she was about to hang up, a deep voice finally sounded: "It's me."

Hearing that voice, Hester froze.

Julian.

Her expression instantly turned icy. Without a single word, she hung up.

But Julian was persistent; he called back immediately.

Hester, naturally, didn't answer.

She blocked the number right then and there.

But Julian had obviously anticipated this reaction.

A few minutes later, a text message arrived from a different unknown number:

[I saw the news about the typhoon. You should go to another city for now. I've already arranged for someone to pick you up.]

Hester blocked that number too.

She wanted nothing to do with him, but she wasn't going to risk her safety just out of spite.

Even without his reminder, she had already been planning to leave town to dodge the storm.

However, Julian's little stunt made one thing very clear.

His people were definitely nearby.

Hester narrowed her eyes.

She accepted Chiara's arrangement, hung up, quickly packed her bags, and went downstairs.

...

Ms. Crane insisted on driving Hester to the airport herself.

It was an hour's drive from the town to the coast.

"The scenery here is gorgeous," Hester asked, "but doesn't the town suffer a lot of damage every typhoon season?"

Ms. Crane smiled wryly, keeping her eyes on the road. "That's coastal living for you. The locals are used to it. The first couple of years I was here, I was a nervous wreck every time a storm hit. Sure, there's damage, but the government provides support. It's a hassle, but you get used to it. Just consider it a way to build character."

"Have you ever thought about moving to a different city?"

"Not really," Ms. Crane replied. "I genuinely love Coralton City. Everything has its pros and cons, you know?"

As a Northwood native who had lived in Coralton for five years, Ms. Crane's accent was now peppered with local inflections. "If you love the vastness of the ocean, you have to accept its storms. If you love the snow, you have to accept the cold. Nothing in this world is perfect. Perfection is just a lovely human illusion. It's a fantasy. Imperfection is the true nature of life!"

Imperfection is the true nature of life.

Hester pondered those words and, after a moment, smiled.