Chapter 177 Only Just Begun

• AUTHORS POV
• A pale winter sun filtered through bleak grey clouds as Tessa stood at the edge of the cemetery grounds, the soft crunch of frost underfoot mingling with the low murmur of the mourners. She wore a simple black coat and a veil tucked into her hair, though no one truly knew she was there. She was hidden among the guests—her eyes fixed on the closed casket resting on the polished wooden stand.
• Two years of battling leukaemia had left Don Ramón frail, his once-strong frame diminished by hospital stays and treatments. Yet his spirit had never faded, and now the man who had saved her life had at last fallen silent. Tessa’s chest constricted with grief as the priest in his black cassock began the service.