Chapter 5%
Hayes froze in his tracks.
His grip on the bag tightened as the words sank in. His heart thudded in his chest, and his mind struggled to process what he’d just heard.
Elise had mentioned it before–that her mother was gone–but he had dismissed it as an emotional outburst, something she said in anger. He never took it seriously.”
His voice came out forced, almost laughing. “Come on, Doc, that’s not funny. You told me she had at least three more months. How could she be gone in just a few days?“}
The doctor sighed, shaking his head. “It was unexpected. Her condition had been stable enough for a few more months, but when Dr. Montague called 911 and rushed her back in, her cerebral hemorrhage worsened significantly. The pressure on her nerves became unbearable. It seemed like… she had been upset by something. We tried everything but after three hours of resuscitation…“}
He didn’t need to finish the sentence.
Hayes’s breath caught in his throat.
His mind flashed back to the day Zara had shown up at Elise’s hospital.
Could it be…?
Had Zara pushed Elise’s mother over the edge?>
No. No, he refused to believe it. His body trembled as the thought was violently rejected by his mind.”
Elise had to know. She must know how her mother’s condition had worsened so suddenly.
He fumbled for his phone, his other hand gripping the wall to steady himself. He dialed her number, barely able to breathe.}}
One ring. Two. Then->
The number you have dialed is either unattended or out of service. Please try again later.
The robotic voice sent a cold chill through him.
He tried again.
Same response.}]
His heart sank.}
No wonder she had been so distant lately. No wonder she had said she wanted to let go.”
Her mother’s death must’ve shattered her.
And where had he been??
Too caught up in his own world to even notice.}
Shame clawed at his chest. Heavy. Suffocating. He had ignored all the signs. He had blamed her and dismissed her pain like it was nothing but an inconvenience.@
He needed to find her. He needed to apologize.}
Without wasting another second, he bolted out of the hospital and drove straight home.
But when he opened the front door->
He froze.}
Something was… off.
The house felt eerily quiet like it had been emptied of life.”
The wedding photos that once adorned the walls were gone. The couch pillows that had their pictures printed on them? Gone.
He turned toward the shoe rack.
Only his shoes remained.
His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he stumbled toward the bedroom.}
The moment he stepped inside, his stomach dropped.
The room was even emptier than the rest of the house.
The bright red wedding dress–the one Elise had insisted on keeping, no matter how many times they’d argued about throwing it
away–was gone.
The vanity table, the one he had bought her with his first paycheck–the one with the crack in the corner that she refused to replace- was gone.}
Everything she had held onto. Everything that tied her to this house… was gone.”
He stumbled back, eyes scanning the room frantically, as if looking harder would make her reappear.
Then, his gaze landed on the nightstand.}
A single piece of paper rested there.
His hands shook as he reached for it.”
A divorce agreement.
Her signature was already on it.”
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A divorce agreement.
Her signature was already on it.”
A lump formed in his throat, and his voice cracked as he whispered, “How… how could this happen?“}
He had never, not once, imagined that Elise would leave him.
That she would disappear without a word.”
His breath hitched as he turned, desperately searching the room for something–anything–that proved she hadn’t really left.
“Elise?” His voice cracked, barely more than a whisper. “Elise, where are you?“}]
He stumbled through the house, his heart racing, like a man trapped in a nightmare.}
“Don’t play hide and seek with me, okay?” His laugh was hollow, broken, and laced with desperation. “This isn’t funny… Just come out already.”
But there was no response. No warm giggle. No playful “Scaredy–cat, are you scared?“}
Nothing.
The only sound in the room was his ragged breathing.D
He sank onto the bed, staring blankly at the wall, as the weight of her absence crashed down on him.
Outside, the sky had darkened, and the city lights flickered faintly in the distance.
But Hayes sat there, frozen in time, his mind drowning in memories of Elise.”
The way she used to laugh so easily. The way her eyes sparkled when she was excited.}
The way she used to look at him–like he was her entire world.
And now?
Now, she’s gone.
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