Love That Burned Me Down novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21

When Yves arrived home, the house was pin–drop silent. There was not a single soul in sight.

There was a chill in the air, mixed with the faint scent of Zoey’s perfume. At that moment, Yves realized how empty the place felt without her.

Everything from the bedroom to the study and bathroom had been arranged by her. She had asked him to accompany her to pick out the furniture, but he had made excuses, saying he was too busy. By the time he returned home again, everything had already been arranged.

Zoey knew every corner of the house like the back of her hand. But now, everything was still in its place except for the person who made it a home.

Even though he had already rummaged through everything once, Yves couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have left something behind. He couldn’t stop himself from shaking as he started searching every nook and cranny of the house.

He looked everywhere–in the wardrobe, behind the desk, and even in the narrow space behind the door. The whole house was a mess by the time he was done, but he still couldn’t

find a thing.

In the end, Yves pinned his hopes on the messy bed, but he still found nothing. He felt as if his heart was being pierced by a thousand needles all at once, causing him excruciating pain.

In that moment of sharp, bitter clarity, he realized that Zoey was really gone.

He had once imagined how Zoey might react when she heard about the divorce. He thought she’d cry, lash out, or even threaten to take her own life.

However, none of that had happened. The reality was that she’d divorced him and left.

That night, sleep refused to come to Yves.

The next day, when Yves arrived at the company, he found Dale already waiting for him by the

entrance. “Mr. Pearce, about the meeting at 3:00 pm-”

“Cancel it,” Yves cut him off, massaging his temples. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed

Dale’s hesitant expression. “Out with it!”

“It’s just… Lately, you seem really concerned about Mrs. Pearce’s whereabouts, Mr. Pearce. But before this…” Dale trailed off.

Yves looked out the massive floor–to–ceiling windows with knitted brows. “Be honest with me. Was I really that bad to her before?”

Chapter 21

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Dale took a deep breath before answering, “Mr. Pearce, you rarely paid attention to her feelings, and you never wanted us to bring her up. However, she always remembered your stomach issues. She’d make you tea to help with digestion and keep track of every little thing you mentioned in passing.”

All of a sudden, memories came flooding back to Yves.

One late night, while he was working overtime, he irritably shoved away the hot milk Zoey handed him. As a result, it had spilled the scalding liquid onto the back of her hand. At that time, Zoey had hastily wiped it off and brought him a fresh cup.

On their third wedding anniversary, he had spent the entire night celebrating Wendy’s birthday. When he arrived home, he found that Zoey had still been waiting for him, with a custom–made cake on the dining table.

Yves shot up from his chair, the legs scraping loudly against the carpet. He walked over to the floor–to–ceiling window and looked down at the endless stream of cars below.

He felt a lump forming in his throat as he finally realized how patient Zoey had been with him, even though he’d only had eyes for Wendy.

Just then, his phone rang.

was the private investigator.

parently, the last known lead revealed that Zoey had taken flight AA7949 to Lormont, but they still didn’t know exactly where she was.

Yves hand started shaking a little.

He finally understood the dull ache in his chest when he saw the divorce agreement in the garage the other day. That ache was fear–the fear of realizing what he’d lost only after it was too late.

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