Tangled Temptations novel Chapter 176

The next day, Eloise paid a visit to the apartment. She had the curtains she had changed put back to the way they were. The vases and decorations she had bought were all tossed into the trash.

All her clothes and accessories, whether worn or not, were packed up and sent to an auction house. Every single thing that belonged to Eloise was cleared out, including the piano.

A day passed and there wasn't a trace of Eloise left in the apartment. It was as if she had never been there.

Finally, Eloise looked at Milo.

Milo was a stray dog from downstairs, which Harvey had adopted to impress her. With her gone these past few days, life had been tough for Milo. Eloise took Milo away.

She had been with Harvey for half a year, and all she left with was the dog, the $5 million he gave her, the jewelry and clothes, and the piano. She donated all the money to a foundation.

With everything taken care of, Eloise's feet began to ache, a reminder of how ridiculous this fruitless relationship had been.

Two days later, Harvey was at his law firm, having just won a high-profile international case. He was at the pinnacle of his career.

Denise walked in. She handed Harvey an envelope, whispering, "Ms. Laurent came by yesterday and asked me to give this to Attorney Horigan."

Harvey took the envelope and pulled out a key from it. It was the key to his apartment. He stared at the key and asked, "Have you been to the apartment? Did she take all her clothes and jewelry? If not, could you help me send them to her? I'm a man, I have no use for those things."

Denise looked complicated.

Harvey asked her, "What's wrong?"

Not knowing how to respond, Denise vaguely said, "You'll see when you go home tonight. But yes, Ms. Laurent has moved out."

Harvey found it strange but didn't think much of it. He worked until 10 PM before driving back to the apartment.

Thinking that there was no one waiting for him at the apartment, and no one to cook for him, he didn't feel like going upstairs. He finished smoking a cigarette in his car before entering the apartment.

When Harvey walked in and turned on the lights, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if all his pores had opened up. He had grown accustomed to the house with Eloise's touch. But now, it was back to its original state. Like a model room, cold and up to his taste, but devoid of any life.

Harvey took off his coat and started searching.

Bedroom, kitchen, living room...even the bathroom. He searched everywhere but couldn't find a single thing that belonged to Eloise or anything she had used. She had cleared out every trace of herself.

Harvey stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. The place was empty, even the piano was gone. Harvey suddenly understood what Eloise meant. She wanted to forget him and hoped he would forget her too.

He remembered what she said when she left, "We'll never see each other again."

Suddenly, he felt dizzy. The pain in his heart was unbearable. He took out his phone, intending to call Eloise, but the automated voice on the other end said, "Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unavailable."

Harvey looked around, a feeling of suffocation hitting him. He threw his phone against the wall with all his might. The phone shattered into pieces. He proceeded to smash everything in the apartment. He didn't even know why he was doing it, why he was so infuriated by what Eloise had done. He had even admitted to himself that he didn't mind Eloise's decision to leave him.

Late at night, Harvey stood in the mess he had made. He took out a diamond ring from his pocket, one that he had given to Eloise. It was probably the only thing he had left.

Harvey clenched his fists.

After a while, he opened the envelope. Inside was indeed a bill, for the Valentine's Day decoration, along with several pictures of the setup. The decoration was beautiful, with his favorite black theme. Bills were costly, running into several thousands of bucks, all paid out of Eloise's pocket.

Harvey just sat there, staring at the bills and feeling his heart jump. The familiar agony washing over him again.

Denise's voice broke the silence. "Eloise really loved you, Attorney Horigan. You might not realize, but she agreed to go to France for two years just to make it easier for you to handle Ms. Joan’s situation. You once had something really beautiful, and I want to ask you, would Ms. Joan really die if you hadn't gone to the hospital? Or is it that you just can't let go of your first love?"

Her voice choked up. "Sorry, I've said too much."

Harvey was still looking at that photo. The photo showed how their apartment used to look when they lived together. He stared at it for a long time until it hit him and he realized what he'd lost - he'd lost Eloise's love.

Eloise had asked him twice if he loved her. He'd never answered straight up because he just liked her - liked her body, her care, her cooking, her company.

But he knew Eloise loved him.

Now that she'd pulled her love back, set the boundaries, and completely exited his life, Eloise had moved on from their relationship, while Harvey was still stuck.

He spent the night alone in his office. The ashtray was jam-packed with cigarette butts.

At the break of dawn, he dialed Denise, his voice hoarse. "Find out where that piano is for me."