Chapter 11
Cole stumbled to his feet and bolted toward the stairs, his legs trembling so badly that he missed a step. With a loud thud, he
tumbled down the staircase, landing in a heap at the bottom.
The sharp pain brought a sliver of clarity to his frantic mind. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the railing and pulled himself up,
limping as he made his way back up the stairs. This time, he moved more slowly, and thankfully, there were no more accidents.
He reached the bedroom without further incident, but as soon as he stepped inside, his heart sank.
The room felt hollow. All of Jaycie’s belongings were gone, and only his things remained. Even the photo frames on the
nightstands, which once held pictures of the two of them, were now empty. The frames sat there, lonely and abandoned.
Cole’s panic surged. He yanked open the closet, then the drawers, pulling out his own items only to find the spaces behind them
completely bare.
The bedroom, the bathroom, the study–he searched every corner of the villa where their shared memories might have been
stored. But there was nothing left of Jaycie. Not a single trace.
Then it hit him–the thorough cleaning Jaycie had insisted on a while back, when she had thrown away all their couple items.
Now, he understood the reason. She had been erasing herself from his life, piece by piece.
She had been so ruthless, leaving him with no memories to hold onto.
The unease in his chest
threatened to opories to
hold onto.
