Chapter 21
When Sebastian returned home, the entire house was quiet and empty.
The house had a cold atmosphere, mixed with the faint scent of Elizabeth’s perfume.
Sebastian realized that without Elizabeth, the house was just a hollow shell.
From the bedroom to the study to the bathroom.
Everything was decorated by Elizabeth’s own hand.
Back then, she had asked him to go furniture shopping with her, but he had made excuses about not having time.
When he came home, the room had already been decorated.
Elizabeth knew by heart what was placed in every corner of the room.
But now, everything was there except the person who had arranged it all.
He had clearly searched everywhere before, but Sebastian couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have left something behind.
He began trembling uncontrollably and started searching frantically.
In the closet, behind the desk, even in the door cracks-he searched everywhere.
The entire house was a mess, but still no trace of her.
Finally, he pinned his hopes on the disheveled bed, but found nothing there either.
He felt like his heart was being pierced by thousands of silver needles simultaneously, causing him unbearable pain.
He was lucid and desperately aware of her determination to leave.
Sebastian had imagined the sadness Elizabeth would show when hearing about divorce-maybe she would cry, scream, or even attempt suicide.
None of that happened.
From beginning to end, she had only done one thing.
Divorced him and left him.
Sebastian didn’t sleep well all night.
The next day at the office, he saw his assistant waiting at the door: “Mr. Whitmore, the 3 PM meeting…”
“Cancel it.”
He rubbed his temples, interrupting, catching sight of his secretary’s hesitant expression: “If you have something to say, just say it directly.”
“I just feel… Mr. Whitmore seems to care a lot about Mrs. Whitmore’s whereabouts lately, but before…”
The assistant didn’t continue.
Sebastian looked at the large floor-to-ceiling windows, his brow furrowing slightly.
“Was I really that bad to her before?”
“Don’t hold back, just tell the truth.”
The assistant took a deep breath: “You indeed rarely paid attention to Mrs. Whitmore’s feelings, and never let us mention her.”
“But she always remembered your stomach problems, prepared stomach-soothing tea in advance, and even remembered things you mentioned casually.”
Memories suddenly flooded back-one late night when he was working overtime, he had irritably pushed away the hot milk Elizabeth brought him, the scalding milk splashing onto her hand.
She had just quickly wiped it off and immediately brought him a new cup.
On their third wedding anniversary, he had accompanied Clarissa for her birthday until midnight. When he came home, he found Elizabeth still waiting for him, with a custom-made cake she had prepared sitting on the dining table.
Sebastian suddenly stood up, his chair scraping harshly against the carpet.
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down at the endless stream of traffic below, his throat tightening.
She had always seemed so patient with him.
While he had acted as if only Clarissa existed.
The phone rang-a message from the private investigator.
The final lead showed that Elizabeth had boarded flight KLM642 to the Netherlands, but they couldn’t find her specific location.
Sebastian’s hand trembled slightly as he held the phone, finally understanding where that dull pain in his chest had come from when he saw the divorce papers in the garage that day.
It was the panic of realizing something’s value only after losing it.
“Mr. Whitmore?”
The secretary’s voice came from behind him.
“Put all projects on hold. I’m going abroad.”
When Sebastian turned around, the look in his eyes behind his glasses startled the secretary.
He grabbed his suit jacket and strode quickly toward the elevator: “Book the earliest flight to the Netherlands. Immediately.”
The elevator doors at the end of the corridor slowly closed, and Sebastian stared at his haggard reflection in the mirror.
He had once thought Elizabeth’s love would keep her waiting in place forever. Now he understood that even the most passionate devotion could be exhausted by his indifference.
When the elevator numbers jumped to the first basement level, he thought of Elizabeth’s last unread message, his heart aching.
This time, it was his turn to find her.
