Everest's Guardian Hubby Watched Me Freeze My Ghost Knows Where He'll Burn novel Chapter 25

Chapter 12

The last four days of December seemed to stretch endlessly for Nicholas, yet at the same time, they passed in a blur, as if time itself was playing tricks on him. Each moment felt heavy, weighted with a mixture of hope and despair.

Nicholas dedicated every spare minute to retracing Elara’s footsteps, desperately following every lead he could find. His heart ached with each unanswered question, each place she had been that now felt hollow without her presence.

At the hospital, the doctor recounted that Elara had come in about a month ago for what was supposed to be her final appointment. But after learning that her legs would never regain their strength, she had simply stopped returning. The news hit Nicholas hard, a grim confirmation of the reality he had been avoiding.

He then visited the small deli in the West Village they often frequented, hoping for any clue. The owner remembered seeing Elara recently, sitting alone at their usual corner table. When asked about Nicholas, Elara had smiled gently and said only five words: “We’re getting divorced soon.” Those words lingered in his mind, bitter and sharp.

Nicholas drove to their old school, hoping to find some trace of her there. The security guard recalled a woman in a wheelchair who had come by not long ago, moving through the halls alone, her presence quiet but unmistakable. Near the fringe tree where they had once carved a youthful confession of love, the inscription was gone—sanded away, leaving only a faint scar beginning to heal. It was as if the past was being erased, piece by piece.

He sought out Elara’s closest friends, who shared what little they knew. She had gathered them for one final dinner before disappearing. They spoke of how she had gotten drunk, laughing through the haze of alcohol, telling them to live well and to forget about her. The pain beneath their smiles was evident, a shared sorrow that wrapped around Nicholas’s chest like a vice.

Every place Nicholas thought Elara might have gone, she had already been there, saying her goodbyes. And every person he spoke to told the same story: Elara had come alone, lost in her own thoughts, bidding farewell as if preparing for an extended journey away from everything and everyone.

This was the part Nicholas couldn’t wrap his mind around. If Elara had discovered his affair with Valentina and wanted out, why hadn’t she simply filed for divorce? Why endure the pain of dragging her broken body to all these places, saying goodbye to friends, to memories, to the life they had shared? Shouldn’t he have been the only one she resented, the only one she needed to say goodbye to?

He stared out the window, watching the relentless snow fall in thick, swirling flakes. The world outside was a vast, white expanse, cold and empty. Inside him, he felt the same emptiness—an aching void that seemed to swallow everything whole.

On impulse, he snapped a photo of the snow-covered street and sent it to her.
[It’s been snowing here for days. Can you see it wherever you are?]
[Are you still mad at me? I’m sorry. Please come home.]

Why had he been so terrified to speak honestly before? Why had he waited until everything was lost to attempt to make amends?

Could a confession sent this late really undo months of betrayal and heartbreak?

He had no answers. The only person who could provide them had vanished from his life.

It had been eight days since Elara disappeared. Eight days of cold silence and aching questions.