Everest's Guardian Hubby Watched Me Freeze My Ghost Knows Where He'll Burn novel Chapter 31

Chapter 18

Only a handful of people showed up for Elara’s funeral, and the atmosphere was thick with sorrow and disbelief.

No one had anticipated this. Elara taking her own life so quietly, so decisively—it was something none of them had seen coming.

Many had seen her just weeks earlier. They had shared meals, exchanged laughter, and talked about trivial things. She had appeared perfectly fine, ordinary even. There was no hint of despair or finality in her demeanor.

The casket stood empty. There was no body inside, no urn containing ashes, not even a cherished garment to hold onto as a memory. Instead, it was filled with clusters of white lilies and roses, their delicate petals contrasting starkly with the emptiness.

The only tangible proof of Elara’s existence was a modest fourteen-inch portrait placed on the altar.

This barren, almost ghostly scene left everyone puzzled, prompting many to approach Nicholas with questions.

“We just wanted to say goodbye. Was she cremated? Where are her ashes?” one voice asked hesitantly.

“Isn’t there anything of hers we can have? Something she wore, something she loved?” another inquired softly.

Nicholas stood there, his face drained of color, unable to offer any answers.

After all those years together, he didn’t possess a single memento of her.

Not one.

Even the photograph on the altar was handed to him by the staff at Dignitas as he left—nothing more.

Staring at the serene, almost detached expression in the photo, Nicholas’s mind drifted back to the day it was taken.

Had he noticed something then? If only he had paid closer attention, perhaps he would have realized she was quietly closing the chapters of her life.

Could he have understood why she wanted that final, monochrome image?

Only when it was too late to change anything did Nicholas grasp the full weight of what had transpired.

He had believed his hidden feelings were well concealed, that Elara would never catch on.

But they had known each other for a lifetime, their bond deep enough to read unspoken thoughts with a single glance.

Every moment he ignored her.

Every time he chose Valentina over her.

Every laugh shared with someone else right before her eyes.

He scanned the room slowly, as if he had entered some alternate reality.

Just weeks ago, this space had been warm, alive with presence and memories.

How had it become such a hollow shell in such a short time?

The silence weighed heavily on him, suffocating and relentless, dragging him deeper into despair.

He lost all sense of time, couldn’t feel his heart beating, couldn’t sense anything except the photograph still warm from where he had pressed it against his chest.

He had no idea how long he sat there, until finally, the long night gave way to dawn.

Sunlight slipped through a crack in the curtains.

It was the first sunrise of the new year, breaking through a long spell of rain and snow.

Nicholas raised his scarred, trembling hand toward the light, as if trying to grasp that rare, gentle warmth.

Or perhaps reaching for ashes that no longer existed.