Chapter 14
969 Words
The study stayed quiet long after his confession ended.
Rain continued falling softly outside while the clock somewhere downstairs ticked steadily through the silence.
Emma thought the conversation was over.
Thought he would retreat back behind the walls he wore so carefully around everyone else.
Instead—
He stood slowly from the chair.
For a second, he swayed slightly from exhaustion before steadying himself against the desk.
Then his eyes shifted toward her.
“Come with me.”
Emma hesitated briefly before standing.
He led her upstairs quietly through the dim hallway.
The house felt different tonight.
Less intimidating.
Less cold.
Like grief itself had stripped something sharp out of the walls.
At the end of the hallway, he stopped before a large white door.
For a moment, his hand rested against the handle without moving.
Almost reluctant.
Then finally—
He opened it.
Emma stepped inside slowly.
And froze.
The room was beautiful.
Soft cream walls.
Warm lighting.
Elegant furniture untouched by time.
But what truly caught her attention were the things carefully arranged everywhere.
Luxury handbags still inside their boxes.
Designer heels lined perfectly beneath glass shelves.
Jewelry cases untouched.
Expensive dresses covered carefully in protective wrapping.
Perfumes.
Hair products.
Scarves.
Everything a woman could possibly love.
Everything chosen with care.
Everything untouched.
Emma’s chest tightened painfully.
Then her eyes lifted toward the bed.
And there—
Carved boldly into the wooden frame—
CELINE.
The name seemed to echo through the room.
He stepped inside behind her slowly.
“After work that night…” his voice came quietly, “I hit my first major deal.”
Emma looked back at him.
“I remember driving across the city buying everything she once stopped to admire.”
His gaze moved across the room slowly.
“She liked beautiful things but never asked me for them.”
There was no bitterness in his voice.
Only heartbreak.
“I wanted to surprise her.”
Emma swallowed hard.
“She never got to see any of it?”
“No.”
The single word felt heavy enough to crush the air itself.
He walked further into the room carefully, fingers brushing lightly across one of the unopened boxes.
“When I bought this house, I made this room for her.”
His eyes lowered slightly.
“No one comes in here except me and the cleaner.”
Emma looked around again.
Nothing had been moved.
Nothing disturbed.
Like he had frozen the room in time hoping somehow she would still walk into it one day.
The realization hurt more than Emma expected.
“You kept everything.”
“I couldn’t throw it away.”
His voice roughened slightly.
“Getting rid of it feels…”
He paused.
“…like losing her twice.”
Emma didn’t know what to say to that.
Because maybe there was nothing to say.
Some grief simply stayed alive no matter how many years passed.
He looked exhausted now.
Not just emotionally.
Physically too.
Like speaking about her had drained the little strength he had left.
Finally, he exhaled quietly.
“I’m tired.”
Emma nodded softly.
“You should sleep.”
For a moment he simply stood there staring at the room again.
Then finally—
He turned away.
Neither of them spoke while walking back downstairs.
The silence no longer uncomfortable.
Just fragile.
At the guest room door, he paused briefly.
“
Thank you for staying tonight.”
Emma looked up at him.
And suddenly the distance between them felt dangerously thin again.
“You don’t have to thank me.”
A faint pause.
“Goodnight, Emma.”
“Goodnight.”
She watched him disappear down the hallway before quietly entering the guest room herself.
But sleep didn’t come easily.
Because every time Emma closed her eyes—
She saw him standing alone inside that room filled with gifts that would never be opened.
And somehow—
That image stayed with her more painfully than anything else.
—
Monday morning arrived too quickly.
Emma expected awkwardness after everything that happened.
Expected distance again.
Coldness.
Regret.
Instead—
He was already downstairs when she entered the kitchen.
Perfectly dressed.
Perfectly composed.
Like the vulnerable man from the study no longer existed.
Only the bandage wrapped around his hand proved otherwise.
Lia sat at the table eating pancakes happily.
The second she saw Emma, she brightened instantly.
“You stayed!”
Emma smiled softly.
“I did.”
He glanced briefly toward her while pouring coffee.
“We’re leaving in ten minutes.”
Straight to business again.
Yet somehow—
Not entirely.
The drive to work felt strangely calm.
No tension.
No sharp exchanges.
Just quiet understanding.
Emma stared out the car window while rainwater slid across the glass beside her.
But the moment they arrived at the company building—
Everything changed.
Because apparently half the staff saw them enter together.
The reactions started immediately.
Whispers near the elevators.
Curious stares.
Mia from accounting nearly dropped her phone.
“Oh my God,” she mouthed dramatically the second Emma stepped inside.
Emma immediately looked away.
Wonderful.
Beside her, he remained completely unaffected.
Of course.
Employees quickly straightened the second he walked past.
The whispers lowered instantly.
But not completely.
Emma could still feel eyes following them through the lobby.
Especially when he held the elevator open for her.
That nearly caused cardiac arrest across three departments.
Inside the elevator, Emma finally exhaled.
“This is going to become office gossip for the next ten years.”
His expression remained calm.“
I don’t care.”
And somehow—
Emma believed him completely.
Because for the first time since meeting him—
It no longer felt like he was hiding her presence beside him.
And that realization unsettled her far more than the gossip ever could.
- Writer
