جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

After being shouted at twice, Selise was starting to lose her temper. One look at Yale's bloodshot eyes, however, convinced her that this wasn't the time to push him. She grabbed her purse and left in a huff.Yale remained on the couch, clutching the jar and staring blankly ahead. Only now did he realize how little attention he'd paid to Riley lately. Things had been disappearing from their home for days, and he hadn't noticed a single one.The photographs of them in the living room, the blanket they'd knitted together on the couch, even the wooden toys they'd made for their baby in the upstairs nursery. All of it was gone.There was nothing left in the house to show that Riley had ever lived there.When Yale summoned the two housekeepers, they arrived looking terrified."Sir?""Where's everything gone?"The women exchanged nervous glances before Martha finally worked up the courage to answer."Mrs. Sullivan said someone new would be moving in, so there was no point keeping all the old

Yale hadn't been completely drunk. He'd heard Selise ask him to get back together, but he simply hadn't known how to answer.Back home, he stared at the jar that still sat on the table, his child curled inside the formalin. Eventually, he picked it up and cradled it in his arms."I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry."Even Yale didn't know whether he was apologizing to his child or to Riley."Yale, don't you think it's time we laid the baby to rest?"When Selise visited him again, she found him sitting there, staring blankly at the jar. She couldn't even bring herself to look at what was inside.Yale remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.He purchased a burial plot for his child at the most expensive cemetery in Jovington. Rather than hiring someone to handle the burial, he personally placed the small urn containing the baby's ashes into the grave.There was no photograph on the headstone, not even a name. Only a small inscription:"Beloved son of Yale Sullivan and Riley Nola

Although Daniel hadn't answered his questions during their last phone call, Yale was now certain that Riley had gone to stay with her father. Having somewhere to start made the search much easier, and before long, he'd managed to track her down.He wanted to bring her something that held special memories of their relationship, hoping it might help him win her back. Yet looking around the empty house, he couldn't find anything.Only then did the full extent of his neglect sink in. Riley had gotten rid of so many things without him noticing. After years of marriage, he couldn’t even find a single photograph of them together.Once he'd located the university Riley now attended, Yale went there carrying a bouquet of flowers.He'd grown noticeably haggard over the past few days. Standing outside the university, he silently rehearsed what he wanted to say when he finally saw Riley, then walked through the gates."Has the art department finished setting up its exhibition?""I heard Yancy Coll

Yale came looking for Riley twice more after that day, but Yancy turned him away both times.Riley was beginning to think he'd finally given up, and she was just starting to feel relieved when a text arrived from an unfamiliar number.[Riley Nolan, we need to meet.]She had no idea who'd sent it or how they'd gotten her number, so she moved the message straight to the trash.The following day, however, the same message appeared again.[Who is this?] she asked cautiously.[Selise Lane.]Riley frowned and immediately blocked the number.She wanted nothing more to do with Yale or Selise. She'd already stepped aside and left them to each other. Why couldn't they just leave her alone?"Riley, we need to talk."One afternoon after class, while Yancy was busy with a class of his own and couldn't come to meet her, Selise appeared out of nowhere and blocked her path."We have nothing to talk about."Riley tried to walk around her, but Selise grabbed her wrist and refused to let go, no matter ho

Yale refused to believe a word Selise had said.How could she claim he didn't love Riley? He'd married her, they'd conceived a child together, and he'd taken care of her in every possible way. How could anyone say that wasn't love?Riley had terminated their pregnancy and divorced him, and it was all Selise's fault.He blamed her for everything. If it weren't for Selise, he and Riley would still be together. She would still be his wife.Looking at Selise, who now lay unconscious on the couch, a terrible thought occurred to him.If Selise disappeared, would Riley come back?His increasingly deranged mind seized on the possibility. Of course she would. Riley would come back to him. She had to.Yale locked Selise away and subjected her to relentless abuse, taking photograph after photograph of her suffering.When he finally looked through the pictures, he decided they should be enough to make Riley forgive him."Riles! Riles!"After watching Riley's movements for several days, Yale had fi