The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 73

Chapter 73

“Tell him 1 called,” I said curtly, and ended the call before she could respond.

I stood in the kitchen, staring at the neatly packaged food in the refrigerator. Derek had promised to be home in an hour and a half. That had been nearly four hours ago. And now he was with Seraphina, attentive” and unreachable.

Something inside me settled into place, a decision crystallizing with perfect clarity. I closed the refrigerator door and headed upstairs.

In our bedroom, I pulled out the suitcase I’d already half-packed days ago. I added the remaining essentials-my jewelry box, a few more clothes, the framed photo of my parents that I kept on my nightstand. Sunny, my golden retriever, watched from his bed in the corner, his intelligent eyes following my movements.

“We’re leaving, I told him, and he stood, tail wagging tentatively as if sensing my mood.

I called for an Uber, gathered Sunny’s leash and bed, and made one final sweep of the house. The emptiness seemed to echo the emptiness inside me, but there was also a sense of relief. I was no longer waiting for something that would never happen.

With Sunny at my side, I walked out the front door without looking back. As the car pulled away, the lights of Beacon Hill grew

smaller in the rearview mirror, like the last embers of a fire going out.

Derek POV

“She called again, Seraphina said, handing me my phone. “I answered since you were talking with the doctor.”

I took the phone, my expression hardening. “What did she say?”

“Not much. She seemed surprised to hear my voice. Seraphina settled back against the examination bed, adjusting the bandage on

her knee. “I told her about my little accident.”

I remembered what Eleanor had told me before-how Seraphina had once lied about us sleeping together. My eyes cooled a few

degrees. “And what exactly did you tell her?”

“Just that I had an accident and you brought me to the hospital. That you’ve been very attentive.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her

eyes.

A doctor approached with papers in hand. “Ms. Bradley, here’s your discharge paperwork. The wound required three stitches, but it

should heal cleanly.”

I arranged for Michael, who had accidentally bumped into Seraphina in the company parking garage, to take her home. Despite Seraphina’s attempts to convince me to stay with her, I was already reaching for my car keys.

“I need to get home,” I said firmly. “Eleanor and I had plans to discuss important matters.”

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Chapter 73

As I walked away, I didn’t notice how Seraphina’s expression changed behind me.

I drove through the quiet streets of Boston, my car purring beneath me. At a red light, my fingers drummed impatiently on the wheel. Eleanor’s words echoed in my mind: “Get everything sorted once and for all.”

Divorce. That’s what she wanted to discuss. It made sense; it was what we had agreed to from the beginning and we talked about it that morning.

So why did the thought leave me feeling hollow?

When I finally reached Beacon Hill, I entered the dark, silent house. “Eleanor?” I called, moving through the downstairs rooms.

In the dining room, I found the table set with our best china, two candles that had burned down to their holders. In the kitchen, discovered containers of food in the refrigerator-scallops, asparagus, risotto. My favorites.

She had prepared dinner, waited for me, and I hadn’t come.

Upstairs, the bedroom appeared normal at first glance, but as I moved to the closet, I noticed subtle absences-gaps in the row of Eleanor’s clothes, empty spaces on her shoe rack. Sunny’s bed was missing from its usual corner. The framed photo of Eleanor’s parents was no longer on her nightstand.

My fist connected with the wall before I even realized what I was doing. The sharp pain shooting through my knuckles barely registered as I stared at the emptiness where her things should be. I paced the room, a strange tightness constricting my chest.

“We were supposed to talk,” I whispered, the words catching in my throat. My hand reached for a half-empty bottle of perfume she’d left behind, fingers closing around it as if it might somehow bring her back. “She can’t just

I didn’t finish the thought. What right did I have to expect anything? I’d left her waiting for hours, with a dinner growing cold and candles burning down to nothing.

But this wasn’t how it was supposed to end.

The silence of the house pressed in around me, oppressive and accusing.

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The CEO’s Unspoken Love