Yvette's POV
I slammed the glass down onto the table, the sharp clink echoing through the empty room. The papers scattered in front of me like a storm of consequences. My fingers trembled—not with fear, but with frustration.
"Owen… Where the hell did you go?" I muttered under my breath, biting my lip hard enough to bleed.
It's been months since the divorce. Months since he signed those damn papers and vanished like a ghost. No calls. No messages. Just… silence.
I didn't expect him to stay, not after what I almost did. But I didn't expect him to disappear either. I wanted to come clean. I wanted to tell him everything—about the fragments of my past life that had started returning. About the regrets. About him. But he didn't give me that chance.
My eyes drifted down to one of the news reports. "Fall of Bardot Industries"… and below it, "Abigail Bardot's Public Execution – Exposed for Fraud, Manipulation, and Betrayal."
Abigail Bardot…
The name felt heavy in my mouth. Familiar.
My hands clenched as I remembered the headline photos. Her bloody face. Her last screams. The justice that came crashing down on her like divine fury.
I shook my head. "Women like her… who cheat, manipulate, betray…" My voice was barely a whisper. "They always think they'll get away with it."
My reflection in the wine glass caught my gaze.
"But how could I even think about cheating on a man like Owen?" I breathed.
Tears welled up, but I forced them back. Guilt settled in, like poison dripping slowly through my chest.
I never crossed that line… but I tiptoed too close. I didn't realize how much he meant to me until he was already gone. Until he vanished without even looking back.
"Owen… I never stopped caring." I clutched the edge of the table, knuckles white. "And now, I don't even know if I'll get the chance to say it."
A single tear slid down my cheek.
Somewhere in the world… he was out there.
And she had no idea if she'd ever be allowed back into his.
I sat there for a long moment, the silence around me deafening. The memories wouldn't stop—his voice, his eyes, the way he used to look at me with quiet strength even when I didn't deserve it.
I picked up the photo frame on the corner of the table. It was dusty, untouched for months. It was the last picture we took together—Owen smiling gently, his arm around me, eyes full of calm that I had taken for granted.
"Why didn't I stop myself?" I whispered, brushing my thumb across the glass. "Why did I let my pride… my doubts… come between us?"
The sound of the clock ticking became louder with each passing second. Time was moving, but I was stuck.
I looked at the crumpled news article again. The headline about Abigail Bardot, and the way Samuel ended her life so brutally. That name… that man… it was all starting to connect.
They weren't just gone. They transcended.
I stood up suddenly. A strange determination boiled in my chest.
"No. This isn't where my story ends either."
If Owen left because he remembered… because he awakened, then maybe this was my chance. Maybe I could, too.
I walked to the window, the city lights glowing in the distance. Somewhere beyond those towers, beyond this world… he was waiting.
Or maybe he wasn't.
But I had to try.
"Wait for me, Owen… even if you don't want to see me again. I'll still find you."
My voice cracked as I whispered those words to the empty room, heart pounding like it had just remembered how to beat again. My fingers trembled as I reached for my phone.
"Oliver. Update. Now."
The line barely rang once before his voice came through.
"Ma'am. Still no solid clues on Mr. Yates' whereabouts… but—"
I froze. "But?"
"We received a report from a contact near the outskirts of the Human Realm. Someone saw a man matching Owen's description visiting his mother's grave. They couldn't approach, but it looked like him. Everything fits."
I stood up so quickly my chair screeched across the floor. "That's it. That's him. I knew it. I knew he wouldn't just vanish."
My chest burned with a whirlwind of emotions—relief, anger, longing… desperation.
"Prepare the car. Now. And I want every access point to that location secured. Discreetly. I'm going there myself."
"Yes, ma'am."
The call ended, but my thoughts didn't.
How dare he leave like that. How dare he walk away after everything… after not letting me explain the truth of our past life. After forcing a divorce and vanishing without a word.
But how could I blame him?
He saw through me before I saw through myself.
Still, none of it mattered now.
Because I wouldn't let him go. Not this time.
"You belong by my side, Owen," I whispered fiercely as I stared at my reflection, eyes wild with purpose.
"And I'll fight through heaven and hell if that's what it takes to bring you back."