Second Vows Adored by the Billionaire novel Chapter 15

Eloise stepped out quickly, intending to catch him and ask.

She only took a few steps before Victor appeared, nearly colliding with her.

He had come looking for her because she had been gone too long.

He placed a concerned hand on her shoulder. "Eloise, are you all right? You're so pale. Did something upset your stomach?"

Eloise shook her head. "No. It was crowded. I'm full. Let's go home."

Victor's phone kept vibrating in his pocket. He nodded. "All right. Let's go."

*****

When they returned to the villa, the house was unusually quiet.

Anita appeared to have taken Beatrice and moved out. Even the toys Beatrice usually left scattered in the living room were gone.

Eloise understood the likely reason. She had helped Victor smooth things over with Seafort Group, and in exchange, Victor had finally given Anita what she wanted, letting her move out to a place he had arranged.

Eloise didn't ask. There was no point.

She was leaving anyway.

With the house quiet for the first time in days, she began organizing the things she intended to take with her.

She didn't have many clothes.

What took time, what truly required care, were her paintings, the works she had created through these years.

Eloise had no desire to keep the marriage, but she could not bring herself to abandon the paintings. Each canvas carried the record of who she had been.

Although every piece held traces of Victor and the path she had walked beside him, she refused to discard a single one.

For someone who lived through art, every work was a child of its own.

A mother could leave, but she didn't walk away without her children, and she certainly didn't destroy them.

She had made that mistake once before, and she wouldn't repeat it.

She framed each painting carefully, packed them into boxes, and had Gregory arrange vehicles to transport everything, batch by batch, to her studio in Chicago.

Her days became busy in a way that felt almost cleansing.

Laurel helped when she could. But when Laurel asked why Eloise was suddenly packing so many works, Eloise offered a casual excuse and said she had sold them to a wealthy collector.

Victor, meanwhile, came and went through the villa without noticing anything was missing.

She steadied herself and answered.

Lucas' voice came through, still careless, still amused, still too familiar.

"Eloise, Chris said you're finally leaving Victor. Is it true you're turning back from the cliff and returning to shore?"

"Chris really cannot keep her mouth shut," Eloise said, and she could not decide whether to laugh or sigh.

"Yes. You were right. I'm blind, and I'm willing to admit it."

Lucas laughed loudly, the same wild, unfiltered sound he had always had.

"That's new. Our proud little junior finally learned self-mockery. He must have hurt you badly. Do you want me to—"

"Stop," Eloise cut in. "Lucas, even if someone deserves a midnight scissor to the throat, it's my revenge. Don't get involved."

Lucas made a sound as though he was choking on laughter. "Chris said you've gotten quiet and gentle. I don't see it. Your sharp tongue still hits the same."

"So you called to laugh at me?" Eloise asked, arching a brow.

"Not a chance." Lucas' tone turned unexpectedly serious.