The Unwanted Wife's Return (Ex-Husband Wants Me Back) novel Chapter 190

Charcoal and Silk

HANNAH’S POV:

TWO DAYS LATER:

After I received the news about the fire, I was shattered. The long nights, the designs, the investment in the purchase of high quality materials, the tireless working and signing of multiple documents and shipments. They all went down the drain like it had never happened.

Our vacation was cut short after and they all understood and we were all curious to see how bad it was but to my disappointment, it was as bad as I imagined. I wanted to break down and cry but I just felt numb. I had zoned out and barely even heard what anybody was saying, as we walked through the building. All I could think of was the first time I walked through the door over a year ago, excited and full of life and I recall I was anxious for our meeting with investors only to see Elijah there.

It had been a long way since then and looking at it all, it was destroyed. It was way worse.

The smell hit me first. Acrid, chemical and very wrong. Everything about it was wrong. The building I had walked into thousands of times, the place where I had laughed and cried and dreamed and built something from nothing, was now a skeleton. Blackened walls. Shattered glass. The ceiling in some places had caved in completely, exposing twisted metal beams like broken ribs.

I stepped carefully over debris, my heels crunching against charred fabric and broken tile. Someone had placed caution tape across certain sections, but it felt pointless. The whole place was a hazard. The whole place was a grave.

Cherry walked beside me, her hand gripping mine tightly. She hadn’t said much since we landed. None of them had. What was there to say? Sorry your life’s work burned down? It’ll be okay? I didn’t want to hear any of it.

Jacob was on my other side, his jaw clenched so hard I thought he might crack a tooth. Martin trailed behind us, taking photos on his phone for insurance purposes, though his hands shook every time he pressed the screen. And Elijah. Elijah was ahead of me, walking through the ruins like he was searching for something to fix, something to save.

But there was nothing left to save.

“So what exactly are you saying now? What caused the fire?” Lucas asked. He’d been on his phone since the news dropped, making calls, sending emails, contacting investors and suppliers, speaking in clipped, professional tones even though I knew his heart was just as heavy. That part of the partnership was his responsibility, and he was handling it like a shield between me and the rest of the world. I was grateful, so deeply grateful but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. 1

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