A Love as Restless as the Wind novel

---- Chapter 14 A black sports car sped down a silent , empty street. The man behind the wheel sat cloaked in shadows, his expression unreadable. "Tess..." he murmured, feeling guilt and regret. Clifford slammed his fist hard against the steering wheel. Just then, the phone beside him lit up and began to ring. He pulled over and swiped to answer. Isabelle's voice came through immediately. "Clifford , did you see Tessa? What did she say?

Has she forgiven us?" Clifford's heart sank, but he still tried to comfort her. "Tess is kind and understanding . She'll forgive me. She has to." Isabelle's sobs grew louder. "I was so wrong. I never should've hit her. She must resent me so much now..." Clifford's emotions were already in chaos. "Grandma, I'll call you back later. Please try to rest." For the first time, he hung up on her, cutting off her sobs. He'd quit smoking long ago because Tessa hated the smell of cigarettes .

But now, he had no idea how to deal with the storm raging inside him. "Tess... you don't hate me, do you?" ---- Shrouded in smoke, he replayed everything he'd done over the past month over and over. Then, without warning, he slapped himself across the face. " Clifford, you actually let a woman like that manipulate you into ignoring the person you love the most!" He stubbed out the cigarette and looked up at the house in front of him. It was completely dark inside.

He figured that she must be asleep by now. Who could have foreseen that a titan of the business world would be brought this low? He was lost, helpless, and scared. "Tess... you'll understand. You'll forgive me... right?" he mumbled to himself, but his mind couldn't stop echoing the two things Tania had said. "No wonder Tessa insisted on divorcing you! "Tessa has already left you!" "No... no... That can't be true." The panic inside him only grew louder. ''Tess loves me too much.

She'll forgive me. She has to..." Clifford's voice got softer and softer, and even he started to doubt himself. After everything he'd done, would she really still forgive him? When he gave it some thought , he realized that the last time he'd seen her was nearly a month ago. He ---- had been at the hospital, staying with Tania to ensure her safe delivery, never once thinking about the woman waiting for him at home.

It wasn't until he stumbled onto the truth that he finally realized the extent of what he'd done and how long it had been since he'd been there for her. His chest ached as if something had torn loose inside it. "Tess... I'll make it up to you. I swear I will..." He pushed open the door, then froze. His heart, already high in his throat, dropped straight into the abyss. The house was completely empty.

The thick smell of dust and mildew hung in the air, telling him clearly that no one had been here in a long time. Panic overtook him. He flipped on the lights and scanned the room, where a fine layer of dust coated everything. "Tess! Tess!" His voice broke as panic turned to full- blown fear. He knew that she had mild OCD and would never let the house get like this. It was like he had gone mad. He opened every door and yanked open every drawer. At first, he was looking for her.

Then, he started looking for anything that proved she had once been there. "Tess... you really left me. You're really gone..." Clifford collapsed to the ground in despair , having turned over every inch of the house, unable to find a