Engraved with the Wrong Name Chapter 07

Engraved with the Wrong Name Chapter 07

Meanwhile, a faint sense of unease coiled in Griffin’s gut.

He swirled the wine in his glass, his mind replaying the look on Kimberly’s face that

afternoon.

Calm, sharp-an expression he’d never seen on her before.

It felt like something was slipping from his control.

Across the table, Jade, dressed in a sweet cocktail dress, smiled and placed a piece of foie gras on his plate.

“Griffin, I remember you love foie gras.”

“This place is famous for it. You have to try some.”

He tried to suppress the unease, grunting in acknowledgment as he swallowed the foie gras. It tasted like ash.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed.

The smart lock app. A notification that someone had entered the apartment.

Griffin’s heart jolted. He shot up from his seat.

“I’m sorry, Jade, something’s come up. I have to go.”

“Wait!”

Ignoring her call, he strode out of the restaurant and drove straight back to the apartment.

“Kimberly! Are you back?”

Griffin threw the door open, a panic in his voice he didn’t even recognize,

He’d done a lot of thinking on the drive over.

In every argument they’d ever had, Kimberly was always the first to back down, extending an olive branch in the form of a bottle of ’82 Lafite on the bar or a plate of his favorite lasagna on the table.

This time, he’d gone too far. Blocking her promotion for Jade was a low blow.

If she was still angry, he’d be the one to back down first. It didn’t matter.

Griffin glanced at the bottle of 1982 Lafite on the passenger seat.

This was the same vintage Kimberly had first introduced him to.

When she saw this, she couldn’t possibly stay angry.

After all, she loved him so much. She had quit her job and moved a thousand miles just because he’d once said he didn’t like long-distance relationships.

Right now, she was probably sulking on the sofa, hugging a pillow.

With that thought, Griffin pushed the door open.

But it was not what he expected.

The apartment was pitch-black and eerily silent.

As he stepped inside, his foot hit something. He looked down and saw the picture frame, lying face down in the entryway.

It was covered in dusty footprints, and a crack ran across the canvas, splitting their two faces apart.

This was Kimberly’s most treasured possession, something she polished with care every single day.

An unprecedented panic seized him.

He called her name again, but the silence/was his only answer.

He flipped on the lights and realized just how empty the room was.

The handcrafted art pieces on the coffee table, the blanket her mother had knitted for

the sofa…

Everything that Kimberly had brought into this house, everything she cherished, was

gone.

In disbelief, Griffin staggered into the bedroom.

It was only when he saw the half-empty closet where her clothes used to be that the truth finally hit him. Kimberly had moved out.

She’d been serious.

A notification sound broke the silence.

Griffin fumbled for his phone and sent a message to Kimberly.

Ared exclamation mark burned his eyes.

His breath caught. He tried calling.

Then text messages, social media…

Every single line of communication had been severed.

After exhausting every option, Griffin sank onto the sofa, dazed.

He finally realized that he had truly lost her.