Chapter 407
I stare at him, trying to process what he just said, but it doesn’t land the way it should.
“You moved?” I finally ask, my voice quieter than I expect.
He nods once, his eyes briefly flicking toward me before returning to the road.
I keep looking at him, waiting for it to sink in but it doesn’t because I’m still in shock. That house wasn’t just any house. It was the house he shared with Chloe. They’d lived there long before the twins were even born. It was the house Chloe chose. The one she decorated, the one that he had turned into a shrine, so why did he leave?
“You moved?” I repeat, more to myself this time, before turning fully toward him. “Why p>
He exhales slowly, his grip tightening slightly on the steering wheel. For a moment, it looks like he might brush it off, but then his shoulders drop just a fraction.
“I couldn’t stay there,” he says finally. “Not after everything p>
There’s something heavy in his voice, something I don’t think I’ve ever heard before.
“I tried, Sierra. I told myself it was just a house. That I could deal with it, that I could put everything behind me and move on, but every time I walked into a room, I felt suffocated… She was everywhere, in every room and every space and it just felt like her ghost was clinging to the walls p>
He lets out a slow breath, shaking his head slightly.
“The truth of everything she did, everything she took from me haunted me and the last thing I wanted was to keep living in a place that kept her alive. A place that honored her when she didn’t deserve it p>
I don’t say anything. I just listen.
“I needed to leave. I needed to get away from her ghost. I need somewhere I could be at peace, some place that wasn’t touched by her. Somewhere the twins could grow and flourish without the taint of their mother and aunt.” His voice softens slightly. “And somewhere our daughter could be safe. Somewhere she wouldn’t be surrounded by the memories of the woman who hurt her mother or the house tied to the person who almost took her away from us p>
The words settle heavily between us and I just sit there, staring at him, not knowing what to say.
This is the same man who almost destroyed himself when Chloe died. The same man who couldn’t function, who drowned in grief, who clung to her memory like it was the only thing keeping him alive and now… Now he’s talking about leaving it all behind like it never existed.
It’s hard to imagine, almost impossible to comprehend it. Chloe had been embedded deep inside him like a thorn, so how was he able to pull her out? Did finding out the truth give him the strength to do it or was it something else?
“What about the twins? Were they okay with it” I ask quietly.
I can’t imagine them being okay with leaving the house they’ve known for years for something else, and I just hope that Noah didn’t force this decision on them, just to find peace for himself.
A small smile touches his lips, softening his features, and that makes the worry in my heart ease a little.
“More than okay. They were excited and were looking forward to it. Even kept asking me when we would do the move.” He lets out a quiet chuckle. “Nolan looked at me and said, ‘It’s about time p>
The worry in my chest eases completely at hearing that. As much as their mom was a terrible person, I wouldn’t have been okay with them being uprooted from everything that reminded them of her. They are innocent and that would have been too cruel.
I hesitate for a moment before asking the question that’s been lingering in my mind. “And… Chloe’s things? The ones you kept locked away p>
His expression hardens just slightly. “I got rid of them p>
I blink. “All of them p>
“I let the twins pick what they wanted. Anything that meant something to them,” he says. “They kept some few pictures and Nova kept a few jewelries, and then I got rid of the rest p>