Alas, Varien was changed yet again. I gazed after him. The joy that had filled him when he left our old home with his beloved was gone. That joy that had sustained me, knowing that he had found his soulmate at last, though all my years of hopeless love fell like dead leaves around my heart.

Does fell here denote a continued action that took place while the heroine was sustained vicariously by her beloved’s love for another? That is, does "fell" here equal "were falling" or "had been falling"? Or does it signify a completed action?

From Elizabeth Kerner's "Redeeming the Lost":

Alas, Varien was changed yet again. I gazed after him. The joy that had filled him when he left our old home with his beloved was gone. That joy that had sustained me, knowing that he had found his soulmate at last, though all my years of hopeless love fell like dead leaves around my heart. He could barely speak for his anger and he was wild with helplessness.

Does fell here denote a continued action that took place while the heroine was sustained vicariously by her beloved’s love for another? That is, does "fell" here equal "were falling" or "had been falling"? Or does it signify a completed action?