986 Nights of Betrayal

y marriage bed ha

that ghost' s sister, Ivana, was my tormentor. Every night, she' d scratch at our door, claimi

me, "She tried to kill me! She snuck

at me, "Jenna! What did you do?" He didn'

y favorite pistachio. But it was filled with a

panic attack over online comments. Corbett, faced with my dying gasps and her

When I returned home, he tried to appease me, but then asked me to give my

vana "accidentally" shattered a bottle of my father

led Ivana behind him, shielding her from me, his voice cold, "Tha

the last shred

s do

perfumer in France, renewed my

pte

the 986

e bed had not been my own.

at the mahogany door of our master bedroom. It

ork real estate empire, a man whose name was etched onto half the skyscr

ce thick with sleep and a famili

pretending to be asleep. It was a useless defe

r creak

ead fiancée, Elenor, slipped inside. This was Ivana Manning, Elenor'

illow. Ivana claimed it was the only thing that helped her sleep, t

ee years ago, I had screamed. Corbett h

his voice firm as he stood between her and o

and, the next day, cu

t Corbett had to call an ambulance. The doctors sa

he scratching at

her away. He sighed, a sound hea

e' d pleaded with me. "Her

a fresh pillow on the chaise l

s shifting under his weight, and walked to the closet to retrieve the bedding he now kept read

ect portrait of a fragile, broken girl. She was twent

ow, I just felt a deep, hollow coldness. The love I had for

e chaise lounge, tuckin

voice soft, the voice he rarely used

I had the dream again. The crash.

a thousand times. But Corbett, h

ncoming truck just before impact. She had saved his life and, in doing so, had sh

here. I promised Elenor I would always take ca

ut. He was my husband. He had made vows to me. B

, the silk of my nightgown feeling

conflict in his eyes. He loved me, or at least, he said he did. But he was weak, and

begged. "Not tonigh

I married, the man who had once looked at me as if I wer

s and told me, "You' re my second chance, Jenna

g. He wanted a substitute for Elenor, and I, with my similar blonde hair and quiet demeanor, h

lergy to shellfish and serving it at a family dinner. Framing me for the theft of a family heirloom. Each time, Corbett would get ang

et cold on the marble floor. I shut the door, the

eflection a pale, tired strange

er of a legendary perfume house in Grasse, France. He had been a judge at a competition I' d entered before I married

esc

ccept" button. I just needed

iek ripped through the s

! Get o

hrew the bathroom doo

g at her own throat. She was looking directly at me

king finger at me. "She tried to kill me! She

to process the blatant lie

panic and fury. He didn' t even look at me for my side of

ou do?" he yelled,

shaking. "Corbett, I was in t

air. "She hates me because I look like Elenor! She

like a broken doll. He glared at m

" he said, his voi

pered, disbelief

e cradled Ivana, soothing her

r of my love for him finally went out. It wasn't a flicker. It w