His Wife, The Secret Forensic Genius

For five years, I was a placeholder, a substitute for

wish to marry him. It was a perfect lie, and he chose to believe

e, celebrated the woman who broke me. They moved my things to a guest room, making space for their prod

y "a little spider bite." They left me convulsing on the floor. Later, they wh

en bone, is a testament to their betrayal. They believed

le thought consumed me: Isabella Douglas died here to

pte

"Bella" D

Blair, married my

m a grimy café across the street as he

as supposed

delaying our wedding. "The truce between the Irish and the Blairs needs to

petition born from a desperate need to belong s

soldier. I was a placeholder, a substitute for the wo

ven glance in my direction. He only had eyes for Haleigh, my sister. The one who had shattered t

ertificate like a trophy. She had returned two weeks ago with

the alliance she broke made whole again. It was a lie so

eet and regretful, before her eyes found mine across th

voice a poisonous caress I

r? Or was she just ke

n my chest and stole the air from my lungs. Jameson's gaze finally fell on me,

s Hal

already knew but had refused to accept. I was nothing but

ssessive, triumphant act of o

't just crack

ick, Blake, and Kane, high-ranking Soldiers in the Dougl

e, their love for her a blinding sun that l

leaving me alone on the sidewal

taken me for Haleigh in the shadows of the garden, proposing to a girl he didn't even see. I remembered the

n had proved it

, feeling the grief inside me cool and calc

r be a subst

yellow car a beaco

miss?" the

rearview mirror, my

Internation

inhabited island. A place no