I Can Smell Every Lie, and My Husband Reeked of Betrayal Chapter 11

I Can Smell Every Lie, and My Husband Reeked of Betrayal Chapter 11

“Is she targeting you too?”

The man on the video call was Zach Warren, Chloe’s ex-husband. Mallory set up this video chat for

Zach looked worn-out. Mention Chloe’s name, and he let out a bitter laugh.

“What do you mean?”

“Chloe’s pulled this exact trick before.”

He lit a cigarette and took a long, harsh drag.

“She goes after married men. But she won’t hit on the husband straight-up. She befriends the wife first. Once she’s got that trust built up, she slowly worms her way into the marriage.”

“Before she married me, she’d already broken up another couple using this playbook. She dumped that guy, then came for me.”

“Then why did you marry her?”

“She got pregnant with Wren. And she erased every single piece of proof. I didn’t put the whole story together until after our divorce.”

Zach stubbed out his cigarette.

“She’s got this weird habit-she’s always covered head to toe in gardenia scent.”

My fingers tightened against the tabletop.

“I asked her once why she smelled so good. Back then I didn’t think anything of her

creeps me out now.”

“What did she say?”

“People let their guard down around someone who smells nice.”

When the video call ended, I sat alone in the living room for a long time.

So Chloe’s gardenia scent wasn’t some special trick just for me.

The front-door lock clicked. Finn was home.

answer,

but it

y face away.

rotting-flesh stench, sharp in my nose.

The rose scent and lily scent were almost gone. Only a faint thread of lily lingered, like a candle

sputtering out.

“Finn, we need to talk.”

He was yanking off his tie. “About what?”

“Chloe’s ex told me her divorce wasn’t his fault. Chloe’s the one with problem. And this isn’t the first time. She hunts married men. She gets close to the wife first, then works her way into the marriage.”

His hands froze.

“Where’d you hear that?”

“From Zach.”

“And you believe him? Divorced guys trash-talk their ex all the time.”

“So you believe Chloe?”

“We were classmates for years. I know her.”

“Oh, really? I barely know most of my high-school classmates. How long has it even been since you two talked?”

Finn had no comeback. He tugged at his collar, clearly annoyed.

“Shannon, you’ve been so sensitive lately. Pregnancy hormones mess with your mood, but you can’t take it out on other people.”

“I’m telling you facts.”

“Facts? Just because her ex says so?”

“And everything Chloe says is one hundred percent true?”

“When has she ever lied to me?”

I stared at him for a long second, then a dry laugh escaped me.

“Finn, do you even notice how much your scent has changed?”

“Here we go again.”

“You used to smell like rose scent mixed with lily scent. Now it’s mostly acrid vinegar smell and putrid totting-flesh stench.”

He raised his voice.

“Shannon! Can you just talk normally? You just hate seeing me help other people, don’t you?”

“She’s a single mom with a little kid. What’s so wrong with me lending her a hand? You don’t have

to help, but you can’t expect me to be just as cold as you are!”

Cold. He called me cold.

I went to my prenatal appointment all alone carrying his baby, and he thought I was being cold.

Right then his phone buzzed.

The screen lit up. The contact read: Wren-Little Sun.

A four-year-old wouldn’t own a cellphone. This had to be Chloe. He’d saved her number under his

daughter’s name, with a sun emoji.

Finn quickly dimmed the screen, but he knew I’d seen it.

The air went heavy. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

He grabbed his phone and stepped out onto the balcony. Through the glass, I couldn’t hear his words, but I saw his face-soft, soothing, full of that gentle concern.

That look used to be only for me.

I grabbed my coat and handbag, then headed for the door.

He walked back inside right as I reached the entryway.

“Where are you going?”

“Mallory’s place. I’m staying there a couple days.”

“Is this really just over a phone contact name?”

I looked straight at him.

“Finn, you saved her under Wren with a sun emoji. What name do you have for me in contacts?”

e stayed silent

Ever since we met, it’s just been plain Shannon Reed.

Not even a punctuation mark