He Saw My Ghost All Along, And Grew Tired Of My Clinging Chapter 15

He Saw My Ghost All Along, And Grew Tired Of My Clinging Chapter 15

I came to on a concrete floor. The air smelled like rust and mildew. A warehouse.

My head was stuffed with cotton. I tried to push myself up and felt the rope bite into my wrists..

Before the panic could take hold, the warehouse door swung open.

Melanie walked in carrying a can of gasoline. She splashed it across the floor like she was watering a garden.

Her eyes found mine. Nothing but contempt.

“I really don’t get it. His taste keeps getting worse.” She sighed, setting the can down. “That Nadine girl scared easily. One letter, and she was gone. But then you showed up. And you just wouldn’t take

the hint.”

She walked over and grabbed a fistful of my hair.

“I warned you. I sent you that message. But you just had to push it. Planning a wedding? You think you deserve him?”

Pain lit up my scalp. I looked her dead in the eye.

“So you caused the accident four years ago. Reid gave you everything. He changed your life. And you destroyed his.”

“Destroyed? I saved him.” She let go of my hair, smoothing her clothes with terrifying calm. “Those women were nothing. Every woman who gets close to him just wants something. His money. His name. His power. I’m the only one who sees the real him.”

Her eyes went red, brimming with a lifetime of imagined injustice.

“I learned everything he likes: every meal, every preference. And he never once looked at me. It’s because of women like you. You blind him.”

She was shaking. Not with fear, but with something that had been festering for years.

“I’m the only one who’s real. Because you’re prettier. That’s the whole reason.”

By then, the sick picture was clear.

“What you call love is terrifying.” My voice was steadier than I expected. “You watched him suffer for four years. That’s not love. That’s just selfishness wearing a mask.”

The tracker was sewn into the lining of my jacket.

Reid and I had planned this on the drive home from the hospital. The only way to flush the killer gut was to dangle me in front of them.

e’d hated the idea. But he knew I was right.

He knew exactly where I was.

All I had to do was keep Melanie talking until he got here.

“You had a brilliant life, Melanie. You can still stop this. But if you keep going, there’s no coming

back.”

She laughed. Sharp, bright, completely unhinged.

“You’re about to die, and you’re giving me advice? That’s adorable. I’m past the point of no return As long as Reid never finds out, I’ll be right where I’ve always been.”

“As for you, this is where your story ends.”