I Can Smell Every Lie, and My Husband Reeked of Betrayal Chapter 02

I Can Smell Every Lie, and My Husband Reeked of Betrayal Chapter 02

“You’ve got something on your collar.”

Finn looked down and rubbed at it.

“Must’ve brushed against something as we were leaving. Chloe had a few too many, could barely walk—I had to steady her.”

Chloe again.

Every time her name came up, the flowers on him faded a little. The sour got a little stronger.

I picked up my glass and drank.

A heavy wave of unease washed over me.

Finn followed, one hand on my waist, the other sweeping my hair to the side.

“You’re looking unwell. I’ll take you to see a doctor tomorrow.”

His voice was soft. His hands were steady.

But on his right cuff there was a sweetness—gardenia.

Strong enough to sting.

Not the kind you pick up in a restaurant.

The kind you get from rubbing against another person.

That much contact wasn’t something one steadying hand could explain.

I rinsed my mouth out.

He was still standing in the doorway, frowning.

“Shannon, you look awful.”

“Just a mild upset stomach.”

As I passed him, I pressed close to his right arm and breathed in deep.

Gardenias.

I worked at a flower shop when I was twenty-two. I handled stems all day. I know these scents cold.

Gardenia is an aggressive kind of sweet.

A woman who likes to use it doesn’t mind being smelled.

Or maybe—she did it on purpose.

She was marking him.

“Shannon?”

Finn had noticed me lingering at his sleeve too long.

“What are you sniffing at?”

I looked up at him, my face all honest confusion.

Under the flowers, that thread of stale bitterness curled up again.

“When do gardenias bloom?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

Back in the bedroom, I grabbed my phone and texted my best friend, Mallory Hayes.

Shannon: [Mal. Look someone up for me.]

She replied instantly.

Mallory: [Who?]

Shannon: [Chloe. She sat next to Finn in high school.]

A few seconds later, a voice note came through. I held the phone to my ear.

“Shannon—did his scent change?”

I didn’t answer.

“How bad?”

I kept my voice down.

“Not too bad yet. Like food left out long enough to turn bitter. You’d think about tossing it, but it doesn’t look fully spoiled.”

Silence hung for seconds on the other end.

Then Mallory said, “Spoiled is spoiled. Your nose knows the truth better than anybody.”