I Can Smell Every Lie, and My Husband Reeked of Betrayal Chapter 10

I Can Smell Every Lie, and My Husband Reeked of Betrayal Chapter 10

She blinked, then gave a small laughter.

‘s not my natural scent. I use scented bath oils. It’s just a habit, I soak in them every night.”

Bath oils, every single night?

Why would someone coat themselves entirely in the same heavy fragrance?

Unless this perfume worked as a barrier, concealing whatever lay underneath.

She couldn’t possibly know about my synesthesia ability to smell people’s emotions. Which left only one explanation.

She wore it for everyone.

She was used to sealing herself off so no one could ever get close enough to see the real her.

“Shannon, do you feel like I’ve done something to upset you?”

She leaned forward across the table, hands resting flat on its surface, her expression earnest.

“Do you suspect something is going on between Finn and me? I swear to you, there is absolutely

nothing. He’s my best friend. I have almost nobody else I can turn to in this world as a divorced

woman with a little girl.”

“Do

you understand how hard life gets for someone in my position?”

Her voice trembled more and more.

“I’m not trying to steal your husband. I’m just want to survive.”

Once those words left her mouth, she broke down crying, curling in on herself and covering her

face with both hands.

If I were an ordinary woman, I probably would’ve felt sorry for her.

But I wasn’t.

I sat across from her, completely unable to pick up any genuine emotional scent from her, and cold

dread washed over me.

This had never happened to me in more than twenty years of my life.

I paid our bill and stood up.

“Chloe, switch up your oil. I’ve told you twice now, and this will be the final warning. I can’t stand heavy gardenia.”

Her sobbing cut short.

She lifted her head, tears still clinging to her eyelashes.

For one split second, through a crack in that gardenia barrier, I caught a faint whiff of something metallic, like dried-out blood.

It vanished the very next instant, swallowed back under her gardenia.

She gave me a faint smile.

“Alright, Shannon. I’ll switch it.”