Chapter 3

Tires screamed against the pavement.

I stopped inches from him.

Adrian didn't budge. His eyes locked onto me, feverish, unhinged.

This time I was the one grinding my teeth.

"Lunatic."

I turned the wheel and took off, almost fleeing.

A few days later, another message from Camille came in.

To my surprise, her tone this time was oddly meek.

【Mrs. Hawthorne, I want to apologize. I know I was wrong.】

【I know I upset you. Please, give me a chance to make it right.】

She sent an address, said she wanted to invite me somewhere to clear my head.

And apologize in person.

I went.

A sprawling rose estate stretched out before me.

Camille stood at the entrance in a white dress, waiting for me in front of the thick, blood-red roses, smiling.

Like a hostess, she pulled out a key and unlocked the gates herself.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught the huge photograph in front of the roses. My body went rigid.

In the photo, Camille and Adrian were tangled together, fingers laced, kissing among the flowers.

The scene was warm. Beautiful.

The date on the photo was five years ago.

Back when I still had my memory.

Camille's put-on, delicate laugh floated over.

"Mrs. Hawthorne, actually I knew about you a long time ago. I even helped Adrian come up with ways to chase you."

That was the first time I realized Camille had known Adrian. Far longer than I had.

She was the girl the Hawthornes had taken in.

Adrian had brought her back from a small border town. She had nowhere to live, so she moved into his home.

The long corridor was lined with photographs. Every single one, her and Adrian together.

This rose estate. He had built it for her.

I listened as Camille walked me through their past, one picture at a time.

My palms went numb.

She glanced at my wedding ring, smiling.

"Every gift Adrian ever gave you, I helped him pick out."

"Including that ring. I liked the style, so he bought it."

I knew she wasn't telling the truth. Or at least, not all of it.

Adrian had picked out dozens of styles first.

Then brought them to me and let me choose.

But that didn't stop it from making me sick.

I slid the ring off my finger and tossed it into the roses without a second thought.

Camille's eyes curved with satisfaction.

"Adrian loves you so much. It really isn't fair."

"But that's alright. Men always get bored eventually. I just play sweet in front of him, tell him I don't want anything. As long as he remembers me now and then and throws me a scrap of the love you don't want, I'm fine."

"Want to guess what happened?"

Something joyful crossed her face and her laugh grew loud.

"He came to me on his own."

"You're the kind of woman men get tired of once they've caught you. He's tired of you now."

"So take a hint. Get out. Adrian will be mine sooner or later."

I looked at her for a long moment, then smiled sweetly.

"You're such a piece of work. That's a relief."

Camille froze, confused.

I raised a brow.

"Now I don't have to feel bad about anything."

While she was still puzzled, I kicked over the wine rack.

An entire row of vintage bottles shattered against the floor.

The dark red liquid soaked into the thick carpet and crept toward the wooden shelves and drapes along the wall.

I pulled out a lighter and lit the drenched carpet at my feet.

The flames crawled up, casting an eerie glow over Camille's terrified face.

The next second, the fire raced up along the wine trails and engulfed the entire estate.

Adrian arrived quickly.

Seeing me and Camille in the middle of the flames, his eyes went red. He was barely keeping it together.

Camille screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Adrian, save me! The fire is coming!"

"I just lost your two babies!"

I watched Adrian with interest and spoke.

"Between the two of us, who are you going to save first?"