Mated To My Dead Husband's Twin

e a cruel j

ing to be l

ed like her. She had Elise's dark hair, pinned up in a twist so tight it pulled at her temples. She had Elise's brown eyes, though

ling. Just a little. A subtle vibration that travel

Elise. He looked at his wrist, checking his watch with a frown that had be

s waiting,

lipped off one shoulder. "Do you like the

on his phone. "Did you pack the blue dress for the

t," Elise said, her voice quiet. "W

pletely empty of warmth. He looked at Elise like she was a

have meetings in Paris. You'll shop. We'll take

hone buzzed. He answered it immedi

ake this. It

t. The door

ation burn her cheeks. It wasn't a hot fire. It was a cold burn, like dry ice. S

ike she was walking

g sweetness, making her head feel tight and dizzy, and the way Jarret's hand felt dry and lifeless when he slid the ring onto her f

the bed in the master suite. The duvet was silk. Everythin

ding night. Jarret had made it clear that their physical relationsh

ndle t

ned, her spi

e floorboards. He hesitated. He stood in the doorway

e main chandelier, leaving only the

li

sounded... thicker. Textured.

ments were jerky, unsure. Not the smooth, practiced

hed when he walked toward the bed. She expected a critique.

side of the bed. H

nd hovered in the

didn't grab. They brushed the stray hair behind her ear. His

ody. He was looking into her eyes, searching for somethin

, painful flip in her chest

smelled different. Under the expensive cologne, t

d her eyes, bracing for t

. He kissed her like he was askin

m that terrified and thrilled Elise. His hands moved over her ba

t time in six months-Elise didn't feel

ad feared. It was intense. He was attentive to every breath she took,

he sun was cutting th

he warmth next to her

The room was empty. On the pillow next to

. The handwriting

ls. Wait

ature. No flouris

one, replaced by a confusing, fragile hope. Maybe marriage changed

onths

of manicured colors, pinks and whites that looked too perfect to

he hydrangea bushes. She was wearing a grey

e said, not looking at Elise. "They

he had perfected the smile. It didn't r

ll over t

versation died out like a candle being smothered. P

he looked for Ni

s pale, the color of old paper. She was holdin

d. She didn't call

e tablet into

d banner at the bottom of the news feed screa

ed. The location. It

r clutch. It was a j

tched the phone from Elise's hand

d into the phone. "T

she wore crumbled. Her lips parted.

phone. It hit the gr

ise. She turned her head toward the house, toward the

The sounds of the garden rus

one murmured

" someone

there on its own. A reflex. She hadn't told any

the tenderness, crashed into the reality of the explosion

olume," Joyce

oice was tinny comi

Barrett. However, reports indicate one

eld her

e survivor. A spokesperson noted the identification is provisiona

iet one she had only met twice. The gentle

e a cruel j