Chapter 3

Charles's hand froze in midair, and his eyelid twitched.

He didn't quite dare turn and look at Vivian, because nobody knew better than he did how that necklace had ended up around her neck.

"So you gave her the real jewelry and handed me the throwaway freebie as a gift?"

Before Charles could answer, Vivian's eyes reddened.

"Zoe, what jewelry, what freebie... I don't know anything about it..." And then she started to cry, as though she were the one who had been wronged.

That got to Charles, and the look he gave me was all reproach. "Zoe, I bought the wrong bracelet. It has nothing to do with Vivian. Don't frighten her. Your mother probably gave her that necklace. There are plenty of necklaces like it, and you know how much your mother loved Vivian."

Yes, I knew. My mother loved her. Charles loved her. Everyone loved her.

I was the one nobody needed. "Really? My mother left me nothing before she died, and I'm her own daughter, but she gave it to her foster daughter?"

Charles's face went completely cold. "Even if she left you nothing and gave it all to Vivian, there'd be nothing wrong with that. Zoe, she died at your hands. What else do you want?"

A sharp pain went through my heart. His words were wolfsbane, colorless and odorless, eating into me, spreading through my blood, making death look easier than living.

He had done it on purpose. He was telling me that my mother had died because of me, and that I had no right to anything of hers.

I stood there with nothing to say. My head spun, my ears rang, and the numbness climbed from the soles of my feet through the rest of me.

Then the hallucination came again.

My mother lay in front of me covered in blood, one bloody hand pointing at me. "Zoe... you killed me... why did you kill me?"

"No!" I screamed like something out of my mind, wrapped both arms around my head and crouched on the floor with my eyes shut, shaking my head as hard as I could.

I knew none of it was real and I still couldn't stop.

Charles saw something was wrong and rushed to my side. "Zoe? Zoe, what's happening?"

"Charles, I think Zoe's having another episode."

I still didn't dare open my eyes, but the voice cursing me was fading out.

Charles didn't hesitate for a second. He scooped me up and ran for the door without so much as a glance back at Vivian, calling only, "Zoe's sick. I have to go!"

He drove fast, turning his head to look at me every few seconds. "Zoe? Are you all right? Hold on. We're going back to the pack to see Dr. Merrick."

We had barely reached the pack when Charles stepped out to take a call. "Zoe, it's about that lunch. They're looking for me because I'm not there. Go see Dr. Merrick without me."

I nodded, but I didn't go into the office. I followed him and watched him stop around the corner.

"Baby, I'm sorry about today. I didn't ignore you on purpose. Zoe's ill. She can't handle any stress, and you know that. Of course I care about you more than her. As soon as she's stable, I'll come to you. The necklace was always for you. Anything you want is yours."

I was standing less than a yard away from him, listening to him say he cared about Vivian more than me, listening to him promise her anything she wanted.

I didn't want to hear the rest. I was sick, not stupid. Charles didn't love me, and I could finally see that clearly.

I stood alone in the hallway for a long time before he finished the call and came back. The moment he saw me, he arranged his face into concern. "What did Dr. Merrick say?"

"The same. No improvement."

His brow drew together so slightly it was almost invisible, but his voice stayed warm. "Don't worry. It'll get better eventually."

He put an arm around my shoulders and suggested we go shopping. "Getting out will do you good."

I didn't refuse. He took me to the biggest department store in the city.

As though he were paying off a debt, he bought me several pieces from almost every department without blinking at the price.

I watched him quietly the whole time as he performed the role of the devoted husband.

When he had bought enough, he turned to me, all smiles. "Well? Feeling any better?"

I nodded to humor him, the same way he had been humoring me.

With me apparently in a better mood, he started apologizing. "I'm sorry, Zoe. A couple of packs have been making trouble lately, and there's a corporate spy in my company. I have to go back and deal with it, so I can't be with you all the time. Don't be angry with me, okay?"

I knew exactly what this was: another excuse to see Vivian. "Charles, what if I don't want you to go?"

He smoothed a hand over my hair. "Be good, Zoe. I'm doing all of this so we can have a more secure, happier life together."

There was nothing left to say, and I certainly didn't want to look into those lying eyes.

"Fine. Go do what you need to do."