TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 109

One hundred and nine

Nadia

I got home close to eight.

The maids were clearing the dining table when I walked in. One of them asked what I wanted for dinner.

“Don’t bother,” I said. “I’m heading out later.”

They nodded and went back to cleaning.

I went upstairs, already thinking about the club. I needed a bath, a fresh face of makeup, and something better than the dress I had worn all day.

Cash first.

I opened my purse and stuffed a few bills inside, then went into the bathroom.

Hot water helped clear my head. I stayed in the tub longer than I meant to. By the time I finished and wrapped myself in a robe, the house had gone quiet.

I stood at the mirror and fixed my makeup.

That was when I heard voices outside my bedroom door.

Two women.

One of them was Evangeline.

The other voice sounded older.

Curiosity pushed me toward the door. I opened it just enough to look through the gap.

Evangeline stood in the hallway with a woman I had never seen before.

The woman looked old enough to be someone’s grandmother. Her hair was gray and tied back. She held Evangeline’s hand while speaking to her in a low voice.

They started walking toward the staircase.

I stepped out into the hallway and stayed close to the wall so they would not notice me.

Their voices carried down the corridor.

“Don’t get it off your sight,” the older woman said.

“Keep it as safe as you can.”

Their footsteps faded as they went downstairs.

I stayed where I was, staring down the empty hallway.

Safe.

Safe from what?

And who exactly was that woman?

I went to the terrace outside my room and leaned over the railing.

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Below, Evangeline and the woman stood near the garden path. They were still talking. Evangeline nodded a few times while the woman spoke.

Was that her grandmother?

I could not remember Evangeline ever mentioning one.

After a while the older woman headed toward the gate. Evangeline watched her leave before walking back inside.

I stepped away from the railing.

Then I noticed something.

Evangeline’s room was only a few doors away from mine, in the other wing of the hallway. 1

I stood there thinking about it.

Safe.

Keep it safe.

Curiosity started pushing at me again.

I walked down the hallway and stopped,outside her bedroom door.

The handle turned easily.

The room looked the same as always.

Her bed was neatly made.

The medical equipment beside it hummed softly, keeping track of her heartbeat the way it always did. Bottles of medication sat on the small table near the bed.

Nothing looked different.

I walked farther into the room, glancing around.

Her books were stacked near the window. A few of the small decorations she liked were still lined up on the shelf.

I was about to leave when something caught my eye.

A strange object sat near the mirror.

At first glance it looked like part of the mirror frame, but when I stepped closer I realized it was separate.

I picked it up.

It looked like a small wooden mirror, shaped long and narrow, with carved edges. The wood felt rough under my fingers.

There was a small compartment built into the back.

Curiosity got the better of me again.

I slid the compartment open.

Inside were several tiny packets tied with colored threads.

Each one held something that looked like sand.

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Different colors.

Different textures.

The smell hit me immediately.

Sharp.

Rotten.

Something sour that made me wrinkle my nose.

I closed the compartment and set the object back where I had found it.

What was that?

The thought made my stomach twist.

Was Evangeline searching for solutions everywhere now?

She had refused more medical tests.

She had stopped listening when people suggested treatment.

She had even gone to the oracle and told everyone she had given up on finding a cure.

But now she was hiding things that smelled like this?

Things that looked like charms or fetish objects?

None of it made sense.

I placed the mirror exactly where it had been and walked out of the room.

The hallway felt quiet again.

Too quiet.

As I headed back to my room, one thought kept circling in my head.

I needed to start watching Evangeline more carefully.

She was my best friend.

And she was going to be my sister-in-law.

If she was doing something dangerous, someone had to notice before things got worse.

And another thought followed right behind it.

Maybe this explained something Cameron kept mentioning,

That strange smell he noticed whenever he got close to her,

That nauseating scent he could never explain.

Maybe he had been smelling this all along.

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