Part 3Breathing Death Without My Soul Scent

The voice belonged to Blair Ashworth, Cami’s fiercest business rival.

“Yes,” I said, nodding even though she couldn't see me. “But you have to do something for me first.”

Cami’s cruelty had been absolute. I had nothing left to lose.

Blair agreed without hesitation.

I buried my head in my arms, allowing myself one last moment of grief before I began my final campaign.

A while later, my face wiped clean of tears and my expression a mask of indifference, I knocked on the master suite door.

The muffled laughter inside immediately stopped. Cami opened the door, her silk robe slightly askew. “What do you want?”

I handed her the remaining jar of the precious, thick paste. I spoke in a dead, flat tone. “I won’t be making Scent anymore. This is the last batch...”

Before I could finish, Blaine snatched the jar from my hand. He held it up, a triumphant look on his face.

“It’s this stuff. I had a little bit of the residue tested last week. It contains a chronic toxin. It’s highly addictive and leads to systemic collapse and eventual death.”

Cami’s eyes narrowed into slits of pure fury. She slapped the tray from my hand, sending the last of the Sustaining Scentsplattering onto the carpet.

I watched the precious balm absorb into the wool, my expression unchanged. I had expected this.

Her shoe ground the paste into powder. “I knew it! I’ve been feeling so light-headed without your perfume lately. It was withdrawal! Caspian Thorne, you have a truly vile heart!”

She grabbed my throat again, her eyes bulging. She was waiting for me to beg. I refused.

Without the Sustaining Scent, Cami had less than a month to live. I didn't say it. She wouldn't have believed me anyway. I was done explaining.

Seeing my lack of reaction, Cami’s grip tightened, but she was suddenly distracted by a sharp, aggressive bark.

Winston, our elderly Golden Retriever, stood with his tail high, baring his teeth at Cami.

“The disloyal brute,” Cami snarled, kicking out at him. Winston easily dodged her.

We had gotten Winston when we first married. Cami never had time for him; I had raised him. He was fiercely loyal to me.

I gasped for air and gently stroked the top of his head, signaling for him to go out to the garden.

I returned to my room and began packing. One carry-on suitcase. It was all I needed.

A knock. Blaine stood there, looking remorseful. He slipped his arm around mine, far too familiar. “Cas, I was a total jerk this afternoon. I apologize, okay? I made a feast to make it up to you.”

He pulled me into the dining room and seated me at the table.

The meal was spectacular, and the aroma was genuinely tempting. But when I looked at the shimmering, perfectly cooked meat on the platter, a strange sense of unease settled in my gut.

Seeing I wasn't eating, Blaine smiled thinly and placed a piece of meat on my plate. “Go on, Cas. Eat.”

When I still hesitated, Blaine looked to Cami.

She cleared her throat. “If you eat this meal, I promise I will move out with Blaine immediately. We won’t bother you again.”

At her final word, I took a small bite.

The moment the meat touched my tongue, Blaine slammed his hands on the table and let out a manic, cackling laugh. “Caspian, doesn’t that taste familiar? That’s your sweet little Winston!”

Staring at his gloating, triumphant face, a wave of nauseating horror washed over me.

Gag. Puke.

I vomited violently, the food mixing with bitter bile. Ignoring the mess, I sprinted outside to the garden.

Winston wasn't there. Instead, I saw a bloody pile of fur and muscle near the stone fountain.

Two bodyguards were calmly washing the dog's skin.

“The Madam really spoils the Young Master,” one chuckled. “He wanted Winston’s fur for a rug, and she just had the dog killed. Wonder what Mr. Thorne will do.”

“Who cares? He’s yesterday’s news. The future is the Young Master.”

Tears streamed down my face, hot and agonizing. I raced back inside and slapped Blaine across the face with all the remaining strength I had.

“You sick psychopath!”

Cami fiercely shoved me away. “It was just a joke, Caspian! You don’t need to be so dramatic about a dog that was going to die soon anyway. I’ll buy you a new one!”

My forehead cracked against the corner of the dining table. Blood streamed down my face.

I glared at her, trembling with venomous hatred.

A look of genuine distress crossed Cami’s features. She started to reach for me, but Blaine immediately shouted, pointing down.

“Cami! Look! You’re bleeding! The baby! That bastard Caspian must have caused this!”

He was a master of his craft. I was the one who was bleeding and broken, yet he somehow made himself the victim.

Cami felt a sharp cramp. She immediately forgot me and rushed off to the hospital, not forgetting to leave one last warning:

“If anything happens to my baby, I swear I will make you pay!”