I Died in the Garden He Made for His Lover

"Eat, June." He couldn't hold back his displeasure anymore, his voice dropping into a command.

I ignored him, went upstairs to grab my things, and drove to Hillside Estate. Locked the door behind me and fell into bed like something shutting down.

But the sleep was wrong—thick and suffocating, pulling me under and holding me there. When I finally clawed my way back to consciousness, I had no idea how much time had passed.

There was nothing left in my body. I lay on the bed limp as a rag, unable to move.

The room smelled like medication. I looked down at the back of my hand and saw a needle taped into the vein.

My vision swam, then slowly tightened on a figure in dark green standing at the vanity. She was turning my jewelry over between her fingers, picking up pieces and dropping them back like they bored her.

"Oh, you're awake?"

The woman in green walked toward me, and her face hit me like a fist to the chest.

It wasn't a stranger. It was the daughter of my parents' research assistant at the Floral Research Institute. Joy Henson.

That night at Hillside Estate, the voice had been hers. The silhouette too.

Why Joy Henson? Why?

My mind fractured into pieces.

Joy's mother, Daphne Henson, was one of the suspects in the fire that destroyed the Institute. But there had never been enough evidence, and eventually Daphne and Joy had vanished like smoke, as if they'd simply ceased to exist.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. Her name tore out of me like something bleeding. "Joy Henson."

"I'm surprised you still remember me, Junie. All these years and you still hate my mother that much?" She stuck her tongue out at me playfully. "But it's not Joy Henson anymore. My name is Jade Holloway now. Don't get it wrong again."

The bedroom door opened.

"You're awake?"

"William!" My whole body was shaking—I couldn't stop it. "Do you know who she is? Do you know who she is?!" The words ripped out of me raw, half-scream, half-sob, and I couldn't tell where the trembling ended and the screaming began.

He didn't even flinch. "Oh—June, I forgot to mention. This is Ms. Holloway. You haven't been feeling well, and she's offered to help. Her father is a business associate of mine. The Expo is in four days, so she'll bring your flowers and compete in your place. There's nothing to get upset about."

"No... no... she's—"

"June, you're half asleep. She just happens to have the same face. That's all."

I couldn't stop shaking. How could he do this? How could he do this?

"Oh dear, it looks like your wife isn't too happy to see me. If she'd really rather I didn't, then never mind—forget I offered. You just rest up, okay? Don't go upsetting yourself on my account."

I opened my mouth to say more, but my tongue went dead. Just like that—mid-breath—the words wouldn't come. All I could do was stare at them, wide-eyed and mute.

I had never hated anything the way I hated that helplessness.

"You're sick, June. Stay home, rest, be good." His voice was so gentle it made my skin crawl. "Does it really matter who brings the results back? You just wanted the results, didn't you?"

His hand stroked gently over the top of my head, and my tears broke loose, streaming down without stopping. Why? Why would he do this?

I didn't believe it. I didn't believe he had no idea Jade Holloway was Joy Henson.

And then a far worse possibility flashed through my mind. He had always known.

He was the one who helped them disappear.

It shredded me. The enemy I had spent years searching for—the person I had never stopped hunting—had been hidden beside the man I loved all this time.

They left the room.

I understood what it meant that he'd let Joy Henson walk into my presence. It meant I had no value left. Because I had already cultivated Emberwake.

He was going to keep me locked in here forever.

How could he? How could he do this to me?

I pulled out my phone. A few dozen words took me nearly two hours to type.