Chapter 19
Colette’s heart felt like a heavy stone in her chest as she walked toward the restaurant where she’d barely worked for a week. The thought of asking for time off, especially an entire week, seemed almost absurd. She knew the manager wouldn’t be happy—how could he be? She hadn’t even had time to prove herself, and now she needed to vanish for days on end.
The air felt thick with tension as she stepped inside the restaurant, her mind already bracing for the worst. When she approached the manager, she could see the look in his eyes—the one that said he had already made up his mind. As she explained her situation, her words felt hollow, knowing they wouldn’t change the inevitable.
Sure enough, his response was curt and expected. “Return your apron by the end of your shift and clear out your locker.” The finality of his words hit her like a punch to the gut, though she had prepared herself for this outcome. All throughout her shift, the thought gnawed at her: was she deliberately being foolish, or was this some inherent flaw in her? It seemed like her life was a perpetual loop of mistakes, and here she was, caught in the same trap once again.
The hours dragged on, and each passing minute felt like a reminder of her own perceived stupidity. As she folded the last napkin and wiped down the last table, she couldn’t shake the overwhelming sense of despair. She was back at square one—no job, no stability, and once again tethered to the man who had brought her so much pain.
Leaving the restaurant for the final time, Colette felt the cold bite of reality. She had willingly sacrificed something important to her for Matt once again!. The somber, grey clouds overhead matched her mood as she trudged home, feeling defeated and utterly lost.
The next morning brought no relief. The gloomy atmosphere of the previous day had seeped into the new dawn, leaving Colette with a sense of impending doom. When the doorbell rang, her heart sank further, knowing who would be on the other side.
“Devil is here to get his due!” Zoe chirped after peeking through the peephole, her tone dripping with disdain. The comment stung, but Colette didn’t have the energy for another argument. “Zoe, please,” she whispered, her voice heavy with resignation. She was too tired, too emotionally drained, to defend her choices—choices she wasn’t even sure were her own anymore.
“No point saying ‘Please’ to me.” Zoe tusked, slipping on her jacket as she prepared to leave for work. “You’ve sold your soul to the devil. Better be ready to pay for it, darling.” The words hung in the air like a curse, a truth Colette couldn’t deny.
Outside, Matt stood by his gleaming white BMW, every inch the perfect gentleman as he opened the door for her. The contrast between his polished exterior and the turmoil inside her was stark. As she slid into the passenger seat, she couldn’t help but feel like she was sealing her fate all over again.
Matt took the driver’s seat, the engine purring to life as they pulled away from the curb. Colette stared straight ahead, her thoughts a whirlwind of regret and uncertainty. She was heading back into the storm, and the worst part was, she wasn’t even sure why.
As soon as they pulled away from Zoe's apartment, Matt flashed Colette a smile. “Packed enough for a week?” he asked, his voice laced with an almost casual cheerfulness. But Colette could only manage a half-hearted shrug in response. The loss of her job had cast a dark cloud over her mood, and the last thing she wanted was to chat with the man who was at the center of her frustration.
The car's engine hummed as they merged onto the road, but it wasn’t long before something felt wrong—terribly wrong. A familiar scent began to fill the car’s interior, creeping into her nostrils with a sickening sweetness. It was the Eau de Parfum—pink peonies and lychee—a scent she knew all too well. Iris’s signature perfume. Colette’s breath caught in her throat, her stomach twisting into knots.
She had stood beside Iris enough times, suffocating under that cloying aroma, to know it anywhere. Her eyes widened in horror, staring at Matt’s face as if seeing him for the first time. Her mind raced. Iris had been in this car. Recently. There was no other explanation for that scent lingering in the air like a ghost.
Her face drained of color, her hands began to tremble as she tried to process the betrayal that suddenly felt all too real. She could barely find her voice, her shock rendering her speechless. But then, all the pent-up anger and hurt erupted in a single, visceral command. “STOP THE CAR!” she shrieked, her voice slicing through the tension like a knife.
Matt’s head snapped toward her, confusion etched across his face. “What?” he asked, clearly bewildered by her sudden outburst.
“I said STOP THE DAMN CAR!” she screamed again, louder this time, the raw fury in her voice impossible to ignore. Matt, sensing the gravity of the situation, quickly pulled over to the side of the road, cutting the engine. His face was a mixture of concern and confusion as he turned to face her, but Colette was beyond reason.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice tentative, as if he were afraid of the answer.
Colette’s mind was a whirlwind of emotions—rage, betrayal, despair. She didn’t know whether to storm out of the car and leave him for good or hack him to pieces right then and there. The scent of Iris clung to the air, suffocating her, mocking her. Every fiber of her being wanted to lean in, to take a whiff of his shirt and confirm her worst fears. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She was terrified—terrified of what she might find, terrified of what it would mean if he was carrying Iris’s scent on him too. She wasn’t ready for that reality, for the undeniable proof that her worst nightmare had come true.
Colette’s hands clenched into fists as she gritted her teeth, fury simmering beneath the surface. "Iris was in this car! She was in this damn car!" Her voice trembled with a mixture of rage and disbelief. "And you dare to do this to me? Why didn’t you just take her to Queensland with you? Why do you want to keep tormenting me like this?!”
Her hands shook as she yanked the door handle, throwing the door open. She stumbled out onto the pavement, her steps unsteady but determined as she started marching back toward Zoe’s apartment. The cold air hit her like a slap, but it was nothing compared to the icy realization of betrayal that had settled in her chest.
“Colette! Colette! Stop! For God’s sake!” Matt’s voice was frantic, echoing down the empty street as he left the car running, the engine humming behind him. He sprinted after her, his footsteps quickening as he saw the distance between them grow. In a matter of moments, he caught up with her, grabbing her arm to stop her from going any further.
"Yes, she was in the car with me—but not today, she was in the car last night," he blurted out, desperation coloring his words. His grip on her arm was tight, almost pleading, but Colette yanked her arm free, spinning around to face him.
“Please, Matt, stop lying!" she cried, her voice breaking. "I smelled her perfume in there! It smells like freaking giant peonies in that car!" The words poured out of her like a dam bursting, all the pain and frustration she’d held inside finally breaking free. But even as she spoke, the reality of his confession hit her like a freight train. He had admitted it—admitted that Iris had been in the car.
Matt’s shoulders sagged, a look of defeat and embarrassment washing over his face. "You smelled that?" he asked, his voice hollow. "I tried all morning to wash the smell out. I knew you were going to react like this.”
His words hung in the air, a quiet confession that only deepened the wound in Colette’s heart. The sight of him standing there, defeated and pathetic, only fueled her anger further. The betrayal felt like a fresh wound, raw and stinging, as if he had reached inside her chest and ripped her heart out with his bare hands.